Tips for Drinking More Water

3 Tips for Drinking More Water

Water consumption! Nearly every adult has said something like, “I really should be drinking more water.” But it’s easier said than done.

Sometimes it’s a bit more convenient to drink more water at work than it is at home. However, when you’re working from home for an extended period of time.

The Importance of Water Consumption

It’s a bit perplexing that a colorless, tasteless liquid can be so refreshing, but there’s nothing quite like a cool glass of water on a warm day. However, we don’t just need water for refreshment and rehydration. Water helps maintain our body temperature. It also removes toxins and wastes from our bodies. If you want a clear, less oily complexion, more water may be the secret. Drinking more water before or during a meal could result in eating less food.

Tip #1: Get a Clear Water Bottle

Water bottles come in all sorts of styles, colors, and shapes. But all of them were designed to keep you hydrated on the go. I’ve discovered that the best water bottles are those that are clear or see-through. Why? When you’ve decided to start drinking more water, it’s important to be able to access your progress very quickly. A brief glance at a see-through or clear water bottle lets you know whether you’re right on track or you need to take a sip.

Tip #2: Take Your Water Bottle EVERYWHERE

The easiest way to make sure you’re getting enough water is to drink during the course of the day. The best way for you to do that is to take your water bottle everywhere you go. That means, your water bottle is going to be your most popular accessory. It should go with you to the grocery store, to church, to every work meeting, to social events…everywhere. It should be such a part of you that if you’re without it, people actually ask you where it is.

Tip #3: Set Checkpoints During the Day

When I was younger, I was told that everyone should drink eight 8 oz glasses of water each day. I thought that 64 oz (or half a gallon) was a lot. During my personal trainer coursework, I learned that we should be drinking half of our weight in water. So if you weight 150 pounds, you should be drinking 75 ounces of whatever every day. That was overwhelming.

I discovered that the best way to get all those ounces of water consumed is to work within the idea of checkpoints. Suppose you wish to drink 80 ounces of water each day, and you have a 16-ounce water bottle. You would need to drink empty that water bottle five times in the course of a day. That may seem impossible.

However, you could use 9 am, 12 pm, 3 pm, 6 pm and 9 pm as checkpoints. Then you could aim to drink 16 ounces of water within each of those time frames. Drinking 16 ounces every three hours makes drinking 80 ounces in a day, a reality.

One Last Tip…

If you’re still having a little troubled drinking more water because you don’t like the tase, spice it up a bit. Add a little lemon juice. Or maybe some sliced fruit like strawberries or limes.


Hopping on the Scale! Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!


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Fun Family Fitness Ideas

Fun Family Fitness Ideas

This time of pandemic has greatly impacted how we do life. By now, many of us have adjusted to working from home. Or we work an essential position with a variety of different adjustments and new restrictions. But what about the kids, though. They’re missing out on recess, physical education, and youth sports. This week, I simply want to share a few fun family fitness ideas.

What is Family Fitness?

Family fitness isn’t all that different from personal fitness. Personal fitness is simply a person making the decision to get fit. Family fitness is nothing more than a family making the decision to get fit together. They could hire a personal trainer and have group sessions. It’s possible that they could attend the same fitness classes. However, the following options may be more appropriate for younger children. And they are definitely more applicable to our current situation

Play Tag

Most kids LOVE playing tag, but not the way you remember. When I was a kid, tag was simple. Someone was “IT”, and everybody else ran away from that person. If you made it to “base”, you were safe. If you got tagged, you were “IT”.

You don’t have to worry about coming up with new tag games on your own, though. Your children can probably teach you variations from recess our their PE classes. If not, check out these 10 Fun Tag Games for Kids.

Create Your Own Olympic Games

For the first time in history, the summer Olympic Games will be postponed, but your family can host your own version of the international sporting event. Simply pick categories like running, tossing, or jumping. Then create events that you can do around the house using minimal equipment. For example, you could have a paper towel toss or do rolled sock golf.

Don’t forget to include a scoring system and medals.

Geat a Daily Dose of Fresh Air

Maybe your family just isn’t into physical activity. The idea of running around playing tag or going all Olympian just doesn’t appeal to you…at all. You can still promote family fitness by making a commitment to getting some fresh air every day.

You could by walking five minutes away from the house before turning around and walking five minutes back. It might be surprising how accomplished you’ll feel. Who knows? You may even want to extend that walk the next time.

Keep It Moving

If these fun family fitness ideas work well for you, let me know. If you come up with your own fitness ideas, I’d like to know that, too. It doesn’t really matter what you do to keep your family fit. Just get out there and get moving!


Hopping on the Scale! Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!


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The Pros and Cons of Naps

The Pros and Cons of Naps

Years ago, I dreamed of working from home. I desired to be in charge of my own schedule and make a living doing only what I wanted to do. Since we’ve been “on lockdown” the past few weeks, my dream has come true; it just doesn’t look the way I thought it would. Beyond that, there’s one aspect of working from home that I’d never really considered until now: naps. I’ve realized that are significant pros and cons of naps that you might be interested in learning.

The Negatives of Naps (aka The Cons)

Let’s start with the bad news. There are definitely a few cons that should be mentioned before you settle in for your nap today.

Con #1: Inability to Sleep at Night

Last week, we discussed How to Avoid the Quarantine 15 last week. The first two things we talked about were getting enough sleep but not getting too much sleep. We normally take naps when we’re tired. But super long naps or naps that are too late in the day, aren’t good. They keep us up at night.

Con #2: Grogginess

Naps are thought to help you catch up on some rest or give you a boost of energy. That’s not always the case, though. Sometimes after a nap, you feel groggy or cranky.

Con #3: Cause Health Problems

According to Texas A&M University’s Health Science Center, long naps can lead to “serious health conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.”

Con #4: Shorten Life

The same Texas A&M article also stated that long naps have the potential to increase our risk of death.

The Positives of Naps (aka The Pros)

There is a wealth of research on the benefits of napping. In fact, it was a little difficult to restrict myself to just five. Even so, I think I found the five pros that will bless your soul.

Pro #1: Resembles a Mini-Vacation

According to the National Sleep Foundation, “A nap can be a pleasant luxury, a mini-vacation. It can provide an easy way to get some relaxation and rejuvenation.” I couldn’t have said it better, so I let them take that one!

Pro #2: Boosts Energy (and Saves Money)

This one may seem like a stretch, but it’s not. A lot of people hit a slump sometimes after lunch. Our energy seems to have evaporated, but we need to stay awake. So we spring for a drink or snack that will give us the kick we need to make it through the day. A quick nap can actually boost your energy…allowing you to save a little cash each week.

Pro #3: Relieves Stress

The National Sleep Foundation said that we can lower tension by taking short naps. A variety of other sources indicate similar findings. In fact, one article said that even five minutes of rest has a positive impact on stress.

Pro #4: Improves Memory

Sleep experts say that sleeping at night helps make our memories stick, so we can bring them up in the future. Other research studies have shown that taking longer naps has the same effect on memory consolidation.

Pro #5: Improves Your Appearance

I’ll bet you’ve looked at a friend or co-worker and thought, “They need some sleep.”

We can tell when people aren’t well-rested. There are dark circles under their eyes. And they just look…tired. Napping can help out with that. Sleep restores and rejuvenates our bodies. So if you think you look tired, you might just need a nap.

Weighing the Pros and Cons of Nap

As you can see, there are some legit negatives against and some compelling positives for napping. There are additional pros and cons of naps that aren’t listed here. One expert says that naps are detrimental to your health, and another states that naps can help you lose weight. You will need to decide for yourself. If you notice that you don’t sleep well when you take naps, then avoid them. However, if naps help you feel energized and alert, keep doing what you do. The choice is yours alone.


Hopping on the Scale! Don’t forget to hop on the scale and see where you are this week. Remember: if you were able to maintain and not gain, that’s still a win!


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