How to Drink a Gallon of Water Each Day

A gallon of water is a lot. I’m not going to lie, I have to be really cognizant of drinking it if I am going to drink all 126 ounces of water daily.

If I don’t think about it, I can easily drink 40-60 for the day.

Then I’m battling a whole bunch of other stuff 

• Tiredness
• Hungry
• Lazy
• I’ve thought I was going to pass out at the gym
• I can get more bloated 

It’s not a good time.

But when I do well drinking my water, I honestly feel like a superhero.

It’s such a simple task but one that often gets pushed to the back burner. Especially when there are so many other drinks to have during the day and night.

I got really good at drinking my water when I was doing 75 hard a couple years ago and now it has been pretty routine for me but I still have my off days. When it comes down to it, you really just have to dedicate yourself to it.

I find that drinking more in the morning helps me out a ton! I have a big glass of water before I drink any coffee because throughout the night your body naturally is going to become dehydrated. Coffee dehydrates you even more. So the water in the morning actually wakes me up and the coffee assists in that. If you’re drinking coffee on an empty stomach, stop that right now! Your body is not ready for caffeine! Do yourself a favor and while you brew your coffee, force yourself to drink a glass of water before the coffee is done.

Yes, I say force. Because we all know if you didn’t have to force yourself, you’d already be doing it.

Water can get really old throughout the day if that’s the only liquid you’re drinking.  And I love all my drinks : coffee, sparkling water, fresh juice, energy drinks, tea, smoothies, legion protein shakes, honestly anything. And I never put anything off limits for myself but I do have a rule. I have to drink a bottle of water in between any other drink I have.

So I can’t have a coffee and then a protein shake I have to have a water in between them. This honestly helps me out a lot throughout the day.

And if you don’t use a gallon water jug, this is a game changer. It is a great visual for how much water you have drank and how much you have left. And it’s easy to track because you just need to drink the water until it’s gone. 

I’m not quite a gym bro when it comes to the gallon where I drink right from it, but I definitely have before. I pour the gallon into smaller bottles and keep it at my desk. This was the best during teaching because you can’t always leave to go and get water. I would keep the gallon by my desk at school and pour from it throughout the day. I think that’s the only way I could have drank my water during the school year because I would forget about it. 

Drinking out of a straw can help a ton too. I find I drink my water a lot faster when it comes from a straw so I have a ton of tumblers. (Speaking of, why do we feel the need to never get rid of a water bottle? My cupboards are overflowing with bottles and yet I can’t seem to donate any of them. It seems like a big decision to me so I just don’t do it. What if I’m going to use that one again?)

Maybe that’s just me, but I do need to go through my cupboards and throw out the ones I never choose. Cause let’s be real… We always pick the same 5 cups and leave the rest.

Another good rule of thumb for drinking your water is to set times when you’re going to drink it. For example, I tell myself before breakfast, lunch, dinner, and bed I need to drink at least 20 ounces. I need 20 ounces before and during my workout. Boom. 120 ounces, throw in my extra 6 somewhere along the way. You can use that same schedule or something else that works for you. But if I follow that, the gallon truly doesn’t seem so daunting.

When you drink water, you will be peeing out micronutrients which is necessary but too much can leave you with a deficiency. Hydration needs to be matched with more electrolytes. I aim for at least 80+ ounces of clear water and then you can fill up the remaining 40 with Liquid IV (code laurentaylorslifestyle saves you 20%) / mio / crystal light / EAA’s / LMNT / etc. so that you are able to finish it. 

At the end of the day, it comes down to getting into a routine and a habit of it. You don’t need to start from going from 1 water bottle a day to 6 of them. You can start small. If you’re only drinking 1 bottle of water a day right now, try to drink 2 a day for the next week and then up to 3 and keep going that way until you’re drinking enough.

And always pay attention to your body. Some people thrive on more water, some need less depending on your lifestyle & how your body feels. It is normal to get a little of bloating the first couple days that you increase your water intake but then you will see your body start to decrease its inflammation, your digestion will be better, and you may even have better lifts with more strength!