You have probably been told to drink 8 glasses of water a day. You may also feel like you would be swimming in that amount of water at the end of the day. The funny thing is that our bodies really do need a good amount of water to keep us moving and grooving.
Our bodies are made up of about 60% water with our brains being made up to 73% water. That is a lot of water!! Staying hydrated helps with many body functions including helping to keep our joints moving fluidly, prevent infection, transport nutrients to our cells, remove toxins, and regulating our body temperature. Staying hydrated has also been linked to improvement in sleep quality, cognition and mood.
Here is how to figure out how much water to drink daily:
Take your body weight in pounds, then divide by 2. This roughly equals the number of ounces daily you need to drink. Easy enough to figure out. The minimum amount of water you should be taking in daily is about 70 ounces. Here is an example:
150 lbs/2 = 75 ounces
In your ounce count, do not count tea and coffee. So if you are drinking 8 cups of coffee a day that does not count towards your fluid intake. The reason for this is both tea and coffee are diuretics, meaning they take away water from your body.
Here are some actionable tips to gain momentum towards your ounces goal:
Pick a water bottle, preferably glass or metal, where you know how many ounces it holds. From there figure out how many of those bottles you need to drink to reach your goal.
Try adding in ¼ tsp of celtic sea salt to 1 liter of water (about 32 ounces). This can help improve absorption and has the highest amount of nutrients. (Click here to find an Amazon link in case you were wondering where the heck can you find celtic sea salt.) If you are not able to get celtic salt, try pink himalyanin salt which can be found at most grocery stores.
If you don’t love the taste of water, try adding in a couple pieces of fruit or herbs for added flavor. You can also try using a glass pitcher with water and leaving fruit overnight for added flavor. Below are some of my favorite recipes to add some flavor to your water.
Here are some recipes to help with staying hydrated!
Raspberry - orange water
Thinly slice 1 orange and 1 pint of raspberries with 2 quarts of water. Let sit for 2-4 hours or overnight.
Watermelon- mint water
Cube 4 cups of watermelon and 4-6 sprigs of mint in a glass pitcher with 2 quarts of water. Let sit for 2-4 hours or overnight. You may want to strain prior to drinking.
Lemon or Lime water
Thinly slide 2 lemons or limes and place in a glass pitcher with 2 quarts of water. Let sit for 2-4 hours or overnight. You may want to strain prior to drinking.