Does your wee smell?  Is it dark coloured? Do you often feel thirsty? Does your skin feel dry? Do you often get headaches?… Odds are you’re not drinking enough water.

Did you know that 80% of Australians are chronically dehydrated? By the time you are feeling thirsty your body is already dehydrated.

Are you drinking enough water every day?

On average men are suggested to drink 2.6 litres of water a day and women 2.1 litres.  Thats before you take into account exercise, weather etc.

Most people  don’t drink enough water.  Think about what it does to your looks when you are dehydrated – you look older.  

Water is such an important part of your body’s ability to function optimally and most of us aren’t drinking enough of it.  

  1. MONITOR: Write down how much liquid you have consumed today and how much of that was plain water.  Update the list every day to track your water intake.
  2. LOCATION: place water bottles at your usual places – car, work desk, next to the bed.
  3. MEASURED CONTAINER: get a  BPA free container and measure how much water it takes to fill it. Determine how many times to fill it throughout the day to make 2 litres
  4. REGULAR INTAKE: Drink water first thing you wake up and at least half an hour before meals – helps keep uptake
  5. REPLACE just ONE other form of liquid with one glass of water – eg: cup of coffee, juice, soft drink, energy drink, 
  6. BATHROOM BREAK – every time you go to the toilet drink a glass of water
  7. COMPLIMENT – every time you have a cup of tea or coffee, a soft drink, a juice or an alcoholic beverage – have a glass of water as well

hydrate your body for optimal performance.

We need water in our bodies for so many reasons:

  1. our bodies are made up of 60% water
  2. our brains are made up of  73% water 
  3. our blood is made up of  83% water
  4. needed for our cells, tissue and organs to function well 
  5. transports important nutrients and elements such as oxygen  around the body
  6. removes wastes and toxins
  7. regulates temperature in the body

We lose water from our bodies through sweating, breathing and digestion (excretion)

By keeping up your water intake you will:

  1. be more clear headed and focused
  2. improve your mood
  3. improve your exercise performance
  4. look younger
  5. have more energy
  6. be less constipated

Did you know that only 50% of plain water is used for hydration.  The rest is from soft drinks, alcohol, milk tea and coffee. Then – there are other complications related to drinking stimulants, diuretics, or harmful chemicals.  

Here’s some easy tips on keeping hydrated:

  1. use a water container that has known volume eg: holds 1 litre so that you can keep tabs on how much you are drinking every day
  2. keep a BPA free container of water in your car, on your desk and carry one around with you
  3. have a drink of water when you get up and before meals and snacks

It’s not that hard to keep your water intake and your body will LOVE you for keeping it healthy on the inside.  Besides you’ll look younger for it too!