Participating in the Montana Meals Challenge this month? Here’s a helpful tip from one of our MSU Billings Wellness Champions: Calculate how many of ‘your water bottle’ you need to drink to meet your daily water goal. Then put that number of rubber bands around the outside of your water bottle each morning. Each time you drink your water bottle, take one of the rubber bands off the water bottle and put it on your wrist. Makes keeping track a cinch! Thanks for the great tip Triniti!
Maybe for you it’s not tracking that’s a challenge, but just drinking water in the first place. I often hear from people that drinking plain water is boring. They would much rather drink soda, juice, or anything with more flavor or carbonation. For those of you that share that sentiment, try adding a little natural flavoring with slices of citrus, cucumber, berries, or fresh herbs such as mint or basil. This turns a glass of water into a nice, refreshing treat. Adding these flavors to a glass of water is easy enough to do, but special water bottles like the one pictured below are also available that infuse flavor into the water and allow for even more creativity (think ginger, cinnamon, celery, tomato, etc.). And guess what? One lucky Challenge of the Month participant will win one of these water bottles! It’s not too late to join the Challenge, so check out the Challenge of the Month tab at the top of the page and start today.
If you often just forget to drink water when you get busy and bogged down with work, try the following:
- Set a reminder on your computer or your phone
- Drink a glass of water before each meal and snack
- Neal’s favorite water drinking tip: Every time you pass a water fountain, take a drink. Make it a habit, and this could really add up throughout the day.
Drinking more water might mean you’ll have to take a few more bathroom breaks throughout the day. While you might find this bothersome, it’s actually great for your health as you’ll be breaking up the time you spend sitting at your desk. To learn more about the reasons we need to take breaks from sedentary sitting time, tune into our Webinar on May 22nd, “Sitting is the New Smoking”. Sign up here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/911004007788697856
Staying hydrated becomes even more important as we get into the hot summer months, particularly if you are exercising in the heat. So keep track, make drinking water a habit, and stay hydrated!
CS
Montana Moves 