All Wet

I don’t love drinking water.  If I let myself, I can drink soda all day long, but I find water more challenging.  I’m getting better, but I figure other folks might need some tactics, too.  Here are a few:

• Know why.  I know we make irrational decisions all the time, but it is useful to have some logic behind our decisions so that we can use our grown-up voice on ourselves when we would rather have another cup of coffee, a Big Gulp, or another shot of whiskey instead.  Hydration helps our bodies function better.  It makes us nicer and smarter (really!  I didn’t make it up!).  It has no calories and no weird chemicals in it, so it is guilt-free.

• Add ice, or heat.  Some of us prefer our water really cold.  Others find that a little too nasty and prefer room temperature or even hot water.  Do whatever makes your body feel best.

• Make it fancy.  Whether we go for fizzy water in bottles or with a snazzy device, it’s great if it gets the water into our systems.  Ditto for mint, cucumber, berries, lemons, or any other infusions.  For bonus points, we can pretend it’s a cocktail.

• Get a great cup, bottle, or glass.  I had a favorite cup and now I have an even more favorite insulated travel cup that keeps my water cold pretty much indefinitely, even in a hot car.

• Track and reward.  If we’re still struggling, some of us can benefit from logging how much we drink and giving ourselves small incentives to keep going.  I have been amazed more than once at how much people will do for a gold star sticker.

• Whatever else works.  We’re all creative and I’m sure other folks have better ideas than I do.  Bottom line:  do it!