The Fountain of Youth
Do you struggle with drinking an adequate amount of water each day, or even knowing what an adequate amount of water is for you? I know that water is not the sexiest beverage choice amongst all the options you have available to you, but I think you may find it more appealing by the time you finish reading this post!
When we are born our bodies are roughly 90% water, and when we come to the end of life our bodies are roughly 55% water. At this current phase of life your body should be about 75% water, but most of us are severely dehydrated. This means that we prematurely age ourselves whenever we refuse to give our bodies adequate amounts of water daily. Water is so vital to our health and the proper functioning of our bodies, but it is also easy to take it for granted and pass on it because we have a plethora of drink options. To help yourself desire more water, begin associating water with youthfulness and vitality. Tell yourself every time you drink water that you have found the Fountain of Youth, and you are increasing your youthfulness and vitality with each sip (think Benjamin Button)! Mind tricks are the best hacks. Another hack is to not buy other drink options for your house; out of sight, out of mind!
So how can we focus on getting more water? Glad you asked! We have to be INTENTIONAL, and set triggers for remembering to drink it. Being intentional means setting a specific goal for how much water you will drink on a daily basis. My goal is anywhere from three to six liters daily (the most I have drank is a little over four liters so far, but I’m working on it!). We hear conflicting advice on how much water we should be drinking all the time, but I believe it is important to find what is right for you. A big indicator that you are not getting enough of the good stuff is if your urine is not clear; dark colored urine should send you racing to the kitchen to fill up on water immediately! Also, if you exercise and sweat a lot, you want to make sure you are replenishing that water that you lost.
Now that you have decided how much you will drink each day, you need a good trigger for reminding you to do so. To keep me focused on my water intake I place a liter of water on my nightstand before going to bed, so I remember to drink it when I first wake up. My goal is to have a liter of water before each meal, so when I feel hungry it is a trigger for me to drink water (being dehydrated is often confused with thinking you’re hungry!). I also take out three liters of water and place them on my kitchen counter in the morning; when I go to my home office to work I take a liter with me to keep on my desk in front of me, and replace it with a new one whenever I’m done. All of these are visual aids/triggers to keep me reminded of my goal. What visual aids and triggers could you use to remind you to hydrate?
Let’s also remember that all water is not created equal. Tap water is filled with chemicals that could actually cause harm to your body over time, so you want to avoid drinking it without at least filtering out the bad stuff. I used to be really cheap with myself and refused to buy water (thank God my fridge has a filter), but the evidence of what’s in that water can be seen in stains left wherever water has been sitting for any period of time such as a bathroom or kitchen sink. So please don’t be cheap with yourself like I had been! Consume filtered water at a minimum, but ionized water is the optimized option. Additionally, anything you add to your water changes the chemical structure of it; so avoid any mix-ins, sweeteners, etc.
Share with me your water intake goals, and what creative ways you come up with to keep yourself reminded to hydrate! And if you need support with this goal, or any other wellness goal connect with me through email (joy@transformwithjoy.com) or direct message; I would love to chat with you to see if coaching would be a good fit for you!
Happy drinking! And cheers to becoming younger with each sip of water we consume today and hereafter!
With Love,
Joy