As stupid as it sounds, drinking water is something I'm super passionate about! It's been estimated that as many as 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated, even though we're fortunate enough to have access to clean drinking water. Drinking water not only keeps your organs functioning and cleans out your body, but it also increases your metabolism and gives you more energy. In the last 6 months I've made a specific effort to drink way more water, so I thought I would share the benefits I've personally seen, as well as some of my tips for drinking more water! We've all heard the "drink half of your body weight in ounces" advice, but I personally don't feel like that's nearly enough for me, and over the past 6 months I've aimed to drink at least 100oz a day.
5 Benefits I've Seen from Drinking More Water
1 | significantly fewer headaches
Growing up and through high school and college, I got headaches all the time, including a decent amount of migraines. I figured it was just a fact of life for me. But since I've really upped my water intake, I've had very few headaches! Amazing right?? That's not to say I don't still get one from time to time, but it's like a once a month kind of thing rather than multiple times a week!
2 | plumper, more glowing skin
I'm sure you've heard the advice that drinking a ton of water is the best thing you can do for your skin, and I 100% believe it. I've definitely noticed a difference in my skin the past 6 months. It has much more of a glow, as well as more fullness!
3 | more energy
While I'm not a huge caffeine addict (I stopped drinking my daily soda back in college and rarely drink coffee), I was drinking green tea nearly every day (which, to be fair, is really good for you). However, I've noticed since upping my water intake that I rarely need a caffeine boost and have so much more energy.
4 | far less bloating
As females, and hell as humans, bloating is a part of life. But since I've upped my water intake I noticed far less of it, even during my period! Flatter tummy? Yes please!
5 | a calmer mind, and less anxiety
This was a completely unexpected benefit for me, but I started noticing the change a few months ago. I've always been a stresser and prone to anxiety. For as long as I can remember, my mind has been all over the place, I've felt anxious about nearly everything, and my heart has felt so fluttery all the time - such an icky feeling. But in the past 6 months I've noticed how much calmer I am. My mind feels calmer and clearer, and my heart doesn't race and flutter as often. I still stress quite a bit, but the anxiousness is not nearly as prevalent. I think reducing caffeine has definitely played a roll, but overall I just feel better now that I'm more hydrated - like my body and mind are working how they're supposed to. I can't tell you what a great feeling that is!
So, have I talked you into drinking more water yet?? If so, here are some of my favorite tips for drinking more water...
My Tips for Drinking More Water
1 | use a water tracking app
Once I made the decision to drink more water, I started using a tracking app, and it's helped me so much! It's easy to let hours go by without drinking anything, but the app helps keep me on track! I also like having the competition with myself to reach my goal. I use the My Water app (although there are tons of great free ones), and it allows you to set a daily goal, to enter in all different kinds of beverages, and it will send you push notification reminders to drink more water.
2 | take a tumbler with you everywhere
My sister has always taken a huge water bottle with her everywhere, and I've started doing this too. I like using a reusable tumbler because it keeps my water super ice cold (essential for me) and then I'm not wasting tons of plastic. Trey and I are obsessed with our Corcicle tumblers and canteens! I think we have 4 or 5 between us now, and I've even given some out as gifts. My 24oz white tumbler seriously comes with me everywhere! I also love that these don't make my water taste like metal. They really are the best!
3 | use a reusable straw
I've found that I drink at least twice as much liquid when I have a straw! For this reason, I use these rubber straws with my Corkcicle tumbler. They oversized, rubbery (i.e. you can chew on them haha), and best of all, reusable! I also just ordered these stainless steel straws to completely replace my use of plastic straws (more on that later though).
4 | drink it first thing in the morning
Because our bodies are working away while we sleep, and because we don't drink water throughout the night, we can actually wake up dehydrated. Crazy, right? I like to start off my mornings by immediately filling up my tumbler with ice water, and then drinking a ton of water while I go through my morning routine! This not only jumpstarts your metabolism, and gets you off to a great start toward your water goal, but will also make you feel so much better - I promise!
I hope this post has inspired you to drink more water (and less soda, coffee, etc.)! Like I said, it's something that's really important to me, and it's always one of my biggest pieces of advice to others. If you have any other benefits or tips you would like to share, I'd love to chat in the comment section below!
I also thought I would share the super comfy loungewear I'm wearing in the photos. My top is this little thermal, and it's the softest shirt ever. I love that it's oversized, and that you can wear it different ways. I need more colors! I'm also wearing sweatpants from my favorite loungewear brand, Z Supply. Their stuff is so unbelievably soft, and their sweatpants and joggers are definitely worth the money in my opinion! I have to remember not to wear these every night when I get home from work haha.
Thank you so much for stopping by today! I'm so excited to share more lifestyle and health content with you this year, and have been really excited to put this post together!
