Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here.

Been LC for three weeks now. Began because I wasn't feeling good at all - tired, sluggish, moody, didn't sleep well at night. Totally different now - amazing! (And I've lost 10 pounds to boot!)

What do you guys do to get yourselves to drink so much water? I've always struggled with this, and I know it's important. But so far can't come anywhere near 8- 8 oz glasses of water a day.

Open to suggestions.....

Thanks for having such a great forum! Incredible support!

Shirley
Florida

Sometimes I have the same challange but I just slam it.

Fran McCullough, in her latest book "Living Low-Carb" offers these tips, and they work ... Personally, I have no overnight antidiuretic mechanism, and there is often a struggle as to what gets out of bed first, my foot or my bladder .. .. That being said, she does have a point that it's best to consume more water during the day when you're up and active, so it flushes through your system quickly ... as opposed to drinking liters of water in the evening when you're slowing down and at rest.

Maybe this will help you. I was never a big water drinker either ... but I just made myself do it, now I drink 2 to 3 liters daily with no problem, often more. If taste is a problem, why not get a Brita or other water filter system?? It will make your tea and coffee taste better too ..

Doreen

I tried the old "add a lemon slice to the water" yesterday, and lo and behold, I was able to drink LOTS!

As I'm just up now, off to drink a couple 8 oz glasses now! Hopefully my long commute to work won't be affected.... um..... LOL!

Have a good day, everyone!

Shirley
Florida

The trick for me is to keep a pitcher of cold water in the frig at all times... when one opens the door to grab something cold to drink... there is that pitcher of water staring me in the face... another trick I have found to be successful for me especially in hot weather is freeze several small bottles of water and then when out and about in the heat you have nice ice cold water to drink..

Bonnie

What works for me (and I hate drinking water) is to drink it out of a 16 ounce styrofoam glass WITH a straw.

The longer you are eliminating carbs the thirstier you get naturally also so if the water is there you will drink it. Just keep the glass full!

I freeze lots of bottles of spring water. If I'm at home I leave one in just about every room I am active in. If I'm at work, I leave it in a convienient area, (out on the desk, in the cafiteria, or some place you tend to walk by several times.) Any way, as the day proceeds, the ice melts, leaving you a very appitizing bottle of ice cold water, where ever you rome. How can you turn that down?

we have britta filter water in the fridge, so cold water is always on hand. at work i have a 1&1/2 litre bottle that i keep in the ice chest, so it's always freezy! i also top it up from our water cooler at work. 1 drink 5-6 litres a day. i slow down my water compsumtion in the evening! after dinner i only have about 1 glass an hour. i go to bed at 9:00 so that's only 3 glasses. i just get up once in the night, but i've done that for as long as i can remember. during the day, your body gets used to the extra fluid intake and you eventually won't have as many ladies room visits!

I too am not a big water drinker. When I started low carbing 3 weeks ago, I thought I would die without my Diet Coke. Now, I can say that water isn't so bad. In fact, I actually find myself craving water. My best advice is keep it cold and readily available. I can say from my experience that this once thought "impossible hurdle" is very liveable. Good luck!

Lucinda

We are having a hot spell here and the water is going down a treat. Yesterday I downed 4 litres and 2 pots of tea easy.

I make an effort to fill (from the Britta Water Filter) 3 litre bottles: one near the computer, one on the desk and one wherever I am sitting next. It has become such a habit to reach out, take a swig that the only time I consciously notice is when the bottle is empty !

<If you drink your water too late in the evening, your automatic overnight antidiuretic mechanism will kick in> Doesn't seem to work for me. Getting up and going to the WC at 2am is also a new habit so well ingrained that I now sometimes do it without switching on the light so that I don't wake myself up ! ... well not awake enough to have trouble dropping off again.

The slice of lemon is a good idea which I will start tomorrow.
Take care.

Why do I often have a problem when inserting a quote? That should have gone after the second paragraph in my previous message.

perhaps the key to drinking alot of water, is first of all to train your mind that you are going to start drinking water constantly (i used to always forget or put it on my low priority list)...
secondly, i buy 1.5litre bottles and take several sips several times an hour. I prefer this 'little at a time' method. Before you know it, by the end of the day, you've drank 3/4 of it!. This is what i've started doing recently at work. water is so beneficial!

I was a not much of water drinker myself. But by accident I found out that I can drink a half a liter at a time if the water isn't cold.
For some reason my somach likes that. Anyone else like that?
Oh, Beware of H20 Water! It has sucrolose in it to sweeten it.
I was drinking it three to four times a week and it made me gain weight! or Water! (I still can't tell the difference). I think my body is sensitive to artifical sweetners so its just water for me. I haven't tried it with a lemon slice in it.. I wonder if lime would be good...
I use a 1 liter bottle with I refill three times.. today it will be 4.. (big dinner last night, all LC though) Is it true you can drink too much?

Idea One: As I was reading your post I was eating a porkchop I had peppered heavily. The pepper had me reaching for water and wanting to drink several long swallows even though I don't need more water today.

My thought then is: if self-discipline (that fickle wench) isn't working and you know you need to increase your water consumption, could you make yourself desire it by heating up your mouth a bit?

...

Idea Two: Pretend you have a little monster inside your tummy that eats away your fat, and he breathes water. If you fail to drink enough, he'll starve, and quit gobbling up your fat. Name him and talk to him. When you've had enough and can't stand the idea anymore, you can yell at him. "Do you see what I go through for you?" When you're feeling great you can thank him for helping you. If you decide to cheat, you can look guilt directly in the eye and blame your inner monster.

LMAO

What do you call your monster? Ever thought about a career writing childrens' books?

Nat