A common excuse for living a dehydrated life is simply not liking the taste of water. But over time, dehydration can take its toll on your physical and mental health. Our bodies consist of so much water that when you don’t get enough, your body is compromised. Although water is pretty much tasteless, we’re here to give you the benefit of the doubt if you really don’t like it. Here are five ways to drink more water when you don’t like it.
1. Order a HidrateSpark smart water bottle.
Here at BetterYou, we’re big believers in the HidrateSpark. It’s a Bluetooth water bottle that tracks your water intake and lights up when you’re falling short of your goal. It can pick a healthy intake goal for you, or you can set your own. It’s easily trackable on an app for iOS, Android, and even your Apple Watch. This bottle is not only fun to use, it takes the work out of remembering to drink enough because of the light-up feature. It may still taste like water, but with HidrateSpark it’s a lot more fun.
2. Infuse it to drink more water.
Buy a pitcher and infuse some fruit, vegetables and herbs (mint or basil) into your water to create a healthy substitute for juice or soda. Here are 27 creative combinations, but have fun making up your own. For example, try cucumber, lime and mint, or strawberry, blackberry and basil. These make great drinks to keep in your bottle on long days outside to make sure you’re intaking enough water.
3. Dilute juice and sugary drinks with water.
The benefits of doing this are twofold: You drink more water, and you consume less sugar and calories. The taste barely gets affected when you splash some water into half a glass of orange juice, Gatorade or other sugar-laden drink. This is a simple way to keep the great taste of your favorite drink while boosting your hydration.
4. Eat water-rich foods.
One way to sneak in some hydration and enjoy some healthy fruits and vegetables is to plan water-rich foods into your daily diet. They’re really filling because of the water content, even though this is short-term and not equated to long-term satiation. Generally speaking, you can eat a lot of these foods for relatively low calories, meaning they’re great to bulk up your meals while boosting hydration. Foods with the highest water content include watermelon, strawberries, peaches, cucumber, zucchini, grapefruit and cantaloupe.
5. Resort to sparkling water.
Although plain old water is always your best bet, sparkling water is a great alternative. It can help satisfy that soda craving if you’re trying to quit, and for some it tastes way better than still water. The good news is that your favorite sparkling water, like La Croix, counts toward your daily water intake. So drink up!
