Drink more water…who hasn’t heard that before? It’s like ‘duh’ of course we have to drink more water and stay hydrated. But the real question I have had is how to drink more water and pee less. Because peeing all day long is uncomfortable and annoying (and I know we’ve all been there!)
For a lot of us, our daily fluid intake looks something like; a drip coffee as soon as we get out of bed so we can ‘wakeup’, followed by maybe a matcha or a latte to walk into work with, then with lunch you might have some water, but you also feel like a kombucha or mocha as something sweet. Then when 3pm hits it’s time for either another latte or maybe even a red bull to get through the afternoon….you get my point.
So many people who get motivated to drink more water complaining about how often they have to go to the bathroom (guilty), and that is what I want to focus on and help with in this post!
I have found the *best* formula to make drinking more water and upping your hydration so easy. I have cracked the code and it’s simple, personalized and effective! (and I use it everyyy day).
Are you ready to find out how to drink more water and pee less while also getting in charge of your hydration once and for all?! LET ME SHOW YOU HOW!!
***This post may contain affiliate links, but only to products I genuinely love. It won’t cost you anything extra. You can read the full disclosure here.***
Before we jump too far in I want to remind you of the benefits of adequate water intake and hydration:
-Water is hands down the *most* important nutrient that your body needs.
-Flushes out toxins from your body
-Helps with digestive efficiency
-Increases joint health and mobility
-Enhances energy
-Increases skin hydration and can reverse signs of premature aging
How much Water do we actually need?
Now that we know that water is good for us, how do we figure out how much we need? If you type in google how much water the average person should drink, it’s around 8 cups. However, I don’t like to use generalizations when we can personalize it for *you*. I mean how can a 120 lbs person and a 190 lbs person both need the same amount of water?! It just doesn’t make sense.
So let’s work out how much YOU need to drink daily.
Divide your body weight (in pounds) by 2 and that amount in ounces is how much you need to drink a day!
Example:
Let’s use me as an example. I weigh 135 lbs, so divided by 2 I have a total of 67.5. So the total amount I should drink a day for my body weight is roughly 67 oz. This looks like 8.5 cups of water a day, (since there are 8oz in 1 cup).
Now this is where it gets good, and where I can almost guarantee you having success in drinking more water consistently and easily than ever before!
Grab a measuring cup that is exactly half a cup. Fill it to the brim and drink from it like you usually would drink water from a cup. When I did this it took me exactly 5 regular sips to empty the measuring cup. Now you just need to drink that many sips every half an hour and voila at around 5pm you have adequately consumed your daily water intake!
Our bodies cannot absorb more than ½ a cup of water per half an hour otherwise it just dumps it.
So when you have forgotten to drink water for a few hours and then try to drink 2-3 cups in 1 go and you find yourself having to pee every 20 minutes or so for the next few hours THAT-IS-WHY!! Your body can’t contain it so it’s just dumping it out. This is how to drink more water and pee less!
My Daily Formula:
Let me show you the formula that I do daily (without having to omit any other drinks, I’m obsessed with Tea) is this:
I set an alarm for every half an hour and when it goes off I drink 5 regular sized sips of water from my water bottle. 5 sips = ½ a cup. It is so easy to do and for me to keep up with 8.5 cups a day to sufficiently hydrate me. I start at 7am and drink 1 cup (in ½ a cup increments) until around 4pm.
I usually also have a Tea in the morning, sometimes a coffee in the late morning and another tea in the afternoon. My water intake is not affected by these drinks because I am able to consistently take my 5 sips around these other drinks no problem!
Then in the evening I have a peppermint tea right after dinner, around 6:30pm. I try not to drink anything after that so I don’t have to pee during the night. It’s such a good feeling to know I am already hydrated from what I drank during the day!
If you have more than 1 coffee a day I would add another cup of water to your daily intake because coffee is a dehydrating drink (same with alcohol).
Also, if you work out, play a sport, or it’s very hot outside you need to listen to your body. It will want you to drink a lot more than half a cup per half an hour and that’s good. That’s what you need, as your body will want to absorb more water to make up for the energy and sweat that you lost.
Remember this is only a GUIDE so use this how you will, experiment and make it work for you!
Alison’s guide for simple, daily hydration intake in a nutshell:
- Weigh yourself in lbs, then divide that amount by 2.
- That amount is how much water you should drink in ounces daily.
- Work out how many cups is equivalent to the ounces you need (8oz per cup).
- Measure out ½ cup and drink it at a normal pace. However many sips it took to finish half a cup is how many sips you need to take every half hour until you have reached the amount of cups you need to drink a day!
Of course, there are always more than 1 way to help motivate us to stay on track with our hydration. Now that you know how to drink more water and pee less, I have added some more of my favourite and fun tips on how stay hydrated!
– LMNT electrolyte powder packets
These have no sugar or artificial ingredients (hard to find these days) and they taste really good! Helps give you an electrolyte boost and the flavors come in Citrus, Watermelon, Raspberry and Orange. Especially good to take with you while traveling! You get 12 for $20.
-Carrying a Water Bottle with you at all times
I notice that if I don’t have my water bottle with me my intake is substantially less than if I do. Carrying one around with you at all times is a great habit to stick to!
Here is the one I use, and this one and this one, are two other favourites.
-Set a timer on your phone
We don’t always *feel* the need to drink. I have heard that when we start feeling thirsty it’s already too late, meaning that we shouldn’t have left it this long as our body shouldn’t have to cry out for water! So, if you don’t set a timer on your phone, we get busy and distracted and it’s so easy to forget.
-Use a Habit Journal
Habit journals are so simple, but they are such a great way to motivate us and to keep track of our progress. If we have missed a few days we can look back and see what we were doing on those days and what changes we need to make. (This one is my favourite).
-Optimise hydration
What does this mean? Our body is good at absorbing water, it’s made to do that really well, but there are little ways we can improve *how* it absorbs water, not just *how much* it’s getting. For example adding things like a squeeze of lemon, a teaspoon of chia seeds, or even a pinch of himalayan or sea salt (not table salt!). Salt keeps our cells hydrated while helping nutrients to travel from our small intestine to the rest of our body. Without adequate salt intake, your cells are not so good at holding water.
-Foods that are higher in water
Did you know that you can eat water? Foods like cucumber, watermelon iceberg lettuce and soup have high water content and are a great way to add more water to your diet!
-Eat foods that are rich in fiber
Fiber is sooo important for our overall health. But it also is actually able to help us retain water, especially in the intestines, where it is best used through slow absorption. This means our body is absorbing water instead of just passing it through so you will stay hydrated for longer.
-Freeze fruit in cube trays
I do this in summer because it looks cute, and is a fun way of sprucing up a boring cup of water, but also it adds a little infusion for taste and it’s so refreshing!
-Add Essential Oils
Did you know there are many essential oils that are perfectly good to consume? I have added both lemon and orange to iced water before and I couldn’t believe how only 1-2 drops makes such a huge difference! Such a great idea for a picnic, or just to add to a glass at home.
(I recommend this brand of essential oils)
There you have it! Helpful ways to keep up with hydration and how to do it simply and easily.
If you have any other tips or insight I love hearing about them and you can post below!
I also thought you might be interested in this Wellness Journal! You can download instantly
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–Healthy Morning Drinks: 5 Unique and Delicious Recipes!