Do you ever get the feeling that you’re not drinking enough water? I get that feeling everyday. It goes like this – no matter how hard I try, the 8 glasses/day requirement is as elusive to my completed daily task list as is my goal to finish dusting. When you’re not feeling it, you’re just not feeling it. And folks, I just wasn’t born thirsty. So when my doctors pounded into my head – DRINK TIFFINY, DRINK – I knew I was in for an epic struggle.
Since my days as a kid, I remember living on a few sips of juice a day, maybe some milk with dinner, and that was it. As I went through puberty, I began to drink more juice (but never soda. We never had enough money for that), but the notion of drinking a whole glass of water still seemed unappealing. I was just rarely if ever thirsty. And despite forcing down cups and cups of water after my injury, dutifully following my doctor’s orders, I couldn’t get used to it. Its too bad none of my hobbies include throwing-up.
I tried my best. I went in straws and water bottles blazing. After failing pretty much right away, I began to hunt for a viable solution; something that would be almost as good as water, and something I could tolerate (and maybe actually like). I started with these awesome lemon packets from Italy. They’re imported and look like tea bags, but only contain lemon zest. These make your water taste super lemony in seconds, but cost more than they should, so I was only able to drink these for a few months. I refused to drink soda, juice wasn’t refreshing enough, milk was nothing more than a melted dessert.
I next tried drinking plain water warm, which actually appealed to my pallet. I’d heat up water using my coffee maker and just drink that all day long. But even that method waned. Luckily, Crystal Light water flavoring packets were just coming on the scene. I now had a rainbow of flavors at my fingertips and was totally in love. Tropical Punch, Strawberry, Lemonade….and best of all, they were cheap and not imported! I’m currently on a generic grape water flavoring kick (Market Pantry/Target) and have been a grape flavoring addict for 2 years. I use a half packet per cup as well to dilute it because copious amounts of ANYTHING artificial cannot be good for you.
Water is amazing – it’s a gift from the Gods, it’s the basis of all living things, but even water needs a little help in the flavor department. I refuse to torture myself everyday. Life is too short. I’m just glad I’ve found a solution that finally works.
How do you work towards getting the recommended water intake each day? What works for you?
Photo courtesy of Gerwin Sturm
Water, it’s amazing! How can something so basic so so good for you. Drink on!
Fascinating alternative take on that, as I sip on my fifth full glass of plain water today alone. And it’s only 2 pm.
What’s your secret, Shawn to liking water? Is there one?
I think it’s less that I like drinking water a ton but more so a necessary function of a few things: 1) A lot of my meds have dry mouth as a side effect, so I need to keep wetting my whistle, throughout the day. I go to bed every night with one of those hospital mugs with a snap on cover and straw, and I sip water from it off and on through the night.
2) Not being able to sweat, etc. with my level of injury and thus I don’t do well in the heat, so other than sitting in front of a fan or A/C drinking cold water is the most effective way to keep my core temp down and maintain my comfort. My apt. is really hot and on those 85 plus degree days that I’m home all day long I take down between 1 and 1.5 gallons of water a day just to stay cool. I have a 2 gallon container with a tap that sits in my fridge so it’s easy access and always cold. Unless it’s winter time, the colder the water the better.
And third, I find that if I go certain stretches of the day without drinking water I find myself getting dizzy. It’s my magic anti-dizzy elixir I guess.
Hi Tiffany,
I completely understand how you feel about trying to drink ‘enough’ water. I’m a middle aged woman, never have been able to consume the ‘RDA’ after many years of trying, and frankly, if I force feed myself plain water I feel like gagging! I’ve tried it with everything – lemon, fruits, fizzy, spring, tap, filtered, reverse osmosis… you name it I’ve tried it. Forget this for me! Fortunately I’m blessed without physical disabiity so far (though I wonder about my brain some days…) and in very good shape/health given my age and low activity level. I am active in spirit though (very important), holding down a full time job, house, car, cat and many interests, though not actively sporty; I do work out, but not intensely. I believe if I were sweating daily, I’d have greater thirst for water, because when I was young that was the case. Activity has a lot to do with need for water intake, I lead a sedentary lifestyle at least half my day and don’t seem to have thirst. Age is possibly a factor for me too. One size just doesn’t fit all in this matter, my opinion. Whatever you do, it’s more important not to stress about your water intake; stress (or in fact distress) is a major factor for illnesses – one has to find the balance. I listen to my body and respond to what it asks for, as promptly as possible. Sometimes it asks for chocolate – I respond!! When I crave red fruits and veg, I’m pretty sure my iron must be low; when I crave nuts and salmon, I know my body is asking for healthy oils, probably Omega 3 fatty acids.
If you are wishing to try more water intake at least to a little degree, here are a couple of things I’ve achieved as suggestions for you:
- mix juice half and half with water instead of 100% juice; it took me a while to reach 50% water with the juice, I increased to this amount slowly over time and now find 100% juice too sweet.
- drink tea/coffee black (or in my case green tea), nothing added; I take these beverages weak but as fresh as possible several times a day – that’s a lot of water consumption right there.
Good luck, you have a great attitude.
Great tips, Frieda!!