Hey GEMS! We’ll all be spending more time playing outside and being active now that school is out. Since it’s hotter in the summer it’s important that we all drink plenty of water. We want to stay healthy so we can have lots of fun this summer, so we’ve come up with 5 tips for how to drink enough water.
But first if you’re not convinced you should be drinking water, here are a few fun facts for those of you who need to know why!
Our body is made up of 60% to 70% water. Now that’s a LOT of water! That alone should make all of us see how important it is to drink water! Our body uses water in so many ways. It’s needed for our muscles and joints to move, for our brain to think, for our stomach to digest food, and to keep our body from getting too hot or too cold. Water even effects if we are in a good or bad mood!
So, here’s our 5 tips on how to get enough water this summer!
1. Use a Fun Cup!
Get a colorful cup, with a fun straw. That’s way more fun than a plain glass, or a clear plastic water bottle, and you’ll always know which water is yours! Why not buy two? You can leave one at home, and take the other one with you when you go outside to play or go to the pool. Is super important to drink water when you’re active.
2. Flavor your water!
Put slices of lemon, lime, cucumber, or mint leaves in your water. It gives it a nice light natural taste.
Tip from Giselle:
We have lemon trees and also mint growing in our back yard. I love to put 4-5 mint leaves or a lemon slice in a glass of ice water. Sometimes I make a whole pitcher of mint water or lemon water and keep it in the fridge for everyone to enjoy. It tastes even better when it sits in the fridge for a while.
3.Keep Track!
If you drink your water from a small 8 oz glass or cup, you may want to keep track of how many cups you drink during the day. Ask your parents or your doctor how many cups you should drink.
Tip from Mercedes:
My Glammy (Grandma) told me I should drink about 7 cups of water a day. Sometimes I forget how many cups I’ve had, so she told me a fun way to keep track! In the morning I put 7 bracelets on my left arm. Each time I fill my water cup, I move a bracelet to the right arm. By the end of the day, all the bracelets should be on my right arm! If I’m doing good with this I might treat myself to a juice, but if most of the bracelets are still on my left arm, I stick with water!
4. Eat your water!
What? That’s right, raw fruits and veggies are loaded with water! So, eating those is another way to get more water each day. Have some watermelon, a juicy apple, some sliced tomatoes or any other raw fruits and veggies to get more water every day.
5. Drink water instead of soft drinks!
Soft drinks have sugar or artificial sweeteners, and other things in them that are not really good for you. Drink water most of the time and save the bottled juices and soft drinks for a special treat.
Tip from Evangeline:
Water is my favorite drink. When we go out to a restaurant, I usually order water instead of a soft drink or juice.
GEMS, put a water splash emoji in the comments if you are going to drink lots of water this summer. If you have any other tips, share them in the comments!
