Drinking 64 oz. of Water Per Day

So we’ve all heard that it’s good to drink water throughout the day, 64 oz. a day to be exact, but how many of us actually drink all of that? Definitely not me. Although I’m constantly being reminded by my healthy friends, concerned family members, and at almost every doctors visit, I find that its a miracle if I drink half of that. People try to make the goal of 64 oz. a little less intimidating by recommending that we drink eight 8oz. glasses of water throughout the day, which seems doable for most people. Heck, I drink 2 or 3 8 oz. cups of coffee in the morning like it’s nothing, so water should be no problem, right? Wrong.

Healthy water-drinking habits don’t just help you to feel better though, they can help you look better too (although the latter nearly isn’t as important as being healthy in general, but this is a beauty blog so…). When our bodies have sufficient water our skin is less prone to breakouts, is more supple, and doesn’t get as dry. I have noticed that on days when I feel more hydrated my makeup application seems much smoother as well. So if water makes you look and feel better why doesn’t everyone drink water religiously? Here’s why I don’t (but really want to!):

I’m a flavor girl, so I prefer the taste of something with a little more oomph than water- tea, beer, wine, juice even, as well as my beloved coffee- and water just lacks the flavor my taste buds crave. If you have this same problem then I recommend trying to get yourself in the habit of drinking more water by being a princess (or prince) and finding a brand of bottled water that has a good flavor for you. I prefer Smart Water personally, and although the concept of paying for something that we thankfully have free access to in the country does seem silly to me, I dislike the taste of tap water and I obviously have a problem committing myself to water, so buying your favorite bottled water seems like a good place to start to get you in the habit of drinking it more often.

Another reason why I don’t drink more of because I don’t have it around me all the time, so I don’t really think of it. I realized that if I constantly had a large cup/bottle of water in my car, at my desk, and by my bed I would probably drink a lot more than I currently do. Several weeks ago I started keeping a glass of water by my bed and then decided to set a rule for myself: I wanted to begin my day by drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning and end it by drinking another glass right before bed. That alone is 16 oz. and a quarter of the daily recommended intake! I was amazed at how religiously I started drinking my morning and nightly glasses just because they were there, in sight, to remind me that I needed to drink! I used this idea as an excuse to head over to Starbucks and buy a bunch of cute 24 oz. cold cups (below are a few that I got- on sale!) to keep around me at all times.

I admit that I am still falling short of my daily 64 oz. goal, but it a work in progress that I’m hoping to get better about. What about you guys? Do you have trouble meeting the 64 oz. requirement? Do you have stories or tips about what helped to get you there? I would love to hear!