Blog Appétit

Toasting to Leo’s big win this morning with an extra tall glass of water (if we close our eyes, we can pretend it’s champagne).

The other week at work, I had a pounding headache. I mean a want to pull your hair out, can’t stare at a computer screen right now so I should probably just go home early, kind of headache.

I don’t typically get headaches, unless I’ve had a few too many glasses of celebratory “water”. We all know how those mornings to follow go…

But this was a Monday with no celebratory drinks the night before, just a headache that wouldn’t go away. So just like every other person living in the 21st century, I googled it.

After finding a few articles about how my brain was swelling and I was probably going to loose my eye sight next…sarcasm here people, it’s Monday after all. I found an article that talked about dehydration headaches, not sarcasm and about as legit as you can get for a medical google search. The article went on to talk about all the things that can be caused from dehydration and lack of water.

I, then looking at my desk full of coffee cups and thinking back to what I’ve drank in the past 48 hours (wine, beer, coffee, more wine, espresso shot), immediately run to the kitchen to grab a large glass of water.

Realizing that chugging one glass of water wasn’t going to work miracles or cure my headache like the 3 advils I took shortly after, it was going to become my goal to increase my water intake.

Clear skin, prevention of overeating, increased digestion, increased ability to focus, no more pounding headaches or at least ones that weren’t self-induced. The pros are endless and the requirement is too easy that I can’t believe I have been slacking at it for so long.

With only a few weeks in, my water intake has definitely increased and (knock on wood) I haven’t had a pounding headache as of lately either.

Sharing my top tips on how I’ve increased my daily water intake to hit that 8 glass recommendation.

1.Always Carry a Water Bottle. Keep a water bottle handy at all times. One at your desk at work, in your purse when traveling/commuting or a cold one in you refrigerator for when you’re home.

2. Count Your Intake. What can I say I’m a pen and pencil girl. I make 8 tallies on my planner every morning and erase them as I drink a glass throughout the day. Seeing it written out makes me more aware of how many glasses.

3. Add Flavor or Carbonation. I’m not much of a soda or juice drinker, but drinking plain tap water all the time can get boring. I recently discovered sparkling water and am hooked to the point that I started making it at home with my new Bonne O sparkling system. I also add slices of lemons, limes and cucumbers in the bottle before carbonating for an extra twist, but warning this thing is addicting. I make two bottles on it a day. Bye, bye two more tallies.

4. Recognize a Thirst. Something that has really helped is recognizing when I’m thirsty vs. when I’m hungry. If you grab for food instead of water, you most likely will overeat as it won’t satisfy what you need and you probably will not end up drinking the water you really wanted. When going to snack, try drinking a glass of water instead and see if that satisfies the crave first.

Photography by: Iron and Honey

Custom Camelbaks by: White Elephant Designs

 

Do you get your recommended 8 glasses in each day? What are you favorite water flavor combinations?