Often when we talk about health, we focus on diet and exercise, but we all know that there are a lot of other factors that go into us feeling our best. Some other things that I think are super important are keeping stress levels at bay, getting enough sleep and proper hydration.
Our bodies depend on water to survive and thrive. Every cell, tissue, and organ that you and I have needs water to work properly. Being properly hydrated helps to boost brainpower and mood, prevent headaches, improve workout performance, aid with weight loss, and even prevent disease.
The standard recommended amount is 8 8-oz glasses of water a day, but everyone is different. I know that I drink more than that, as I’m constantly thirsty and continuously sipping on water throughout the day! Summer is here in the northern hemisphere, which means we’re all probably sweating more… so we should be paying extra attention to staying properly hydrated.
Do you find it tough to hydrate enough every day? Today I’m sharing 5 ways to spice up your hydration routine & drink more water! Let’s get to it.
1.) Commit to the recyclable water bottle challenge. Get a 32 oz water bottle that keeps water nice and cold (I find it more refreshing that way), and challenge yourself to fill it up, drink it, and refill it at least once a day every day for a month. Make a point to fill it up and take it with you when you’re leaving the house in the morning. Once you get in the habit of doing it for a month, chances are you’ll want to keep it up.
I’m constantly hydrating and bringing my trusty recyclable water bottles with me on-the-go. In fact, I’m sitting in my office writing this post looking at my water bottle next to my computer.
2.) Drink Ayala’s Herbal Water. I drink a lot of good ole plain water, but I also like to switch it up and give my tastebuds something a bit more interesting to drink. Lately I’ve been sipping on Ayala’s Herbal Water as a refreshing way to hydrate. Infused with organic herbal extracts in pure artesian water, Ayala’s is a zero calorie, natural way to add flavor to plain water with fragrant herbs. No sugar, sweeteners, preservatives, or additives of any kind are used.
A lot of the time I exercise in the evenings and then find myself super thirsty at night, and I usually find myself craving some flavor at night, so Ayala’s has been a healthy, zero calorie way to please my tastebuds and hydrate. The herbal waters come in flavors like lavender mint, lemongrass mint vanilla and ginger lemon peel. Being obsessed with cinnamon, naturally my favorite flavor has been their cloves cardamom cinnamon herbal water.
I’m finding Ayala’s Herbal Water to be an all natural, mellow way to spice up my water routine. To try them out yourself, check out Ayala’s Herbal Water where-to-buy page or find them on Amazon.
3.) Make strawberry matcha lemonade. In the mood to make fun summery drinks? Try my Shape recipe for strawberry matcha lemonade, which combines Meyer lemons, fresh strawberries and matcha green tea powder with water and ice.
4.) Use a hydration app. If you find it hard to stay properly hydrated and forget to drink enough water, consider using a hydration app. There are a lot of apps out there that help users to easily track how much water they drink.
Check out a Healthline article that rates the best hydration apps here.
5.) Use a water infuser pitcher. If you’re not crazy about plain water, another way to spice it up is to nab a water infuser pitcher, fill it with ingredients like lemon, lime, and cucumber, and store it in your fridge for a tastebud pleasing hydration twist.
Tell me… Do you think that you drink enough water? What are your favorite tips for hydrating properly?
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Ayala’s Herbal Water. As always, all opinions expressed are genuinely my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support me!
debra says
These are some fun tips! That lemonade sounds so good, as does that herbal water. I love water with a flavor twist.
foodielovesfitness says
Thank you, Debra!
marcie says
Water is the only thing I drink all day (besides coffee) and I hear you on needing a little flavor boost periodically! Ayala’s herbal waters look great and I also love infused water because it’s extra refreshing!
foodielovesfitness says
I agree, it definitely is extra refreshing!
Deborah @ Confessions of mother runner says
It’s time to pull out the water infuser over here! Thanks for the reminder
foodielovesfitness says
Yum! I love infusing water.
David @ Spiced says
Great tips, Nicole! I know flavored waters and carbonated waters really helped me start drinking more water each day. In fact, I traded out almost all of the soda for carbonated water. I find that I get the same effect, and there are so many tasty flavors out there now. I’m not familiar with Ayala’s, but that cinnamon clove water sounds amazing! I’ll keep an eye out for it. Thanks for sharing!
foodielovesfitness says
Good for you, David! That’s a great way to get out of a soda habit.
Sarah Smith says
In love with this post! The colors, pictures, and content are amazing. cant wait to try this drink!!
foodielovesfitness says
Thank you, Sarah!
Anna says
That water pitcher looks amazing! I need to invest in one ASAP! Thank you for sharing this
foodielovesfitness says
Yes, the pitcher is really fun! Someone gave it to me as a gift but I’m sure you can find it on Amazon 🙂