Are you drinking enough water?

The Eatwell Guide suggests we aim to drink six to eight glasses of fluid each day, but how many of us are actually drinking enough? Previously, we asked an expert on the importance of hydration. This time, we asked the Nutritionist Resource team to share their thoughts.

Do you think you drink enough water? If yes, how do you ensure you drink enough and do you have any tips? If no, what stops you?

“I don’t like tap water and used to just drink squash at home, but now I use a Brita filter water bottle and never have squash! I’m used to it now and will always (well, almost always) grab a bottle of water before anything fizzy or flavoured.” – Kat.

“I invested in a sturdy, 1 litre bottle and it’s great because it makes staying hydrated wherever I go easy! This has got me into a good habit of bringing water to work and making sure I drink at least a litre before the end of the day. Then I refill it before the gym, and again when I have dinner.

I’m much better at staying hydrated during the week. I find I get distracted at weekends – because there’s not a water bottle next to me, I have to make a conscious effort to drink and that results in me drinking less.” – Becky.

“At work I aim to get up and walk around every hour, as sitting for too long has so many negative health implications. I use refilling my water glass as a good reason to move, otherwise I find myself making excuse (I’ll just finish this email… 5 emails later…). Coinciding my water consumption with other activities like this (I’m a FitBit fan too!) helps get me into good hydration habits! If I get bored of plain water, I add a little squash or lemon slices.

I’m really lazy about getting up for water at home, it’s easy to get distracted and forget. To combat this, I make up a 1.5 litre bottle of highly-diluted squash to keep close by and sip at periodically.” – Jo.

“I drink enough during the week as I always have a water bottle on my desk and drink plenty of fruit tea throughout the day. Having a water bottle with a sports cap encourages me to drink more for some reason. I notice I don’t drink as much at weekends, and will suddenly feel really thirsty.” – Kim.

“I don’t think I drink enough. Remembering to have some water is key – I drink a lot of tea during the day, so I do find drinking water in between can help!” – Claire.

“I am terrible at making sure I’m drinking enough water – I love a cup of tea and I’m partial to a fizzy drink! It was one of my new year’s resolutions to drink more water (like many others) but one thing I have found helps is having a fabulous cup to drink out of, I personally have several coloured beakers with straws and feel so much cooler drinking water out of these, compared to a boring regular cup! I get compliments every time I refill it, so that only pushes me to fill it up more often!” – Lucy.

“There are some days when I think I drink enough, though there are others when I forget to drink completely! I do find that drinking from a bottle helps me to drink more, though I’m not sure why!” – Emily.

“I never used to drink water. I would drink plenty of tea and perhaps some squash, but never water on it’s own. A couple of years ago I set myself a New Year’s resolution to drink more water, and since then I am constantly sipping away at my desk. I aim for three pints during the working day. I still join in the tea round, but I stay away from squash!” – Sian.

“No, I don’t think I drink enough water because I just don’t think about it! For me, the best way to remember is to fill a pint glass every morning and keep it on my desk at work, or on the worktop in the kitchen. That way every time I see it, I drink and refill it!” – Debs.

“I used to go the whole day before realising I hadn’t drank any water, until my best friend bought me a (Nalgene) water bottle. Now, I take it with me everywhere I go. Having it on-hand at work and in my handbag means it’s the first thing I reach for. It was a simple fix and makes it much easier to make sure I am continually drinking water throughout the day. I’ve had it for almost two years now and have been drinking water regularly since.” – Amie.

“I used to use a bobble bottle, but the supermarket near me stopped selling the filters, so for a while I would buy a six pack of the 1.5 litre bottles and keep them at work, drinking one a day. That way I was sure I was drinking enough!” – Ben.

“I think that between all of the decaf coffee (around 6 cups a day) and glasses of water and squash, I do drink enough.”  – Matt.