I have met so many people who have trouble drinking more/enough water. I don't get it. What makes this difficult? I guess I do drink a lot of water, but I just can't imagine having a hard time drinking the recommended 8 glasses a day.
It's seriously difficult. Obvious first step: no soda. I did that a few years ago. My solution to the rest was to stop eating dessert, basically. You'll get nickel and dimed on a meal by meal basis -- that's just a practically inevitable part of living/shopping/cooking in the States. So I stopped bothering with cake and candy and such to make sure I didn't shoot over the limit. Exceptions: dessert I make myself, which is rare as hell; the odd fruit juice with vitamin A and C.
Yep, I generally don't drink soda and I haven't for a decade or more. Some sugar is ok, especially just after working out as it helps absorb proteins. And of course in fruit, that's pretty unavoidable. Anyway, while I agree that there's an obesity epidemic in the States, there is also a diabetes epidemic and I think that really needs some more attention. Fortified foods are a big culprit, as is fast food. What can you expect the poor to eat though, when vegetables are criminally expensive?
Seriously, everyone gets diabetes and we all know why. And it's not like the megacorporations are going to own their actions, so change has to come at a personal level. My granddad is essentially living in hell on earth right now because of diabetes, and he wasn't terribly unhealthy (bit of an alcoholic) -- he just lived in the US for 75 years. It's that easy. Post workout smoothie has 15-20 grams of sugar in it, I just checked. Mostly from milk. Bit high but acceptable.
This is going to be a pretty shameful confession and some of you are going to look at me askance and ask how it is that my internal organs aren't pickled, but any day I drink any amount of water is a good day. I'm a caffeine junkie, which is funny because I can drink a Monster and go to sleep - so there doesn't seem to be much of an actual effect for me - but if you say "Hey, _ref_! Here is this thing that is supposed to perk you up, make you more awake and more focused!" I'm gonna be like "OH YES PLEASE." So I start my day with a Monster - I grab a diet Coke at lunch - and then in the evenings, if I go out I'm drinking alcohol (not 100% of the time, but whatever) - and then if I don't go out, I will probably end up drinking water then. Water is just absolutely not part of my daily habit. I do like a glass of water by my bedside in case I wake up thirsty, and I drink water if I've been drinking and likely to get dehydrated, but I do not currently independently select for water in my drinking habits. 8 glasses a day would be like a miracle for me.
Have you tried getting into the habit of drinking a glass of water immediately on waking up? Staying well hydrated helps my energy for sure and it also reduces how hungry I feel. For me it works better than coffee and helps me move stuff through my system. Though I've always been a fan of drinking lots of water, I once got a bladder and kidney infection at the same time and since then I have been even more on top of staying hydrated to move toxins out of my body. As a bonus, I have noticed that my sweat doesn't smell as strongly as it did when I was drinking lots of stuff that wasn't water. Also, I don't get as hungover when I'm making sure I'm hydrated throughout the day leading up to going out. I met one lady who was trying to increase her water intake, who had a water bottle with lines drawn on it to show her how much she should have had by a certain time, which seemed to work really well for her, so maybe that's one way you could try too.
I have found that if I carry a water bottle, I drink water. I think keeping it around as opposed to making it an option ("Oh, do I want a soda or a water?") is going to be a good method for me. As for drinking a glass of water immediately upon waking up - I have heard that that helps some people feel more alert in the morning! I haven't tried it, though. As for the bladder and kidney infection...ouch.
Drink more water or I will find a way for you to inexplicably die of dehydration at some point in Hubskina. Seriously though I found out that I was only half of a person until I started drinking water regularly. I found this out the hard way after drinking water regularly for a long while and then one day not having any water. I had completely shut down. It was actually scary how much less productive I was without water.
Yep, no fun. Had to take some kind of medicine that had me pissing blue for a while. I don't know how true it is that the next big wars will be fought over drinking water, but if apocalyptic scenarios motivate you (they rarely motivate anyone, of course) that might be something to think about too. Changing habits is tough and setting lots of small achievable goals tends to be more manageable for people (me included) so I hope you're able to stick with it.
Wow, this is like looking into a mirror. My routine is very similar. The morning Monster just to snap awake. It's poison but I'm addicted. Like you, if I go out on worknights I pay for it in spades the next day so I overcompensate on my time off, to the detriment of my liver. Sometimes I confuse my water with vodka. Just another bad habit I constantly struggle with.