water, water everywhere...and I don't want to drink it!

Hi friends!

Wow! I was not expecting the generous feedback on my last blog post. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and a humble thanks to anyone who sent words of encouragement. I am grateful.

Watching the amount of views increase by the day and hearing from readers on how the post impacted them has inspired me to start up this blog again! If I can influence even a tenth of the people who read "Why I Quit Musical Theater", then my day has been made. :)

So today I want to talk about water - specifically, what to do if you get sick of drinking it all the time, but still want healthy options and to stay hydrated. While I do enjoy drinking cold water throughout that day, it is rare to have that be my only drink of the day.

The most common question asked when it comes to water is...how much should I drink? 8 cups a day is what the majority have heard and believed, but that's not inaccurate! The new standard is 2.7 liters for women and 3.7 liters for men, plus any additional liquid intake for exercise and/or excess perspiration.

But water is boring! It's tasteless! I don't wanna drink it! 

I feel ya.

Once upon a time I drank a gallon of water a day - it was awful.

Nowadays I use my thirst and pee color to determine whether I'm hydrated or need to consume more liquids. (yes I look at my pee - and you should look at yours too!)

However, water only makes up a portion of my daily fluid intake. I also drink coffee, tea, kombucha, and the occasional glass of wine. 

Sick of water? Here are some ideas to get in your fluids.

You may have heard that coffee is dehydrating due to the diuretic effect of the caffeine. Recent studies have shown that is actually not the case, and having a couple cups a day does contribute to your daily fluid intake! 

As with coffee, some rumors have gone around that tea is dehydrating. I think tea is one of the most flavorful ways to get your fluids while being the lowest calorie. There are endless options of flavors and types, and 99.99% of them contain 0 calories. I love sipping on unsweetened iced green tea from Starbucks; if I'm in the mood for something sweet, I'll get the passion flavor and add my own stevia. 

Licorice tea is another great one to have if you have a sweet tooth.

Ah, kombucha - my favorite. Love it or hate it, it's hard to deny the great health benefits of this weird fermented tea; full of probiotics, enzymes, low calorie, delicious....well, I think so! Due to its growing popularity the number of kombucha companies has expanded, offering a wide range of flavors and strengths to fit everyone's palate. They've even created kombucha to taste like soda!   Some of my favorites are Chai Spice by The BU and Gingerade by Synergy. (currently available at Costco!) If you've tried kombucha in the past and didn't care for it, I urge you to give it another try!

If you're a soda fan, Zevia is a great option - zero calories, sweetned with stevia, and there's over 15 flavors to chose from. It's also available in glass bottles, if that's your thing. Rootbeer and Ginger Ale are my two favorites, but all of them taste great.

But what if you're stuck with water? There's a couple of tips and tricks to make it not so terrible. :)

Try to drink it cold. Not only will it taste better, but it will raise your metabolism by .00000001%. If that fact alone isn't enough to drink more water, I don't know what is.

You could add fruit to flavor it up. Or buy flavored water.

A habit I've gotten into is whenever I go to drink water, I always take ten sips. Even if I'm not thirsty, ten sips! Next thing I know, it's time to refill.

Drinking water is nothing more than a habit. Start with drinks you enjoy, and soon enough you'll hit your required intake with ease! Remember too that a lot of the foods we consume naturally contain water - this also counts towards the daily intake. 

But try to come back to water. It's a classic.