Easy and Painless Ways to Increase Your Water Intake

Baby Step for Day One:
Keep a measuring cup on the kitchen counter and when you are in there, fill it up to the halfway mark and drink it quickly. You are on your way to increasing your water intake and it didn't hurt much at all, did it?

Baby Step for Day Two:
Fill the measuring cup to the halfway mark again but this time do it twice today. You decide when you want to drink it and take your time or do it quickly. Just don't beat yourself up for going slowly. Building up to several cups a day will happen eventually. Already you are up to one cup and it only gets easier.

Baby Step for Day Three:
Repeat days one and two. Remember to take it slowly. Don't force it. (of course seek your doctor's opinion before changing your diet or water drinking habits and get his/her okay.)

Baby Step for Day Four:
Okay, today we will fill the cup to the halfway mark three times during the day. My idea is that keeping the amounts small makes it easier to swallow (pun intended) and also gives you time to create the habit of drinking water. Of course, if you are using bottled water you can mark the measurements directly on the bottle or just pour it into the measuring cup.

Baby Step for Day Five:
Already we are on day five and keeping it easy and painless. Today will be a repeat of day four which is one half cup three times a day at any time you want. This has you drinking one and one half cups of water a day. Add this to any fruits or vegetables you eat and your water content is at a good rate. Most health professionals say eight cups a day is best and using this method will get you there. Just remember, you don't have to get there over night and you don't have to drink eight glasses every single day for the rest of your life. Give yourself a break and take it easy. Being consistant is a great way to get and keep a good habit, no matter what it is.

Baby Step for Day Six:
Day six and we now increase our water intake to one half cup, four times a day bringing our total daily intake to two cups. Standing at the kitchen sink and drinking one half cup of water in just a few gulps takes almost no time at all.

Baby Step for Day Seven:
A day of rest or a day of repeats? You decide, but, remember to keep the measuring cup out on the counter to remind you that drinking water is good for you and is easy to do in small increments. Just keep repeating this system until you are up to sixteen one half cups a day, give or take a few. You can break it down into larger or even smaller increments. Whichever is easiest for you in any given day.

Things to keep in mind as you begin your healthy committment to drink more water:
1. Start small.
2. Take it easy and remember to measure in small increments to encourage daily hydration.
3. Don't try to beat a perfectionistic, non-existant race to be best water drinker on the planet. It's okay to drink a half cup of water.
4. Watch for signs of positive change in how your joints feel and how your skin looks. Water can even help with hot flashes during peri-menopause when our bodies need extra hydration. It even helps keep our mucous membranes moist which can help prevent urinary tract infections and also help our eyesight because our eyes can get dry during these changes. Even our gums can benefit from drinking more water.
5. Even if you drink less than the "perfect 8" a day...it counts, it helps and it's okay.