One of the easiest, cheapest, simplest daily habits you can do is….hydrating!!!
I recommend starting the day off with a large glass of water or lemon water. I used to buy lemons, cut them in half, squeeze the juice – what a pain! Fortunately I was informed of the Italian Volcano lemon juice and you can find it many places, including Amazon, which is where I buy this one as it comes in a two pack and lasts a long time! Way easier to pour a little bit out and fill the rest of the glass with water versus trying to keep fresh lemons around!
The recommendation is 8-11 glasses of water a day but a better guide is half to one of your body weight in ounces. For example if you weight 160 lbs, then you would aim for 80oz-160oz of water a day!
That is a wide range because of course the amount of water could vary depending on your needs, for instance if it’s hotter, you sweat a lot, you are exercising more, etc. Personally, I aim for a minimum of 60% of my body weight to 70% of my body weight in ounces.
So if you start off your day with a large glass of water, or lemon water, you are well on your way to your goal! I will admit to be sure you are drinking enough water, it does take making it a focus and dedicated effort!
This really is one of the best ways to start your morning as after sleeping all night (hopefully at least 7-8hrs 🙂 your body is literally parched and in need of water.
Our bodies are approximately 60% water! That’s over half!
That in itself tells you how important water is but if that’s not enough here are other reasons water is so important:
- Regulates body temperature
- Keeps joints lubricated
- Prevents infections
- Delivers nutrients to cells
- Keep organs functioning properly
- Improves quality of sleep, cognition, and mood
- Improves digestion
- Increases energy
- Can help with weight loss/management
To the left is a cool, informative graphic showing percentages of water in various parts of the human body. Again, this shows how important water is! Our brains are 75% water!
Hopefully that has your attention and gets you drinking more water throughout your day! Stay tuned as next we’ll talk about some tips and ideas to help you reach your daily hydration goal!