How much water should I drink each day?!

A question I get asked a lot in my challenge groups is "how much water should I drink each day?" And, because there is not one set number for every person,  I always tell people to drink half of their weight in ounces of water. So, if you weigh 180 pounds--you should aim to drink 90 ounces of water. I know to some drinking water is not an easy task and for others its down right impossible to do without filling it with some kind of sugar  or another type of no calorie, sugar free flavoring. However, these flavoring packets are terrible for you. They are full of artificial sweeteners and chemicals that your body does not need. So, keep reading and I'll show you how you can flavor your water naturally and do you body a favor by giving it extra vitamins!!

First, lets talk about HOW you're going to drink all that water in one day!! A couple weeks ago the assignment for my challenge group was to post your water bottle each time you finished it so we could keep each other accountable to reach our daily goal. I loved seeing all the pictures coming through and I was even tempted to go out and buy some of the super cute bottles!!

It wasn't until I saw the picture above, that I had an ah-ha moment!! We didn't need a cute bottle, we just needed to get a little creative. So I took to Pinterest and to Google to find a way that I could get in my daily intake in a fun and exciting way that would make me want to push hard to finish. Now my goal is 72oz a day, but, I have been sweating during workouts everyday. So I am shooting for about 80-100oz. Ultimate goal a day is a gallon. Of course, a full gallon is 128oz....

 I measured the bottle and set one inch marks every two hours. In the beginning I also had to set a timer on my phone so I remembered to drink up! Then, one of my challengers recently told me about a cool app called WATERLOGGED! SCORE!

So now that you know how much water you should be drinking everyday, let’s talk about how to make sure you actually get enough. Drinking 100 ounces of water may seem impossible at first, but with these easy tips you can reach your goal in no time.

• Drink 2 cups (16 oz) of water before every meal: Science has proven that drinking 2 cups of water before every meal helps you to eat less during meal time and lose weight. If you do this three times daily – at breakfast, lunch, and dinner – you have already consumed 48 ounces of water.
• Morning and Night: Drink one glass (16 oz) of water when you wake up and another 8 oz glass before you go to sleep every night. This will add another 24 ounces of water to your daily intake. The easiest way to do this is to keep a glass or container of water at your bedside, that way as soon as you wake up and start your day, you can begin drinking water. I also find that if I leave a bottle of water on the counter before I go to bed next to the coffee pot or the microwave that it's front and center when I prepare my breakfast I drink it while I heat my oatmeal.
• Hot Lemon Water: Before you eat anything, every morning have 2-3 cups of hot lemon water. This not only serves as a nice warm treat in the morning but it also serves as a detox and helps jump start your metabolism.
• Infuse Your Water With Flavor: Water doesn’t have to be boring and infusing your water with fruit, herbs, and other flavors can make it much easier to reach your daily goal. Try adding cucumber, strawberries,lemons, limes, and fresh herbs to create flavorful water. You can add them in individual Mason Jars or in a family sized juice pitcher and refrigerate over night.