Hydrate Your Way to a Better You

When I was younger I was terrible for not drinking enough. In fact I made myself quite poorly, ending up with a lot of urine infections as a child. Trouble is I never get that thirsty feeling, I could go all day without having a drink and it wouldn't bother me. However I have come to realise after much telling that drinking plenty (of the right things) can really help keep you healthy and that you can in fact hydrate yourself to a better you.

So what to drink? Well I have four simple suggestions for you, some more for hydration, others could be described as meals and maybe something a little more indulgent for you. So lets start with the obvious.

Water

Everyone should drink more water. Now the way I got myself drinking more water was to get myself a snazzy water bottle with timings on the front of it. This encouraged me to drink more regularly and allowed me to keep track of just what I'm consuming. 

The bottle I have can hold around 600ml of water and I drink two of these a day which means I'm having around 1.2L of water daily. My only problem in the beginning was my constant need for the toilet but as my body got used to the amounts my need for a wee got less and less and now when I do pee my urine literally looks like water!

Coffee

Now I'm not talking about all those flavoured coffees from places like Starbucks although I do like a good frappucino every now and then, no I am talking about just your bog standard black coffee. I drink a cup of coffee every morning about half an hour before I exercise and you're probably wondering why I do this.

The reason is that the caffeine in the coffee actually makes you sweat more when you exercise, which in turn allows you to burn more calories so a real help with weight loss as well as giving you a bit of energy to start your day.

Smoothies

As well as keeping you hydrated, smoothies can be a great source as part of your five a day and if you are busy and on the go all of the time like me, they can also be used as a meal replacement. I like to have one at either breakfast or lunch time if I don't have time to sit down and eat.

Here is my favourite recipe right now :

1 cup of almond milk

1 handful of spinach

1 tbsp peanut butter (or any other nut butter)

2 frozen already chopped bananas

3 soft pitted dates

Blend all these ingredients in a blender and enjoy. It turns a lovely shade of green when it is blended and tastes wonderfully sweet so you feel like you're getting a nice treat at the same time.

Cinnamon, honey and lemon

If you like a hot drink, a good cup of tea or coffee or even a mug of hot chocolate this drink is a brilliant replacement. Just 1 tsp of cinnamon, and a tbsp each of honey and lemon all mixed up in a mug of boiling water makes a drink that tastes surprisingly good. 

The lemon is full of nutrients and the cinnamon is a great anti-inflammatory and the mixture together makes a good drink to not only keep you healthy but it also aids in weight loss too. I've been drinking a mug in the evenings when if I start feeling the need to eat and it stops those cravings quickly.

So there we have it. Four drinks which will help you hydrate your way to a better you. Do you have any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them in the comments below.