Today The Vegan Taff is all mine! Hello, I'm Milly from the lifestyle blog sevenseasaway where I write about self-improvement, mental health, happiness and throw in fun DIY projects and reviews about everything vegan. I am honoured to be writing here at Kelly's as a guest blogger, I must have been a good girl this year, so Christmas came early!
Since I'm writing for the first time ever here, I wanted to keep it simple. Kelly loved the idea of a self-improvement post, so 2+2=water! Yes, I'd like to talk about water and how to get more of it into our daily lives, thus making us a little healthier.
Water is essential for us, yet so many fail to keep up with the much-needed water intake, or even worse - some think drinking soda or coffee is just as good. While soda and other sugary drinks not only don't give enough fluids, they're no good to our bodies either. I did a quick survey a while ago and asked my friends, who appeared to be living quite healthily, how many glasses of water they manage to drink a day. Only 2 from the 15 met the goal while as many as 8 were failing desperately, and only 5 were doing OK. It wasn't until I started observing myself last year, that I understood how easy it is to forget to drink. However, I managed to change, and you can too!
It's so obvious when someone says "we need water to survive", but it really is that important. Our joints, brain function, even our skin and perspiration - those and much more are connected to our water intake. You may have noticed dry mouth, headaches or fatigue and dry skin or lips time to time - those are consequences of dehydration. We don't want that, right? Now that we know how important it is, the only question is, how to make sure that we drink more water? Let's jump right in. I have 7 super easy steps to trick yourself into drinking more water:
1. What about a healthy morning habit?
It might be difficult to drink all 9 recommended glasses at once in the evening at 10 pm if you skipped it all during the day, so start right in the morning. Make a habit out of it so you never forget, or even use post-its. I started putting notes on my mirror in the bathroom, so every time I brushed my teeth I was reminded to drink - it worked perfectly. Now I get up, brush my teeth and get myself a big glass of water. It's not difficult and you're already on to a good start! Besides, drinking a glass of water in the morning is super beneficial for you, too.
2. Carry water with you everywhere you go
Often the only obstacle that keeps us from drinking more water is the mere fact that we don't have any with us. I learned to carry a small bottle with my at all times, so whenever I feel like taking a sip it's there in my bag. Besides, if you're bored and don't have anything to do, you can at least stay on track with your water intake. It really does come in handy, I ended up getting myself a second bottle almost every day. What an overachiever I am!
3. Don't even get me started on infused water!
When people tell me water is bland and boring my blood boils. I love water just as it is, so I cannot understand how it can be bland. However, I can understand that so many people want to taste it because we're such a soda society, even the healthiest of us all. If you find it difficult to drink pure water, start infusing and you'll never go back. Google some recipes, there's a tonne of them. Mainly, use any fruit or berries, herbs and even veggies like chilli pepper or cucumber to spice your water. I love blueberries, melons, mint and lime in my water the most. Experiment and find out what your flavour is, just don't add any sugars. When it's delicious, you'll want to get more than only one glass down. Go for it!
4. Keep your water right next to you at your workplace
If there's a glass or a bottle of water sitting right next to your hand, you will be more likely to drink some of it without even thinking. If I fill my glass, at some point I simply wonder where the water has gone - I drink it subconsciously. You can, of course, take your infused water as well, anything that you want to drink. Make your water accessible at any given time, that's the trick.
5. There's an app for that too!
Of course, there is an app to motivate you too. Not only that, you can set reminders throughout the day telling you to drink directly on your phone. That's a good way to stay on the track. The app, though, is a more fun, cuter way of being a healthy water drinker. Anytime you drink a glass, you can tap it and it gives you a pep-talk, it makes the water disappear and shows you how many glasses more you need. I stuck it for a while because it gave me a nice feeling, but setting simple reminders is just as good.
6. Start drinking more unsweetened tea
While coffee doesn't count towards your 9 glasses, unsweetened (!) tea does. Since I barely use sugar or any other sweeteners in my tea (except for black and herbal mint tea), that was a relief to me. You can drink it warm to get to your goal or even replace coffee with it if you'd go for tea like matcha or good green tea. Also, you can make your own ice tea and drink it cold instead of infusing water which could be pricey in winter in colder areas. I got used to making a whole pot of tea and just sipping from it now and again, and that was already more than half of my daily goal. All you need is a delicious variety of tea.
7. Challenge yourself
Make a challenge out of it and promise yourself something for achieving it. Go for a week of 6 glasses a day and treat yourself with a spa or something else you'd like. Take it to the next level and try to achieve one whole month of 9 glasses. At some point, you will be used to drinking water and won't need any challenges at all. Also, you will feel better sooner or later and that's a good motivator too.
There is only one Golden Rule, though, and I am trying to live by it - if it's possible, stick to the water. Believe me, it's almost always possible, and it saves you tonnes of money if you're going out! If you drink enough, your skin will get better, your digestion will be easier and it might lead to a fitter you by cutting the unnecessary calories in the sodas. Water, in the end, is taking care of our health and glow from the inside, so don't take it lightly. Hopefully, these little tricks are helpful and everyone is ready to start making new habits now!
I love writing a lot, and honestly, I pick topics that I care about and I love spreading happiness, so if you're interested in that, please come over to check out my blog and stay for as long as you'd like! You could, of course, also connect with me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. For Bloglovin, click here. I don't bite!
Milly | sevenseasaway
