My goal this fall is to make drinking water a healthy habit. Here are some things I do to make it more interesting:

Add a slice of lemon, lime, grapefruit, peeled fresh ginger or cucumber

Add a sprig of fresh mint

Use water flavorings, like Flavors2Go, to add fruit flavors without calories/carbs/sodium. http://www.flavors2go.com

Freeze lightly flavored water until slushy.

Make decaf iced tea

Make flavored herbal iced tea

Freeze lemon, lime or cucumber in ice cubes (in ice cube trays) and use those ice cubes to make the glass of water attractive.

Do you drink from a bottle? Fill halfway and freeze. You can even flavor that half. Then add water (flavored or not) and the frozen block will help keep the rest of the water frozen for hours.

Choose a special glass. I use a clear plastic Tervis tumbler, insulated to keep water colder. And I buy cheap neon straws at Walmart or a party store to make it seem festive. At your home, maybe there's a special crystal glass you'd feel honored to drink from?

Buy a cheap ice shaving kit (Target/Walmart) and make Snow-Cones like when you were a kid. Flavor them with Splenda syrups or Splenda and flavors2go.

Add your own tips! :D

Here are some more ideas:

- Watermelon!
- Celery, tomato, lettuce, etc.

Carrying on from you shaved ice idea.... make mousse: You need a heavy-duty food processor for this, or a really heavy-duty blender. Turn the ice into snow. Then add some protein powder and a little non-fat, sugar-free pudding mix, and a little water or cold coffee. Beware that a little ice makes a whole lot of mousse.

The Flavors2Go product sounds like a great idea! A person can get a similar but not as natural effect by sprinkling a little bit of unsweetened lemon-flavored Kool-Aid into cold water. (This is the traditional powder in tiny packets, not the artificially sweetened stuff.) You need just enough to give the water a slight tanginess and extremely pale tint; and, unlike lemon juice, you can easily keep the packets in your desk drawer or car. I find that it's a fairly pleasant way to get through my goal of two one-liter bottles during the workday.

those flavors (flavors2fo) have 16 natural fruit flavors, plastic bottle fits in tiniest purse. I am so enjoying being able to take the to restaurants and my job... movies, everywhere.

plus, not sweet at all. (I try to avoid aspartame at all costs.) you can add sweetener, but they're totally refreshing without sweetener.

I've used them in chicken marinades, vinaigrettes, and to flavor whipped cream (low carb dessert). Raspberry is awesome indiet rite. Apricot and guava are good in iced or hot tea...

well, you get the idea.

Most of those "flavored" waters have too much sweetener in them...yuck. I love seltzer that is flavored but without sweetener - i.e. lime, tangerine, grape....It has a touch of flavor with out any other additives. Takes the place of soda too.

These flavors are even better. unsweetened, and you take the tiny bottle of flavor everywhere in purse, gymbag or briefcase, and flavor the water wherever you go.

Another tip which I was so excited to discover today...b/c for me anyway, water with lemon just doesn't cut it...so I tried it with a little sweet and low today to see if I could make some home made lemonade, and it worked. It was so good...I'm thinking seltzer water might work too. I got the idea, which I had thought of before but never tried when I was at a fair today and got a lime rickey which was so good...I was thinking how I culd make my own...I only have lemons, no limes, here at school or otherwise I would try it with limes, but I'm thinking that I might try my new lemon drink with selter water to make it more like a lime rickey. As we all know, water is important and good for us so let's keep these tips for drinking water coming. Hope I may have helped some of you out there...love ya, Alecia

I haven't done this recently, but here's a seltzer idea--

Frozen seedless grapes, cherries, raspberries, or strawberries (or any other fruit, or combo that sounds good to you)--get a big glass (like a clear beer pint glass,) layer fruit, ice, then seltzer....The water gets fruit-infused, and by the time you get to the fruit, it's fizzy.

I have found that those fruit2o's (sweetened with splenda) are a great alternative for people who have a hard time drinking water. I can drink plain H2O as long as I am not having it with a meal, but when I am eating I just HAVE to have something flavored so I opt for the fruit2o which still gives me my water but with a little added flavor. I have seriously cut down on the amount of soda that I drink ( even though I drink strictly diet, I know water is wayyy better for me!) The fruit2o is pretty much calorie/carb free!!
Also, I take the empty 20 oz bottles and refill them with plain water, fill them up half way and stick them in the freezer. That way I can get in my 8 glasses a day by saying well thats only roughly three bottles you have to drink instead of 8 glasses
*shrugs* I dunno, just sounds more appealing to me!:D

Food is also water. High-water content foods, such as fruits and vegetables definitely contribute to your water balance.The more you consume fruits and vegetables the more you add nutrients and vitamins to your body and enhance your water balance.
The diet plan i am trying to follow is very big on water intake in all its forms. Jim Karas of jimkaras.com said Americans simply do not drink very much water.Since starting his plan I try to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day and hot hot days even more. I also try to drink more water on the days I exercise or drink alcohol.

This is a great thread! Thanks for starting it Watergirl and thank you for all of you for adding to it!:cruise: :foot: :beam: