Getting In Your Water....

[Forensikchic 528]

I have never been able to drink enough fluids. I am doing good to get one 20 0z bottle drank a day. I think my weight loss would be better if I could just remember to drink. My day goes something like this:

7:30 drink one cup of Decaf coffee.

8:30 eat my little breakfast-

I wait so I can drink but I am working so the next thing you know its almost lunch. I drink about a cup of Water around 11:30.

12:00 eat my little lunch.< /p>

wait to drink and then its 3 now and I finish or almost finish my bottle of Water when I realize I havent been drinking.

I eat a snack around 4

waiting to drink water and forget.....get off work and drive home. I have a few sips of water I keep in my car.

6pm.. eat my little dinner start the wait.

I might get a cup of milk in but thats about it and then its bedtime.

PS. I can drink 4 or 5 swallows at a time now without pain. I was always a guzzler so its better for me to try to get a lot in in a short time.

I need a system or something that is working for others. I simply have to get this under control. I stay dehydrated and tired because of it. Please help me figure this out! all suggestions are welcome.

[luv-a-bull 7]

You are so not alone..I am having this same issue! I have heard the suggestion of keeping a water bottle in hand at all times...and this works when I am home but I can not do this at work so it is a bit more difficult. I too would love any suggestions!

[Lauraann 11]

I am the same way, just do not get in the liquids nor my Protein drinks anymore. Now that I am eating food (little bit) there is no room in the tummy for liquids. I wish I could tell you something to help but I need to know the same thing.

Laura

[frumpy69 37]

i drink Water all day long i use hot water it goes down better and it just seems better when trying to drink sooo much

[Forensikchic 528]

How hot is hot? Room temperature or do you heat it up?

[soforreal 7]

I either drink my liquids room temp. or hot warmed in microwave. I drink a lot of caffeine free hot teas. (lemon, mint, green tea, and berry flavors. It does make it easier even though I still lose track of time with my Fluid intake.

[BunnyLove 28]

I have this problem too, and use the following tricks:

1. Have more liquids in your food. Soups are a great option, especially if you add nutrition by thinning them with evaporated milk (more protein!) or Tomato juice instead of Water.

2. Make a hot Protein drink, pack it in a thermos, and sip it throughout the day. Make it taste like whatever you want using extracts or candy oil flavorings. Mint chocolate is amazing, but so many flavors are available that you can find whatever suits you.

3. Buy a pretty, large glass mug or tea pot and get some flowering teas. When they bloom in hot Water they're so pretty that you'll be tempted to look at it throughout the day, and remember to drink.

4. Make "Jell-O water" by following the directions on the box of your favorite flavor of Jell-O and drinking it warm instead of letting it set up in the 'fridge. This was how my Mom enticed me to stay hydrated when I was home sick as a kid.

5. Make it a ritual to take a drink every single time you get up to go somewhere. Mailroom? Drink. Bathroom? Drink. Meeting? Take your drink with you!

6. You know the "BS Bingo" game that went around a few years ago? I plan to take a copy into meetings when I go back to my office and, whenever one of the words is said (synergy, paradigm, etc.), I'll take a drink. We should come up with something similar, so who here is really creative?

Two hints for tea drinkers:

1. If you're like me and are used to keeping a pitcher in the 'fridge, you can make a double-strength batch and add hot water to bring it to the right temperature if you need it warm.

2. If you'd like to try a variety of different flavors, e-mail companies like Tazo, Yogi Tea, Republic of Tea, etc., and ask if they have samples of their Decaf items. They're very likely to send a nice package, especially if you explain that you're switching to decaf as a medical necessity and that a friend recommended them...and I do, because there are about 50 boxes of tea in my pantry and I drink them all.

[longer-life 139]

2. Make a hot Protein drink, pack it in a thermos, and sip it throughout the day. Make it taste like whatever you want using extracts or candy oil flavorings. Mint chocolate is amazing, but so many flavors are available that you can find whatever suits you.

Great ideas. Can you please give more details on this one?

[BunnyLove 28]

Great ideas. Can you please give more details on this one?

I posted an article on this here. Basically, though, what I do is to mix my Protein powder with milk in a saucepan with a whisk, heat until simmering while stirring constantly, then remove from heat and add flavorings as desired.

If you use peppermint or spearmint extract, use sparingly because they're strong. candy oils, like LorAnns, are very strong, so use a dropper that you can buy from a candy supply shop. Orange oil is great, and I love marshmallow, blackberry, English toffee, creme brulee, and several others. You can mix and match, but you might want to double the Protein Drink because it can get strong really fast.

If it's too hot when you pour it, add a bit of milk to cool it off. There's not a lot of lactose in skim milk, and there's Protein, so it's not that bad. I usually make it too dense if I'm going to drink it right away and cool it down with the rest of the milk when I pour it, and it always goes down even when solids won't.