Hi people! How is February going? With the way the sun in this Lagos is ehn, I’ve had to keep making myself drink a lot of water to avoid being dehydrated. One of my goals for February is to pay more attention to my skincare routine, part of which is drinking a lot of water. Apparently, it not only helps the skin but also helps the body generally. It detoxifies your system and speeds up metabolism.  It helps to lubricate your joints, protect your brain and other internal tissues, regulate your body temperature and remove waste from your body through urination, bowel movements, and perspiration. It is basically a healthy life routine. You can easily get tired and dehydrated when you don’t take enough water.

It has, however, been a really difficult task. I actually never knew it would be so hard just to drink water but here I am. Oh well, I had to come up with ways to make it easier for me to drink more water and since they worked for me, I’ll be sharing them with you today.

• Invest in a water bottle.

Yes. It is an investment. Invest in a water bottle and not just any bottle but one that you love. I read somewhere that you are more likely to drink more water when you really like your water bottle. So make sure you are not using an ugly ass bottle. You can make your bottle yourself or customize it to make it more personal. You are more likely to drink more when you have a personal attachment to your bottle. You might also like to get a bottle with a sip straw. It is more encouraging to drink and you are just going “sip sip sip” the whole day.

• Time-Mark your bottle and keep track

If it is still hard to stick to your water drinking goals, make use of time-marked bottles. This would help you to have the goal in mind as you sip. You would be encouraged to reach the goal this way. You can make use of pre-marked bottles like this one I saw on Etsy for about $15.

Or you can make yours like this one.

• Add water drinking to your routine

You should endeavour to make water drinking a part of your routine. If there are things you do constantly, make water drinking a part of that routine. You can decide to take a sip at every rest in your workout, after using the restroom, before eating, etc. Have a bottle of water with you at all times. This way you become used to it as a part of these activities.

• Spice it up

It can get boring to just be drinking water so be sure to spice up your water drinking. You can flavor it with fruits like lemon, orange, strawberries etc. You can also try different types of water like, spring, mineral, sparking water, flavoured etc.

• Eat your water

There are some foods that have high water content. Try to eat more of these foods. Some of the fruits and veggies with high water content are carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, watermelons, strawberries, grapefruit, grapes etc.

• Use an app

In order to avoid forgetting, use an app that would remind you and track your progress. There are a lot of such apps for both iOS and Android. I use this Water Drink Reminder app on my phone (android) and it helps a lot in both reminding and tracking me.

• Reward yourself

The human brain likes to be rewarded. Make a plan to reward yourself when you reach your drinking goal. You can buy yourself a book or something nice you want. You can give yourself more screen time and so on. Just let your brain make drinking water associated with a nice feeling.

• Start slow

If you have not been drinking a lot of water before, don’t rush yourself. Start slowly. Don’t just start forcing yourself to drink 8 glasses of water. You can start with a bottle and have a goal to finish it. Then you can gradually increase your goal.

Other tips: Keep refilling your bottle. Drink water anytime you pass by the water dispenser. Track your progress. Choose water instead of soda, juice etc. If you really want to take juice or soda, you can dilute it with water. That way you’ll be drinking more water. You would be able to tell when you are drinking more water. Your urine for example, would be more of a light-to-medium yellow (or clear). If that yellow is more of amber, it usually means you’re not getting enough water.

Yaaayyy you stayed till the end. That is it guys! These are tips that are working for me and so I really hope they work for you too. I can’t wait to hear about your glow.

Are you a water drinker? If yes, how do you do it? If no, why not? Let me know in the comments.

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Much Love,

Your tiny-eyed storyteller.