One of the principles of clean eating is drinking copious amounts of water everyday, which may be easy in principle but a challenge for some to put into practice consistently (including yours truly).

Truth be told, however, water really is an elixir that keeps our bodies strong and healthy.  It hydrates the skin, helps with detoxification and ensures that our bodily functions are working properly, just to name a few.  It’s also a great way to increase our energy without having to resort to caffeine.

But the question is, if you’re not naturally drawn to water, how can you build more of it in to support a clean lifestyle?  What can you do to get more down if you’re more inclined to drink coffee or nothing at all?

I talk a lot about ways to drink more water over on Twitter, mostly because that’s one of my biggest clean eating challenges. Talking about it keeps me focused on it. Yes, I can integrate more healthy foods in easily and we barely eat anything that’s processed, but the water thing…that’s my biggest obstacle.

So here are a few suggestions to get things flowing if you find you could use some additional hydration (and most people can because Americans tend to be chronically dehydrated).

• Use a straw. I love getting my water in this way, it goes down so much easier
• Choose a special glass or mug that you love. I swear that what I use to drink the water in has some impact on how much I get in, so there are a few cups I gravitate to
• Drink 8-16 ounces as soon as you get up in the morning.  We’re naturally dehydrated after a night of sleep and keeping it right by your bed makes it a no-brainer
• Drink herbal teas.  Water doesn’t have to be just water. What creative ways can you use to get it in?
• Add slices of lemon, lime or orange for flavor
• Add naturally sweetened flavor packs.  Celestial Seasonings makes Zingers to Go that you can add to your water and they’re only sweetened with stevia (a natural sweetener), nothing artificial like aspartame.

What do you do to get more water in? How does drinking more water support creating a clean eating lifestyle. Do Tell!

Filed under: Hydration, Sugar and Sweeteners, Water, clean eating