Water

[sefloc21]

I don't know about anyone else but I have never been much of a water drinker.  64ozs of water is alot and I am lucky to be able to drink 2 glasses.

Any suggestions to make it easier to do.

[gvanzant1]

My doctor told me about a year ago that my kidneys were showing signs of kidney disease.  He told me to start drinking 64 oz/day of water (sodas, coffee, hot and iced tea DO NOT count towards this).  Yes, it's intimidating, but I broke it down by 8oz every hour for 8 hours.  I now find this is pretty easy to reach.  After a year, my kidney function is returning to normal.  My doctor has now upped my water intake to 96oz./day, so I'm doing the 8oz thing but for 12 hours instead of 8.  

[asuri0423]

The last couple of weeks I've been average about 104 (13 glasses) a day simply because it's so hot here and if I don't drink enough water I get dehydrated and get headaches.  I've never particularly enjoyed drinking water, but I find that if I keep a 16oz cup next to me at work all day I'll fill it up atleast 4 times between a typical 8am-4pm workday. I usually drink another 16oz when I workout in the morning. When I get home after work I drink another 16oz while I'm making/with dinner and then probably fill it up one more time after dinner/before bed. The hard part for me is making sure I'm drinking enough water on the weekends when I'm constantly on the move.

So I guess my suggestion for making it easier to consume more water is to just always keep a glass near you. If it's sitting in front of you you're more likely to drink it then if you have to get up and fill a glass.  Also I find I drink more water if its at room temperature rather then cold.

[Giftie]

I think we are forgetting here that the amount of processed foods and sodium that we Americans normally eat. This makes the need for drinking an adequate amount of water daily vital to our health. From Healthgate: "Your body is approximately 60 percent water, your brain is 70 percent water, and your lungs are nearly 90 percent water. Each day, your body must replace 2.4 liters -- or about 2.5 quarts of water -- through ingested liquid and foods."

Your concern should be replacing the water you lose daily, if your active even moreso. I suggest getting Mio flavor enhancers or another on the go flavor enhancers if you don't just like plain water. I've learned to love it but I used to hate it. I used to despise my coaches telling me I HAD to drink more water, but over time I gained a better understanding of what water does for your body. I drink it if I'm feeling hungry but I recently ate to see if i'm really just thirsty. I drink it with and in between meals. I keep a 32 oz bottle at my desk at work and try to fill it up twice a day. If I don't make it, that's okay. I have the 16.9 oz water bottles ready at home (because I'm lazy and it's the easiest way to make sure I can just grab and drink it.)

I actually get ticked off if I run out of water at the house - I actually went out at 11 pm one night to pick up some water because of this.

Just start slow, don't debate on how much to drink right now, just start with getting in more than you do now. Each week try to drink more than the last. Do the "pee test" and when it's clear you'll know your drinking enough.

You can do it!

[DarkHorse]

Paleo, I am of the opinion that if you are more active (you say you have a demanding training schedule therefore you would need more water.) you will require more water.

mdxcruz is right that taking in too much water will make your kidneys work too hard, and cause you to deplete vital minerals too quickely. 

David Rogers died at the end of his marathon race in England after he had consumed too much water during his race. Alos a fitness instructor died from hyponatraemia, or water intoxication. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_intoxication

[josephz2va]

I noticed most of those said during a race or event or consuming within one or two hours. Even 4 gallons of water and Gatorade before and during football practice (typically 2 to 2.5 hours long). I'm mostly sedentary and stretched four gallons in 8 hours. Hasn't phased me yet.

One thing I do caution reading this is not to consume anything during personal training. It does make me sick during those sessions. Like holding a low plank after drinking 8 ounces.

[RivalDealer]

I have never been much of a water drinker but I manage it now and have been doing so for a couple of months now.

Key things I remind myself are:

• Don't drink calories - I would rather save these for food
• Often when I used to think I was hungry, I was actually thirsty, I know this now and don't get hungry much at all.
• I eat less now so my body needs more water
• Water is important for fat loss
• I am very lucky to have safe drinking water straight from a tap at home

With these reminders I find it easy to drink water.

[DominicJ]

The "science" behind drink 8 glasses per day is pretty weak.

I probably drink 20glasses on a work day, just keep a bottle of water on your desk and have a sip everytime you pause.

Yes, drinking too much water can be fatal, the people who die from drinking too much water are generally mentally unwell and drink 800 glasses of water per day.

Never going to be a problem for you.

[VivisFitbit]

My husband used to drink a lot of soda. So I prepared natural beverages for him like lemonade, orange juice, etc.  Eventually he started to drink watter, now he drinks 2 litters of water. 

[Paradise555]

For me,I just don't really like the taste of water so I try the low cal flavors. Some taste awesome and some taste yuck. Just my insight but it has helped a lot.