HOW TO DRINK MORE WATER

I can finally cross #19 off my 101 in 1001 list. It's embarrassing to admit but this is definitely the goal that I started and stopped the most number of times... Drinking that much water is tough! Here's what worked for me this time around to finally get me on the right track.

1. Have a concrete, measurable goal in mind.
"Drink more water" sounds a New Year's resolution that starts with the best intentions but never gets accomplished because it's so vague. I went shopping for one huge bottle of water and found a 50 ounce bottle. I decided that to go from roughly 0-8 ounces of water a day (sad but true) to consuming this huge bottle would be major progress so that became my goal: drink 50 ounces of water each day for seven days. 

2. Decide how to measure your goal.
Like I said, I bought one huge bottle that I refilled each day. I liked being able to see exactly where I stood for the day and tried to hit the halfway point in the early afternoon. I felt ridiculous carrying the bottle outside of my apartment so I used my BKR bottle (I have the pink pictured above) to pour water from the big bottle into a smaller, more transportable option.

3. Have a buddy.
Eddy works with me in my apartment three days a week and is great about drinking water every day so it was super helpful to have him encouraging and reminding me to keep drinking. There were definitely times when I was sick of going to the bathroom every ten minutes or felt so full and so sick of the taste of water... It was nice to have someone who could make me keep going when I needed a kick. Coworkers, family, or friends would all make great partners!

4. Keep your goal top of mind.
It's easy to start drinking water in the morning and forget about your goal before lunchtime. Having one big bottle at my desk was a constant reminder of how much I'd consumed and how far I had to go. I also posted a little note on my fridge to remember to take it out each morning!

I know this might all sound a little silly (how hard could it be?) but it's definitely a healthy habit that I've struggled to adopt. How many of you are good at getting enough water? What has worked well for you? Let's hear it!