Day 24: Drink a glass of water before each meal & snack

[Leanna]

We’ll be posting a new challenge every day leading up to summer! Follow along here, on the blog, or using this calendar.

There’s only one week left of our 30-day summer countdown! We know you all can keep it up through the end. For today’s challenge, we’re even keeping it pretty simple: Drink a glass of water before each meal & snack.

There are a lot of different opinions about how much water is the “right” amount to drink each day. But there have been studies that show that drinking a glass of water 30 minutes before each deal can help reduce calorie intake.

We also turned to Barry’s Bootcamp instructor Erica Steinz for her tips about hydration:

Another common fear is holding onto water weight so people intake less water than is suggested before an event, photo shoot, etc. It’s actually smarter to drink a lot more water to flush out the sodium in your body so that your body does NOT retain water a week prior to the event. Then reduce the amount of water a day or two before you want to look slim in those pictures!

Want a bonus challenge? Barry’s Bootcamp owner/instructor Adam Shane had this to add:

Squeeze the juice from half a lemon (or a whole lemon if you’re over 150 pounds) into a cup of water.  Lemon is a great source of vitamin C.  Make sure the water is room temperature, because cold water can shock your system and prevent all of the many health benefits from starting to work.  The citrus fruit has the potential to clear up anything from your skin to a nasty cold.  Some of the many benefits include:  hydration (the obvious one), freshens your skin (vitamin C assists in the production of collagen, so having more in your diet can prevent wrinkles from forming), helps with aches and pains (lemon water can help reduce uric acid in our joints, which is one of the main causes of inflammation, especially as related to arthritis) and cleanses the liver (gives the liver that little extra boost it may or may not need).

So grab your water bottle, and get drinking! And let us know how you remind yourself to drink more water here in the comments, or using #30DaysToSummerFit.

This was originally posted on the Fitbit blog.

[SunsetRunner]

This is a cool idea.  I don't get nearly the water they recommend every day so linking it to before meals/snacks seems like it will help.  We'll see.  Thanks for the tip!

[HelenaFitbit]

I am not a person who is accustomed to water, so to get myself in the right path to increasing my water intake I am infusing my water with strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, mint, pineapple, cucumber, lemon and much more! There are so many combinations and they are all yummy. 

[Skinnygirl121]

I am new to Fitbit but since using it I have managed to drink the recommended 8 glasses a day. I use a water bottle that holds three glasses and try to drink most of it while on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I finish the rest on my drive to work and then fill it again and drink it before noon. I try to fill it again and drink the last one before 5:00; but I've also finished it on my drive home when I didn't finish it at work.  On the weekends are harder because I have so many more options for drinking at home.

[HelenaFitbit]

Hello @Skinnygirl121 ! That is a great idea 

I usually forget to drink my water, so I wrote with permanent marker on my bottle, to have a certain amount already in by a certain time. 

For the weekends, try some tea! Turning it into a sweet iced tea with natural ingredients may do the trick. I've used Dragonfruit Devotion from teavanna as an iced tea and it is wonderful!

[Skinnygirl121]

I use to frequent Teavana. Thanks for sharing .

[Giggra]

Will there be a 2015 summer challange?

[smoggy]

I'm not one to drink much water, and when I feel thirsty, I know I'm now dehydrated. So I infuse my water with Lemon (have a Myer Lemon Tree), and water inhansers.  They are tasty and zero calories!  Anything trick to make me drink more water. I also like iced tea in the summer, so drink a few glasses a day of that also.  Thanks everyone - and Cheers to your water intake!!

[LadyLinda]

very nice and yes my mom told me that trick a while back!

[short-n-sassy]

Good Advice.  I have been using water bottles that have the ounces  on them.  That way I sure to get enough. I have three water containers that all look alittle different. Each one is different  color. I never leave the house  without one  of them.  Also I liked the idea of infusing the  water with fruits, cucumbers and mint. 

[Skinnygirl121]

Hi Helena, Sorry I've been out of touch. Trying to get my scale and flex to sync and haven't been on for a while. So sorry that i am just now reading your message.  Gaining weight rapidly.