Drinking 64 ounces of water daily sounds like a huge undertaking. However, just break down your daily water consumption into smaller chunks. Keep a bottle close at hand throughout the day, and you can easily achieve your goal. Your body will thank you for it!
Tip
By drinking 64 ounces of water every day, you'll help to keep your body's systems functioning normally. You'll also help to compensate for water lost during vigorous workouts or sporting activities.
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Four Reasons You Need Water
Think of your body as a water consumption machine. Every day, you breathe, sweat to some degree, urinate and have a bowel movement. So, you need to replenish your body's water reservoir to compensate for the deficit.
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The Mayo Clinic notes four additional factors can create further demands on your body, requiring a higher-than-normal water replenishment rate. If you're dealing with diarrhea or vomiting or are battling a fever, you must replace the fluids lost by your body. If you're affected by a urinary or bladder problem, extra water intake may help.
In extremely hot and/or humid weather, you'll find yourself sweating more, so you must raise your water intake to compensate for that. High altitudes can also contribute to dehydration.
If you enjoy energetic gym workouts or daily runs around the block, you'll work up a good sweat while you work your muscles. To keep yourself hydrated, drink water throughout your exercise session.
If you're pregnant or breast feeding, you must drink more fluids to keep your body hydrated. Water is a great place to start, and your physician can provide volume recommendations that meet your body's needs.
Read more: Why Drink Water After Exercising?
Enjoy These Important Water Benefits
Drinking water every day is like part of your daily routine. You pour a glass when you first wake up, drink another one with your vitamins and fill a travel mug before running out the door. Sounds like you're on the right track to keeping your body well hydrated.
Not surprisingly, crystal-clear water also helps your body to function properly. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that water provides protection for your spinal cord. Water also helps to cushion and lubricate your body's joints and regulates your internal temperature. Finally, sufficient water intake enables your body to eliminate wastes through perspiration, urination and defecation.
Read more: Does Water Help to Burn Fat?
Determine Your Daily Water Requirement
So, with your body's varied (and ongoing) water demands, how much water should you drink every day? Your age, weight, medical issues and activity level will help to dictate your daily water requirements. Also, note that milk, juices, soup and other foods are partially composed of water.
According to MedlinePlus, there isn't a hard-and-fast recommendation for each adult's daily water consumption. A good ballpark figure is 64 ounces of water daily. As a comparison, the Dietary Reference Intake for adults is between 91 and 125 fluid ounces of water daily.
If you don't get the water you need, your body fluids won't stay in balance and you'll likely become dehydrated. Severe dehydration can contribute to life-threatening medical problems.
Drink Your 64 Ounces Daily
Let's look at several different ways to consume that 64 ounces of water. First, fill a 64-ounce container and chill it in the refrigerator. At eight different times during the day, pour yourself an 8-ounce glass of ice-cold water that hits the spot.
Or throw eight 8-ounce bottles of cold water in your tote or daypack and head to work or off on a day trip. When you've emptied the bottles, you'll have achieved that 64-ounce consumption goal. You'll also be helping your body to stay well hydrated.
When you leave the house with your 64 ounces of water, you'll notice that it's heavier than you thought. That's not surprising, as you're carrying a hefty 4 pounds of water over your shoulder. However, here's the bright side: the bag's weight should gradually decrease as you enjoy each bottle of water.
Maybe you'd like to know how 64 ounces converts to other units of measurement. Specifically, how does 64 ounces translate to cups, pints, quarts and even gallons? It's a simple task with an online calculator, notes Saving.org. And if you're a confirmed metric fan, note that 1 liter equals 33.81 U.S. fluid ounces, states Metric Conversions.
Read more: Benefits of Lemon Water
Follow These Hydration Tips
You've decided that drinking 64 ounces of water daily will meet your nutritional needs. However, you don't want to cart around a heavy 64-ounce bottle everywhere you go. So, chill down a case of 8-ounce bottles and plan to drink eight of them sometime during each day.
Grab a bottle for your trip to work and pack several for your daily gym workout. Or if you're joining friends for a hike in the woods, get a carabiner and strap a bottle of water to your belt. Regardless of how (and where) you drink it, a chilled bottle of water is the most refreshing beverage around. Place the empties in your recycling bin or take them to your local waste transfer station.
To boost your water intake, the CDC suggests that you choose water rather than sugar-sweetened drinks. If you're managing your weight, replace a 20-ounce sugared soda with a glass of ice-cold water and save roughly 240 calories.
When you visit a restaurant, ask for a tall glass of water instead of soda or another fountain drink. Adding a slice of lemon or lime will spritz up the water and will likely entice you to get a refill. As an added bonus, you'll also save some cash.
- Mayo Clinic: Nutrition and Healthy Eating: “Water: How Much Should you Drink Every Day?”
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Drinking Water: “Water & Nutrition Basics”
- MedlinePlus: “Water in Diet”
- USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: “Measurement Conversion Tables: Measure Equivalents”
- Saving.org: “Calculate Volume”
- Metric Conversions: “Liters to US Fluid Ounces Formula”