5 Sneaky Ways to Get More Water

First of all – why do we want more water?

Where to start? It makes our skin more elastic, our poops prettier, it helps the liver a TON (so the skin doesn’t have to step in and deal with toxins), and it truly flushes the whole system, like an internal cleanse. It really is one of the most powerful things you can do to max your beauty game. People will tell you to get 2 liters. I say aim for 3. 4 is tough, but even if you try to do 4 liters a day for just one week, it works like a cleanse. Then you can go down to 2-3 liters.

When I was training for an ultra, I was drinking SO MUCH water during the week. I was really surprised by how much my pooping changed. I’ll spare you the details, but it became clear that before I had started drinking so much water, there were clogs in my system I hadn’t even been aware of, and there was a level of optimal digestive and eliminative functioning I hadn’t reached. (Mind you that was at a level of 3-4 liters a day.)

Anyhoo, enough about my poop…

Here are 5 sneaky ways to get more water:

ONE.

Eat water-rich foods

These include soups, broths, or smoothies, and last but not least fruits and veggies. Veggies that contain lots of water include celery, radish, cucumber, jicama, beets, carrots, broccoli…in fact most raw fruits and veggies are 80-95% water. However, be careful to not eat too much fruit or too much “raw.” Both can contribute to acne. With Fall here, soups are a great and natural addition to the diet, and my favorite way to get water in the form of food.

TWO.

Play a drinking game

I don’t love the taste of water. So I make rules and games to help me drink it. I have a GIANT water cup by my bed upstairs and another GIANT water cup by my desk downstairs. Whenever I go into one of these places, I take a drink. If I’m at my desk all day, I have a meditation timer I set to go off every 20 minutes (No joke. And not as annoying as you think. It makes a very zen bell sound). And I drink. Another drinking game I have (since I drink a lot of coffee) is that every time I go to refresh my coffee/ get another mug, I have to drink 7 swallows of water – I like counting a lot. Yes, I’m weird. And there are water glasses everywhere – also weird. But effective.

THREE.

Premake big batches of tasty drinks

Since I don’t love water, I drink it in the form of tea or herbal/fruit infusion. If I’m making tea, I’ll brew a big batch of extra concentrated strength tea, and mix this with hot water to make regular strength tea. Here are the recipes I’m currently loving.

For tea, I add 4 bags ginger tea, 3 bags mint, a pinch or two of loose gynostemma and 2 bags green tea to a giant french press (not sure how many, guessing 64 oz?) then fill that 3/4 of the way with hot water. I usually fill a cup 1/4 of the way with the tea concentrate, and the rest of the way with hot water.

For a cold herbal infusion, I’ll do herbal tea bags, cranberry juice, lemon and water in a big pitcher and stick it in the fridge.

Avoid adding sugar or stevia if you can.

There are actually two tips here:

ONE: Flavor your agua!

TWO:  Premake big batches, so you don’t have the excuse of not having enough time or energy to make yourself a delicious hydrating drink, and there’s A LOT for you to guzzle as needed.

FOUR.

Frontload

Usually, when you wake up, you’re knid of thirsty anyways since you’ve just gone the night without drinking. And you’re half asleep, so you’re not even aware of what’s happening. I fill a water cup at night, and in the morning, just as I’m getting out of bed, I’ll chug as much as I can/want. Ritual. It’s a powerful thing.

FIVE.

Set a goal and make it visual

I got this idea from Peggy of Yoga for Surfers fame (google it). Take a beautiful glass – one that makes you happy to drink out of. And then calculate how many times you would need to refill that glass to get AT LEAST 2 liters of water daily (4 is even better!). Take some brightly colored rubber bands and put one band for each time a refill is needed around the glass. Then, as you refill your glass through the day, take a band off each time. You’ll know exactly how much you drank and how much more you need to! And it will be fun and beautiful!

SIX.

Put the water everywhere!

If it’s always right underhand, you’ll be more likely to drink it. I have cups of water in practically every room. Carry a water bottle with you. Order water with your meals and when at the bar.

Whatever you do, make it EASY and FUN. Drinking water may feel like a chore, but it is SO good for you and SO important to the health of our digestion, liver and skin. As a last resort, remind yourself that you are not MAKING yourself drink water. You are CHOOSING to drink water for the health of your beautiful, precious body and face.

xx

C