Drinking enough water is one of the biggest challenges on this new way of life. It helps cleanse you from the inside, and helps wash away those fat cells. But drinking enough, especially when you first start LCing, seems like a daunting task.

Relatively speaking, the recommended minimum of 64 oz or 8 x 8oz glasses is not much, if you compare it to the amount of coffee/tea or soda you may be drinking. There's a thread explaining this at How much is 64 oz?

But replacing favorite tastes or caffeine/sugar addictions is not easy for some people. The day you can consistently drink your target amount of water can be as rewarding as a visit from the whoosh fairy.

Have you earned your water wings? Do you consistently meet your water target? Can you finally say you've wrestled and succeeded? Do you want to stand up and be recognized for your accomplishment?

If you want to earn your water wings, post here, share your victory, and share a tip for how you deal with your water intake. Your tip may just help someone overcome their hurdle. If you stand up to be counted, and share a tip, the water fairy will deliver these water wings to your journal:



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If you have missed the previous sharing assignments, you can find them by following these links:
#0 - What's "In Store" For You?
#1 - Fun With Food

I find it easier to drink water if it is at room temperature. Carrying a small bottle with you - I refill them - wherever you go gets you in the habit.

Exert yourself! Run up the stairs instead of walking. It will make you thirsty in no time!

Karen

I'm here to get my wings. I used to be terrible about drinking even one glass a day until I started using this web site. All the encouragement and information really prompted me to drink more. My minimal intake is 2 Liters, most of the time I make it over 3 and if it is a day I exercise on, it is sometimes over 4 liters.

After a while I began to crave water like I craved the Diet Coke! I agree with Karen, sometimes... early in the morning before breakfast I like the water to be room temp, but during the day, I prefer cold water. I'll drink it either way tho!!

mb

Easy, painless way to get more water in ... use a bigger glass! If you're currently using an 8 oz (240 ml) glass or tumbler, try switching to a 10 oz (280 ml) glass. You'll barely notice the extra 2 oz, and by drinking 8 glasses a day, you'll get in an extra 16 oz with no extra effort. Using a 12 oz glass will net you an extra 32 oz .. just under a liter!

For water on the go, I use a Brita filtered sport bottle. It's great, you can refill it from any fountain or tap and have good-tasting water anywhere. It holds 750 ml (26 oz), cost under $10 Cdn and replacement filters are inexpensive.

Doreen

I am very lucky that I love water......infact I’ve always loved water. I could never understand why some folks have a problem drinking god’s greatest gifts to us?????
We live on a acreage and use well water.....it is sooooo natural, fresh, cold and good. We get it tested every year for free from the water company out here, and they say we have perfect water. I use to live in the big city of Saskatoon, and the water was always know good there too, however when I go back there to visit, I sure can tell the difference now, must be the chlorine they put in there.
I love water, I think I will go fill my water bottle right now!

Do I get my wings now Angela?

I found it easy to convert from diet pop to water...and now I'm a water addict, I guess. I have a bottle in my car at all times that stays there. I have a bottle with me at work at all times and refill it every two hours. When I feel hungry, I drink a cup or so to make sure I'm not misreading thirst as hunger. Actually, I am thirsty a lot. I drink a lot, I pee a lot, I drink more, I pee more. Yup, that's pretty much my typical day.

I have loved water for years. Some of my friends would get *slightly indignant* with me - for bringing my own 7Eleven Big Gulp jug of water when visiting their homes - I wanted filtered, not tap water.

True story: At the onset of my diabetes 3 yrs ago, I was at the hospital in the diabetes clinic when the endocrinologist, whom I'd never met, walked in and said "Hi Ruth, how are you?" I was stunned, how did he know who I was? (BTW, he was VERY VERY cute & super nice too). Turns out he had run into my GP in another part of the hospital, she told him I was upstairs, he'd know me by the 7Eleven gulp jug of water I carry....so he came by to see how I was. The clinic actually cancelled someone's else's appt to get me in so they could teach me to use my glucometer.... high blood sugars and way high ketones, I was so sick, yuckeeeeee. Instant whoosh of 20 lbs, no kidding!

Now I'm a happy lowcarber who has decent bld sugars (low 6's) and I still drink lots of water.

I don't have any tips - I just automatically drink tons of water. Do I get my wings?

I was a person who rarely ever drank water before this way of life. I am now a water junky.

In the beginning of this woe I searched for diet rite (the only s.f. soda here in U.S. that contains splenda and not nutr.sweet). Then I read about how your body really needs water and the amount that I needed to drink daily (back then 162oz a day). I made a pact with myself that I wouldn't drink the soda until I had my daily water intake put away. Needless to say I didn't get to drink much of the soda. Then a funny thing happened. The diet soda became too sweet so I stopped drinking it (I still have a 6pack under my desk here at work untouched since sept). Then Coke came out with a lemon flav. s.f. coke and I made the mistake of trying it, and I liked it too much. I started drinking that instead of the water and became bloated. So I forced myself to give it up and started drinking the water again.
* There is something special about drinking the amount of water your body acturally needs; After about a week [of drinking the amount of water your body needs] your body will start to crave the water, and you will recognize that you are thirsty [for water] a lot more than you used to be. It is now easing to drink my daily amount. In fact I go over.

I find it easier to drink out of a big water jug. I know that if I drink at least four full jugs a daily I am getting more than enough water. I also drink it cold. It is true that drinking it at room temp. makes it easier to drink, but drinking it cold makes you burn more calories.

I've always loved water!!
I drink mine out of a 16 oz mug and keep it full all the time ( even on my nightstand when I go to bed!)
I have a sports bottle I fill and take with me when I go out.
Also... keep a gallon room temp on counter and one in frig. and mix them so its not real cold!!
Drink a full 16 0z water before my coffee every AM. I think I meet my quota easily most days!!
Ellie

Making sure I drink enough water is probably the hardest thing I've had to adjust to since beginning LCing back in December. I was totally addicted to Pepsi and only drank the occasional glass of water each day.

My goal this past week was to make sure I drank at least 100 ounces of water each day. I found it easier to do when I'm working than on the weekend.

I drink 20 ounces from about 8:00 a.m. - 10 a.m. During my prep period, I'll start on another 20 ounces. That will take me through lunch. After lunch, I'll start sipping on a third bottle and usually finish it by the time I dismiss my class. Then, I'll usually start another to drink another on the drive home. During the evening, I'll sip on water, but usually quit by 9 p.m. (I don't need to be up all night peeing.)

I noticed that I don't drink nearly as much on the weekend. I'll have maybe 9 or 10 glasses of water. I think that works out to about 60 - 75 ounces of water with the ice.

Another thing that I've noticed is that I'm very thirsty when I wake up in the morning. It's like all the water in my body is gone and I need to refill. Very strange.

O.k....I'm ready for my partial set of wings. I'll earn the other half soon.

TTFN!! (Have a great week)

It's probably taken me ten years to get used to drinking water. I'm a Coke addict -- four a day -- and my first step was not keeping any at home. I'd drink water at night and Coke only at work. Then I started working at home -- I kept to the Coke during the day rule. By drinking the water at night (fizzy water, like Poland Spring or, now, the cheaper, no sodium Vantage) I began to acquire a taste for it.

When I started this WOE in November I had to work to get in one litre a day. In December, I worked to drink two, and now I usually hit three -- some days even start a fourth. It's not an issue any longer.

I hate tap water (and I don't trust my city's tap water) so I buy both seltzer and plain bottled water and put three liters in the fridge every night so they'll be cold in the morning. Then I know where I stand.

Another good topic, Angela

Over the last two months I have completely given up coffee and diet soda. Tried to drink a cup of coffee this weekend and it didn't even taste good.

I use liter bottles to see how much I drink. I bought a six pack of bottled water and just keep refilling the bottles. I drink at least half a liter with my vitamins in the morning while I am fixing breakfast. I fill up my liter bottles at work and have two full bottles on my desk in the morning. Those are gone by the end of the day. I try to drink another half liter while fixing and eating dinner. That is my routine.

I, too, have trouble with weekends and try to be vigilant about drinking at least two liters. I also drink about 6 cups of herbal tea a day. And the bathrooms are downstairs in my office building so that is several trips a day up and down stairs, which is good for me.

So do I get my wings now?

Need my wings to keep me afloat!! LOL

Angela:

I was more of a diet cola drinker - as you know. Water for me was hard to drink. In fact, I hated it. Yucko...........

But, now I have water with me everwhere. I keep several bottles 64 oz( think that is the size) each in the fridge and smaller 1 liter size for car rides. In fact, my lower shelf is just water bottles -- I like my water SO COLD........

I am cutting back on cola, and drinking my water. I think I am up to 4 liters now...

Thanks for asking,

Pam

I try so hard to drink all my water. I'm suppose to drink 4 liters. But some days I can just barely get 2 liters in. I do drink 4 liters on some days and more often than not I can get 3 in.
Not bad for someone who used to drink a liter of water a month!

I have always loved water. I have no problem drinking all of my water on weekdays -- I have a glass on my desk that I keep refilling. I also carry a water bottle with me everywhere. I do sometimes run into problems on weekends. If I'm out running errands I quickly empty the water bottle I have with me and might not always find a place to refill it, so I try to drink most of my water before and after my errands, but it's not so easy and I sometimes lose track of how much I've had.