Ok... here in lies my problem.... I know I'm not drinking enough water. I've tried forcing myself to drink it, and that hasn't worked. Before starting atkins.. i'd drink anything else... now... I'd rather drink crystal light or the carbonated flavored water type stuff you can get at walmart. if those two aren't availible i've noticed i will just not drink any thing. I keep a bottle of water @ my desk at work but just can not get into drinking it :(

Somebody help!!!!! Please!!!! I'm 8lbs from being halfway to goal and i'm absolutely my lack of drinking water is what's slowing me down..... suggestions welcome.....

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:butterfly NikkyLee :butterfly

230/207/160

NikkyLee - I used to have the same problem. I still struggle to get in 100 oz. a day, but what helps me is if I break it down - two 50 oz. bottles a day (one in a.m., one in p.m.) or now, three 33.8 oz. bottles (smaller bottles don't seem so intimidating). I can definately tell a difference in my weight loss if I am not getting enough water.

Good luck to you.

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Suzanne (Atkins - 1/9/04)
195/168/145

I have a plastic bottle with a straw in it that I got from walmarts, and it holds approximately 32 oz. I start early in the day trying to finish one of them, and the second one by mid afternoon. That leaves from then to bedtime to finish the third one...That is as close as I can get to drinking a lot of water. One thing to remember, if you aren't drinking any, then, whatever amount you DO manage to drink is a good thing, right? I found its easier if I divide it up into 3 equal portions with a time limit for each one over a days time.

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In the cookies of life, we are the chocolate chips.

I'd gotten really bad about drinking my water, so about two weeks ago I dug out my old gallon container from when I first started this WOL. Since I decided I didn't like lugging it to and from work everyday I changed my strategy. I keep a smaller, 20 oz bottle on my desk. Each morning I fill my gallon jug up with water, then transfer to my smaller bottle. I love the coffee here at work, so I chug a bottle before I let myself go get a new cup of coffee. I make it a point to finish my gallon jug before the day is out (rewarding myself with anywhere from 3-5 cups of coffee!). Getting all the water in earlier in the day helps keep me from getting up all night long, plus I know when I get home I can "indulge" in some crystal light or diet soda.

Hang in there, the beauty of water is the more you drink, the more you want!

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LC since 4/22/03

"Can't Means Won't"
"No matter where you go, there you are..."

(266)257/200.5/125
Preggo/Due May 7, 2005
Gained alot when I quit smoking
Preggo at 236.6/current 241.6--11 weeks

well...let's see. for me, i was used to drinking all day long (as in cappachino and dr. pepper), so when i quit, i still wanted something.

things that helped me:

-keeping several smaller water bottles in the fridge all all times. it's WAY easier for me to drink water when it's cold, cold, cold! as soon as one of my bottles started to get warm, i'd switch it out.

-when i realized that i was actually developing MUSCLES from the water bottle lifting-and yes, i know that's funny, but it's true-well, it encouraged me! i got me a huge, insulated 64 oz. water mug from walmart. is has water facts and benefits of drinking water all over the outside. so it's encouraging, and i also know that if i drink at least 1 of them a day, i've got 64 oz. i usually drink 1 1/2 -2, though.

-it builds on itself. in other words, the more water i drink, the more i'm thirsty for. keep it available all the time like you are, and just work your way up.

-i don't buy myself pop anymore at all, or anything else to drink for that matter. my dh doesn't understand how i can just drink water instead, but i figure hey, why would i want to replace a bad habit (dr. pepper chugging) with another crutch instead of just slurping up the water that helps anyway?

if you're stuck on crystal-light and flavored waters, you may want to try "watering" them down gradually with pure water until you're drinking more straight water and you stop missing the flavors/sweeteners as much.

i also like to fill up my monster mug with ice, then water, and leave it in the fridge overnight or if i'm going to be away or busy or something. when i get it back out, it's delightfully cold!

for me, the coldness is the absolute biggest thing that helps it taste good. and as a plus, your body actually uses up a few calories more for very cold water...

i don't know if any of these ideas help, but i hope so. good luck, nikkilee!

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Take baby steps! If it's Crystal Light or bottle flavored waters you like, fine. Fill your bottle halfway with one of those and then the rest good ol' WATER. You'll get used to it. You can gradually reduce the amount of the flavored stuff and pretty soon you'll be drinking plain WATER and loving it!

I cannot drink tap water - it tastes nasty to me. We drink Brita-filtered water at home and at work. I also like mine ice-cold.

My DH has a devil of a time with his water intake too - but he loves Koolaid, which I sweeten with liquid Splenda concentrate (you can buy this at www.locarber.com ) - he WILL drink plain water at mealtimes but not in between - I figure drinking the sf Koolaid is better than NOT drinking any water at all for him. I do make it more diluted than the package suggests.

Give it a try!

Char

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Veni, vidi, velcro. I came, I saw, I stuck around.

Save the Earth - it's the only planet with CHOCOLATE!

I can't help you cause I have the same issue..

So I wanted to jump in and ask a question. I too have been purchasing recently the flavored water from our local Food Lion (to try to get away from drinking ice tea all day).

The waters are aspertame free, caffiene free, and sodium free (flavored with splenda) and is carbonated. It has increased my water comsumption greatly. Are these flavored waters a bad thing then? Is the carbonation a bad thing?

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:silly:
Wolfman
207/178/175
Top Weight: 220 (Oct 2000)
Lowest Weight: 178 (Oct 2003/Dec 2006)

I drink sport bottles of water from the grocery store. I lug four with me each day to work. I make it a goal to have them finished before I get home. I try to absolutely push down 20 ozs before bkfst. I also find that the more water I drink the more thirsty I am for it. I was never a water drinker before this WOL. I know that you know (and I have to keep reminding myself!) that it is the water that is the key to weight loss. It's also good to keep things "moving," if you get my drift.
Peace, Peg
1/1/03
205/170/155
5'8"

I originally was doing the sport bottles - and doing it well. Then for some reason, not so well.
About 2 months ago I changed over to squirting the bottles into a nice cup (fun cup) on my desk. It takes 2 cups to use my bottle, but I find I can drink the cup pretty quickly and move onto the next one.
Mind games is mostly what it is about. But this seems to be working for me. I still use the sports bottles, just easier to gulp down out of the cup/glass whatever.
Now I am drinking more than I used to.

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Mary Kay
2009 - 223
Valentines day goal - 214

I have four one-liter water bottles. I keep three in the freezer, and have one out at all times. When the ice in the one I'm drinking starts to get too small, time to take another out of the freezer. When you have ice in it, it stays cold. I can't stand warm water, but I'm a big water drinker. Have to have it all the time. I'm glad everyone else has caught up with me on the water thing, because 20 years ago I was embarassed to always have a water bottle in my hand.

Good question wolfman... hope I don't miss the answer.

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In the cookies of life, we are the chocolate chips.

i totally agree that the water is crucial. I had trouble getting enough at first, so i did something that helped me. I know that most people drink their water cold and it helps them drink more. I was jsut the opposite. It was too cold for me to drink it fast enough to get enough in. I was sipping.

So...I started drinking it at room temp, and made a rule for my self that everytime i picked up the bottle, I had to drink several gulps before stopping. It is easier since the water is not cold. I have a 32 oz bottle on my desk and i make myself go through 3 of those a day. The other 32 oz i drink at breakfast, dinner and before bed.

I can truly tell a difference when I am not drinking my water.

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Renee
1/19/04
261/220/160
41 lbs off
60 lbs to goal



Race to 199 Challenge
Labor Day Challenge: Focusing on the Journey
Personal Goal: 199 by 12/31/05

See, I made sure I read the label before i bought them too (personally i like the strawbery banna better from wally-world) i think it's a combo of liking the bubbles (or being addicted to them) and needing to "taste" something. For instance you know those "low fat" people eat those nasty rice cakes? I could never stomach them cuz there's no taste.... i think the same "mental" thing applies...

but this is still a good question wolfman... i hope i hear the answer too

Thanks for all the suggestions

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:butterfly NikkyLee :butterfly

230/207/160

I do the same thing Peg does (lugging the bottles to work). I can buy Deja Blue from Kroger for $1 a 6-pack (16.9 oz.) when they are on sale.

I drink one on the way to work, one before 10:00 a.m., another with lunch, I keep another on my desk for sipping, and I drink one on the way home. (I have a 32 oz. iced tea w/Splenda with dinner.) And, I don't allow myself to be online without a bottle of water on the desk. And it usually takes me almost a whole bottle to get all my supplements down.

So, let's see, that's around 140 oz. on a GOOD day. But, I do have to remind myself and be aware. Water drinking doesn't come naturally to me, either!

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The thing I am best at with this WOL is the water part.
I often will drink over 200 oz a day.

I buy sports bottles from the supermarket. I have them half full with water and freeze them. I fill them in the morning (I wont drink water if it is not cold). I will drink 2 of them during the "non eating times" of my day.
AND I find that I drink almost 50 oz of water each meal.

I always use a straw when using a cup.
I NEVER go anywhere without water. I figure every oz. counts and even if I only have a sip or 2 it is still helping.

I quit smoking 2 years ago and I figurethat the straw and sports cap replace that oral need.

I dont know if this helps but it is what works for me.
Amy G

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Began 1/12/04 245/177/150?:Restart 1/12/07 223/223/170????