How do I drink more water?

Are you drinking water with meals? I find washing something down, even a single chip, causes you to drink more than you could by itself.

Also, keep it at hand. A refillable bottle is worth investing in. If you like it ice cold, get a vacuum insulated vessel.

You go: "Wow, I'm an adult now and sometimes I have to do things I don't want to do". And then you drink the water.

The fact of the matter is that almost nobody's favorite beverage is water, but in a display of forbearance (combined with not being too fond of the whole dehydration thing) we drink it anyway.

Additives and things can help you in the near term, but developing good habits takes time and effort (and is very often the cornerstone of good health).

does sparkling help? cucumber, slice of lemon, orangeslice?

I know a lot of people get those huge bottles and it helps them - just having it with them all the time 🤔

Start by adding some flavour, like slices of lemon or orange. In time you'll start to like how hydrated you are. Just don't put sugar into it.

Just drink it.

Big Water Bottle has everyone convinced that we need to be chugging water 24/7.

Unless you live in a really hot place and work outside, or have some other risk factor (like dementia or diarrhea), thirst should be enough to keep you hydrated enough.

If you dont have additional risk factors, and you dont just exist in a constant state of thirst, I wouldn't worry about it.

I had this exact conversation with an (online) coworker. I will just feel compelled to drink cups of water, sometimes multiple in a row, and feel refreshed. They don’t exactly taste good but we’re wired to find it pleasant.

My coworker said he had to basically remember to drink water. When he’s exercising it’s more instinctual.

Well I was shocked the first time I actually met this coworker, at the Dubai office where he works from. The water there felt wrong! Apparently I was having good tasting water my whole life. I was kind of dehydrated the entire trip. Literally all the water there didn’t feel refreshing, honestly. It comes out of desalination factories, I get it, it’s still water, but it’s something to think about. I’ve appreciated my delicious Lebanese mineral water a lot more since then.

I hope this doesn’t sound out of touch, I understand most people in many countries can just drink tap water safely, and bottled is seen as a luxury and not a cheap necessity like it is here. But maybe try changing the water? All the answers here feel blasphemous to me. Cucumbers? Flavors?

Just drink water. You've ruined yourself over all these years by drinking juice/soda/Brawndo. You keep buying into the lie that "you don't like water".

You'll get used to it and eventually come to want water. It's literally what your body craves. Humans have existed for 300 millenia; mass produced sugary drinks have only existed for what, 100 years? You've evolved to drink water.

Tap water? If so, try filtered water, get a good, credible filter and filter the water. Depending on where you live there's a fair amount of materials in the water that make it unpleasant.

Try adding more water to dishes you eat, have soup and put in a couple ice cubes and drink all the broth.

There's various ways to flavour water to make it more enjoyable. Common ones are listed by Witchfire, but there's also commercial products that may help. Just try to avoid the ones with caffeine in them.

Really, you have to probably train yourself to enjoy water. Have a piece of chocolate or something with water. Associate it with positive acts. Pavlov yourself.

For me, having a large water bottle within arms reach at all times is what helped me start staying hydrated. I used to use gallons of water from the store and refill them until I felt it was time for a new one, but now I have a nice 64oz water bottle. Importantly for me, I don't like sucking on a straw to drink water. It's too much work and too slow. I like my water just cooler than room temperature. Having that in arms reach at all times means every time I started feeling hungry, I could drink water because I was actually thirsty and it felt the same to me.

Herbal tea, hot or cold. Add flavour to your water - crush a couple frozen berries in the glass, add mint, add citrus slices. Try different temperatures: iced, room temp, just boiled. Drinking from a glass or cup instead of a bottle can help.

Just having it right there works best for me.

Make it the first thing you drink when you wake up.

One thing to consider is that your relationship with taste might need to be re-examined.

Human beings can go most places in the world and find food. Taste is a big part of our ability to do so as a species, sure, but the fact remains that being able to eat/drink solely to satiate your desires (rather than survival) is actually an abnormality if we compare it to the rest of human history. In a sense, it is a privilege to simply be able to say 'no' to something strictly based on the flavor.

Try to guage it based on how you feel rather than how it tastes. You should be able to feel the difference between how a day with only water feels vs a day without water (I'm not including beer or soda here, yes it can keep you hydrated no it is not a solution to hydration unless you're trapped in a desert). If it's hard for you to notice a difference, give it a week. Being regularly hydrated should effect how you feel at every part of the day, especially in the mornings.

A different approach to the not liking water, get a good filter. I used breta filters for years but a few years back installed an under sink reverse osmosis filter because the water here is so hard that it just tastes bad whether left hard or softened. I knew water could be better because I grew up with decent water and liked it even back when I preferred pop or juice.

I wonder if anyone who claims to dislike water has only ever had subpar water. Note that I include a bunch of bottled waters in that, as I vastly prefer my RO tap water to any store bought bottled water, though some were on par with breta filtered water, though I've always hated the waste involved in buying bottled water (other than those big ones you can refill and stick in a water cooler, which can also be RO water if you have a good water place to get it from).

If you do go for RO, make sure the system you get has an extra stage that adds some minerals back into the water. The RO on its own actually leaves the water too pure to be safe to drink regularly, as it causes osmosis to pull nutrients out of your cells (or something like that). I'd also only suggest it in an area where water is plentiful, as it does use more water than what you get from the filter, though adding a passive pump can improve efficiency.

I've started making my espresso drinks with more water for that reason. Yes, it tastes more 'watery' but I get more water so - win?

Why do you think you're chronically dehydrated? Is your urine brown? Have you been fainting? Do you have kidney stones? (I don't actually want to know - please don't share your personal health information on the internet - but if the answer to any of those questions is yes please see a doctor.) Otherwise if the answer to those questions is "no" you are likely getting more then enough hydration. It's a myth that we need 8 glasses of water a day or need to be constantly drinking water to be "hydrated." Just keep your water of choice available and drink when you are thirsty. You don't need to (and shouldn't) force yourself to drink beyond that. Our bodies are really good at self regulation and forcing more fluid into our system just equates to extra unnecessary trips to the bathroom. You don't need to force yourself to "like" water. If it's the only thing you have on hand to drink you'll drink it when you get thirsty.

Keeping water at arms reach is probably what helps the most. But I read a few things when I was pregnant that really helped me with upping my water intake.

1. Have water at bedside table. When you wake in the middle of the night have a few big gulps before going back to sleep.

2. Have a drinking vessel with a straw. Something about moving head down or up making drinking difficult, a straw might help.

And of course, not everyone needs two litres of water a day. Hope it helps!

If you have a stationary job, then just plop a big ass water bottle with a straw on the desk between you and the keyboard for easy access. Water is the only thing I drink after only drinking iced tea every day until I was 18. Remove everything that isn’t water from your home. Turn your bottle into your fidget toy if you have to, having a straw helps even if you use it to open and close it. Hopefully before you know it you won’t even realize you’re drinking water. You don’t need to enjoy it. Same way people don’t enjoy medicine, you put up with because you’re an adult. If that seems too daunting, then you have some other demons you may need to tackle first before being able to get onto water.

Water tastes better with a few grains of salt or a slice of lemon in it (it's got what plants crave)

career change to a warehouse. you'll go through like 20 bottles a day

Get the flavor packets, don't let people shame you for it either! Just get fucking hydrated!

Get a big insulated metal jug 1 liter or more, keep it in arms reach when sitting around or wherever convenient for where you spend time. Get a second one for work. Make it a goal to empty it at least once, preferably twice a day. Can't stay hydrated when the water is in a different room. Water next to the bed beacuse that shit hits different at 3am.

Store any liquor, pop, beer, etc in an inconvenient location so the water is always the lazy and low effort option. No mini-fridge at the gaming setup. Your taste will adjust over a few weeks.

is this a "how to eat an elephant" type of question? (one bite at a time)

Have you tried various sources of water? I can usually taste the difference between various bottled waters, let alone tap water from different places. Maybe you don't like the local tap water.

Maybe try some peppermint tea and other herbal infusions?

I've moved over to an amazing zingy/spicy lemon ginger lemongrass licorice root loose leaf that's incredible.

My point is, herbals might be a good way to go. The thing to watch out for is the weak watery stuff - this is tea after all... If you're a coffee drinker this might all be a bit bland. Also, stay away from the green and lack teas, they're all still caffeine from tea leaves

Add flavoring, like ginger + citrus, melisse, tea. Some teas also can make you more thirsty.

Eat more fruit. The water in it will help you hydrate

100% get a water bottle and carry it with you. Reduces the effort needed to take a sip. Additionally, try to drink less sweet drinks too. I never liked fizzy drinks anyways.

Try getting a soda stream to add a bit of fizz to your water. That might make it more enjoyable to drink.

Squeeze-it water enhancer. There’s several hundred different flavors, you can add however much you want at that time, so you can make it stronger or weaker as the mood hits you. Most are typically 0 cal, but IIRC there are some that have no sweetener at all. Search for “water enhancer”, but here are some examples. I’ll also make them go further by adding them to some iced tea, so you can make an Arnold Palmer. Variety is the spice of life.

if you really are worryingly dehydrated and find regular water unpalatable, just get some cheap sugar-free drink.
Yeah it's technically better to drink regular water but who cares, you should enjoy life and if you struggle to drink enough then that is an infinitely bigger problem.

For me, it was having a water filter and drinking out of glasses, not cups. I don't like the way water tastes coming out of plastic or steel as much.

My wife also hates drinking water. I then bought a soda stream and her consumption increased 5X. No flavoring. Just water.

I have since bought an external soda bottle to reduce cost.

Step one, fill cup with water.

Step two, drink cup.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you've drank enough water.

Maybe eating foods that have high water content like cucumbers, watermelons, etc? Or if you find a non-water beverage more enjoyable than water, drink that—all beverages contain water.

Cool (not cold), with no ice. Filtered.

Eat savory snacks.

Keep the water in an open-top container so you can gulp rather than being limited by a straw.

I heat it up and pretend its a hot drink (it is)

Carbonated water. Either with or without a hint of something

Maybe you need to make the experience better? I saw that you have a water bottle, but I personally find drinking straight from a bottle or canteen less enjoyable. What has helped me was making it more a 'ritual.' I have a cute stainless steel canteen, and when I'm at home I also have a nice glass. Pouring water into a glass cup and drinking from there just feels nicer. I use a specialty glass that's more designed for drinking coffee, and it makes the water feel so much smoother and overall more enjoyable.

Cleaning a little glass cup is also easier than washing a canteen or bottle.

Try drinking tea or flavoured water. Coffee can also hydrate you or juices but don't drink too much sugary drinks and coffee. Drink when you feel thirsty.

My water intake is pretty high, but it does vary seasonally - in summer, I’ll go through 5L easily. I think that most people could stand to increase their water intake, and reports of hyperhydration are overstated - it’s mostly a paediatric problem.

• Learn to just drink a whole cup at once. Then do that on a schedule. Every hour through the working day gets you to the 2L per day generic recommendation. Then add a couple glasses at and after dinner.
• I don’t want to recommend bottled water because it’s environmentally reprehensible, but find a way to make water taste neutral. Part of that, though, is just getting used to it.
• building on that taste thing - it’s probably better for the long term to get used to it than to always add flavor.
• Find out if you like it better warm or cold. A lot of people insist on cold water, but I don’t like cold water. It takes too long to drink without a brain freeze effect, unless I want something specifically to cool me down, which is infrequent.

what about fizzy water (get a water fizzing device) or hot/warm water or filtered water ?

learn to enjoy drinking it.

good habits don't magically happen, you have to use your willpower.

You can also try seltzer or flavored waters if that helps or filtering it. plenty of tap water can taste bad.

I don't get the whackadole 'hacks' people are going on about here. I drink 2-3L of water per day, and 4-5L if I'm active. I drink it because I'm thirsty and it's delicious.

I also grew up barely drinking anything, definitely never any water. Now I buy carbonated (mineral) water. It tastes better and is refreshing. It helps to buy a few and put them within reach so you're reminded. Keep one next to your bed. After a while you'll notice dehydration when you forget to drink. Probably you never noticed before if you were always used to it.

Walter with lemon or lime taste and lots of sizzle

I'll sometimes boil water and steep a few tea bags in a 1 bottle. Put it in the fridge and have it the next day. There are plenty of types of tea out there, so it's flavoured water.

I sometimes prefer this to fruits and veg because by the end of the day if I've forgotten to eat the fruit and veg, they just go mushy and it gets wasted.

Get your doctor to prescribe it and/or treat it like medicine and take your prescribed "dose" on a schedule.

I got into drinking water by buying some good apple juice and adding some (no a lot. And less over time) to the water in a thermos bottle.

Eventually I got a water filter jug for the fridge and switched to mostly just drinking water, still by filling up the thermos bottle.

I think it's more important to get into the habit of drinking enough first, and you can transition to water later.

Water enhancers. Mio, Gatorade tabs, etc.

Have a source within arms reach 24/7 and drink as much as you can everytime you think about it. That’s it. It’s one of the many annoying maintenance items of life, just get used to it like brushing your teeth. Eventually you’ll hate how you feel when you don’t do it, and this outweighs the annoyance.

Try high pH water, normal water is painful to drink, but high pH water is much smoother.

Eat salty and spicy snacks. I like jalapeno kettle chips and wasabi almonds.

It helped me a great deal to get a hydration backpack usually intended for sports. I dont even leave the pc a lot but its 3L of water storage that can be consumed while having both hands free (except start&end for like 3 seconds). It needs a bit of getting used to drinking out of a mouth piece but else its the most convinient way of drinking water

Im in your boat being a soda holic but I have found that having water with you always cold and plenty even if you have something else. You will find you drink it and the more you drink it the more you do. Its the habit of keeping it on hand at that point which is the limiting factor.

My daughter eats spicy food when she decides to drink more water.

Would an alarm reminding you to drink help? And then tracking how much you drank? If you're not motivated to drink the water, you might need an external cue. And if you dont track a new habit you won't know how well you are doing, might only remember/focus on failures, etc.

A watch or phone alarm every 30 min could be good. As for tracking, anything from pen and paper to a fancy fitness tracker.

Electrolytes

The advice about keeping water nearby is good. I do that. Although I still sometimes forget anyway lol.

Besides that: Is flavor the problem or do you just not like having to drink period?

If it’s flavor: Add a tiny bit of a drink you do like. I add maybe like 5-10% apple juice to my water at meals. Just enough to get some of the flavor without adding too much sugar.

If it’s the 2nd: There are others sources of water. Most fruits work and they also come with fiber, which is also important for hydration.

Also, unlikely to apply here, but worth mentioning: When I was having problems being dehydrated, I talked to my doctor about it and we figured out that one issue was that I was mostly drinking filtered water, which will lack a lot of the electrolytes you normally get in water. I fixed this by getting a powder to add to my water. (Filtering bc of town water supply issues.)

Do you play games? Consider it fuel/health, daily requirements. Just chug two tall glasses first thing when you get up.

Step 1) Drink a glass of water.

Step 2) Repeat.

Step 3) Repeat.

Add as many repeat steps as desired.

Maybe try ice water? I'm not much of a water person myself, but I love some cold ice water. Aside from that, my top 2 are tea/juice and Gatorade or similar.

Tea/juice is basically water with flavor. Gatorade/Powerade/similar are a great option cause it'll hydrate you and the electrolytes are good for your gut bacteria.

Another idea is to just water down the things you already drink. For sodas I think it actually makes them taste better.

force yourself, after a while you get to the point where you can taste the difference between different brands of water or from which tap it came from

Flavoured hydration powders are a solid option, as long as you're avoiding chemical sweeteners.

The trick is to make them at half the recommended strength by putting the recommended amount into double the volume of water, which will also stop you from giving yourself kidney stones by overloading you with minerals

eat more salad (if its a question of not being motivated to drink tasteless water) and if you do eat a lot of salad already then just lug around water in a little bottle when you 1. go on strolls and 2. go to bed, and sip on it.

Or you could commit to a glass of water after every time you pee/poop.

I went for white tea and soda stream

Put water in a cup, put your lips up to the opening of the cup, slowly tilt the cup toward your mouth and swallow the water that goes inside.

If your in the UK, fill up glass bottles with water and leave in the fridge overnight.

Then find a cup you like and fill with chilled water, I have a 600ml glass mug from IKEA.

I know that's not much help but it's what I do

I don't drink soda and stuff and carry a water bottle on me all times

I keep a water bottle nearby at all times and sip a bit as I remember. Honestly how often you take a sip probably matters more than how much anyway.

What I do (assuming I am at home all day) is a cycle of this:

• before going to bed, put a fresh full glass of water beside my bed
• after waking up, first thing I do is drink from it
• most likely I will now need to pee, so do that, and after washing hands, immediately refill my glass
• drink from that glass of water throughout the day when I am even slightly thirsty
• usually when I have finished a glass of water, I need to pee again; if that happens, again refill my glass after doing so
• if I've finished a glass of water but do not need to pee, I usually refill it with another drink (e.g. fruit juice) instead
• keep that cycle of refilling after using the toilet going

If I'm spending my day at the office, the first thing I do after arriving is grab a glass of water, but otherwise, same cycle.

If you have chronic heartburn or gerd, don't treat it with anything. Just take a sip of water anytime you notice it for a temporary moment of relief.

@Maven but why do you hate drinking water ?? Is it pretty cold where you live ??

Be careful. Most of the water you consume comes from food. You don't need 2 L/half gallon above and beyond what you eat per day. This is a myth from a misreading of a military study from the Republic of Gilead.

Literally whatever helps you. If drinking a bottle of coke zero every day makes you stay hydrated, it's a healthy choice.
Personally I bought an insulated flask that I carry around everywhere cause I can't stand room temp water. Just takes a while to find a good flask that's easy to clean and won't accumulate mold as much.

I'm thirsty. What do I do.

Don’t. Drinking water with meals dilutes your stomach acid. Just eat less processed food and less salt and you’ll barely need to drink any water. Cooked vegetables and fruit are both mostly water.

Only time you need to drink water is when exercising outdoors for extended periods, and even then it’s about 3-4 liters per day (including food).

Also despite a lot of bogus advice out there, coffee is water, beer is 94% water. I have gone months with only coffee and beer and it’s not a problem.

Finally that brings us to kidney stones. Avoid high oxalate foods, and if you are worried about stones drink lemon water or other acidic beverages, as it dissolves stones better than plain water.

Chronic mild dehydration is not a disease and it does not need treatment. I am not a doctor, and this is not medical advice.

Drink when you’re thirsty. Water or any other liquid other than soda pop. You’ll probably be fine.