Hi all...

[aliciaandtrue]

Good morning all I just wanted to introduce my self. I am Alicia 31, live in PA and finally back on my diet. Back in the summer of 2008 I lost 30 pounds and then fell off my diet due to life stresses and gained it all back but 5 pounds. I have high self confident so you can refer to me as the most confident fat girl you will ever meet. Just looking to meet some people like myself to share our weight loss secrets and suggestions…..the one thing I am hardest time with is drinking water I seem to always drink hot tea especially when it’s cold out. Anyone have any suggestions on how I can drink more water…tricks tips?

[lucindamartinez]

Welcome Alicia!  We are so pleased to have you join us here.  

Increasing water intake can be very difficult for some of us, while still others find it to be an easy task.  As for myself, I love to mix water with either Crystal Light or Herbalife Lift-Off.  Neither of these blends has calories and makes the water taste very good.  I actually prefer the Herbalife Lift-Off earlier in the day, as it packs a great energy punch without all of the sugar of regular energy drinks.  It also contains an entire day's worth of vitamin C and B vitamins without ingesting any calories.  Beyond those two....I usually Just Do It, like the Nike commercial says.  I make sure that the water is chilled (not a fan of hot tea here) and just down it.  After you get yourself used to drinking more water just for the sake of drinking it, it will become a habit and you will actually find yourself wanting that water.  

Thanks for introducing yourself and joining our ranks.  I'm looking forward to getting to know you over the time to come in our current challenge.  ; )  

[Laura50313]

Hello, This is my first day here to but sounds like we all have alot in common.....the water thing was really hard for me too....I actually would measure a cup of water at a time and no I just had to drink at least 8 of them and you can drink a cup of water standing at kitchen sink.....now I just always have a glass of water with me in the car everywhere I think I kind of use it as a cruch I just feel lost with out one.  Good luck and hopefully we will visit again

[aliciaandtrue]

Thanks for the advise i am going to try rela hard i know i can do it just have to stay focused

[Ranaesheart]

Drinking enough water seems to be a common problem for many of us as we work to take better care of ourselves and make healthier choices.  If you have not already done so, you may want to use the water consumption tracker to help you become more aware of what you are drinking and it will help you see your progress visually and over time.

I'm like Lucinda, I began by drinking flavored waters .. Propel is great and has about 10-20 calories, Crystal Light has none and I, too, use Lift Off now and then as a natural energy boost with vitamins.  Keeping the water quite cold (refrigerated) is the only way I could drink it.

Your body will begin to crave water and I am now able to drink tap water, although I still prefer it iced.  

Glad to have you all here and looking forward to your active participation in the community; it is where we all obtain great advice from others sharing the same journey and a constant source of information, support, encouragement and motivation.

Very best wishes .. and many (((hugs))) ... YOU CAN DO THIS!!! :)

[StarryNight23]

Like many others here, I had a hard time switching from various sweetened beverages to plain old water. I especially HATED drinking plain water with meals for some reason. But I wanted to get into the habit because I hated thinking of how many calories I was wasting by drinking them. I also started out by drinking flavored waters. Vitamin Water and Fruit20 were my go-to brands. But then I wanted to wean myself off of artificial sweeteners, so I switched from Fruit20, to regular 100% juice (apple & eve or juicy juice) but I would dilute it with water. Eventually I was able to dilute the juice so much that drinking plain water wasnt a challenge to switch to. Now it really is just about the only thing I drink with the exception of unsweetened flavored green teas from Trader Joe's, hot herbal teas and the occasional glass of light soy milk with a snack or breafast.  I also find that adding lemon or lime juice to my water makes it a bit less boring sometimes. I also buy a product called True Lemon and True Lime which are just natural crystalized packets of lemon and lime. They taste great and are more convenient to have on hand than a fridge full of lemons and limes!

If you're drinking a lot of hot tea, there's actually nothing wrong with that. Tea has a lot of benefits what with all the antioxidants and flavanoids and just about no calories per serving so if that's how you're hydrating yourself then that's perfectly fine too. Just as long as the tea you drink isnt being loaded up with things that add calories (milk, sugar, honey) and arent having 20 cups a day because too much caffine isnt great of course.

I've been doing a bit of research about the "8 cups of water a day" rule and have found out that although theres nothing wrong with doing that, it's really not mandatory. I used to try to down 6-8 bottles of water a day and the only change I really noticed in me, was needing more frequent bathroom breaks. I still drink a lot of water, but only when I feel like I need to. Usually 1 bottle with every meal, whenever I want to fend off hunger pangs and during workouts. But I don't drown myself in it anymore and I was glad to find a few sources that explain some of the "myths" behind drinking all that water. I subscribe to a really great podcast for my ipod and one of her episodes talked about the whole water debate. I found a link to the transcript of that episode if anyone was interested in reading it!  

http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/how-much-water-should-I-drink.aspx

[Barb135]

Thanks for that link StarryNight.  I've read several articles that say the same thing.  I don't drink a lot of water, but I do drink a lot of hot teas (even when it's warm).  I like peppermint tea in the evening to relax after a long day; chamomille tea is relaxing and helps me sleep, lemon/giner helps ease my tummy and then there's just plain green tea.  I'm not much on iced tea though- if I want something cold, I'll drink water.  

I sweeten my teas with stevia, so I'm getting the sweetness without the extra calories and because of the controversy surrounding some artificial sweeteners, I prefer not to use them.  

I also eat a lot of fruit, so am getting a lot of fluid there, and because I eat the whole fresh fruit vs drinking juice, I'm getting the added benefit of the fiber.  

aliciaandtrue - welcome to our group.  Hope we'll see a lot of you.  

[JoyRenee]

Welcome! You could buy a magnetic dry erase board to put on your fridge. Every time you get a drink of water, make a tally mark. By the end of the day see how many tallies you get for water! You should have 8-10 glasses a day.

Also, make sure you make rules for yourself. "No tea until I drink at least 4 glasses of water". Remember tea adds calories AND it can dehydrate your body, which means you need to drink even more water to make up for it.

[gokuangel]

Hiya and welcome aboard!! I also drink crystal lite its a lifesaver for me lol! I just tried the wal mart brand packets OMG taste like kool aid lol its sooo good and no cals. AWESOME!!