water {life}
Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 12:00PM 
I told you awhile back about reading The Power of Habit. I loved that book, as many of you have, and it continues to resonate with me. Neel's reading it now, and he's thoroughly digging into better understanding the elasticity of the mind. Pretty cool stuff. So, as you may have guessed, I'm trying to change some habits here and there, starting with some little things. The easy to tackle stuff. Who doesn't need to drink more water, right?
For Habit #1 I've been trying to drink a cup of water first thing, before I get going on my day. I'm generally up before everyone, so as soon as I get down to the kitchen, I pour myself a cup of water in my "Evans Poston for Commissioner of the Revenue" mug and resolve to finish it before Neel arrives to make coffee. I'm mostly successful. Mostly. Some mornings my mug gets finished before we head up to get Callum rolled out of bed, and some mornings my mug gets finished before everyone gets rolled out the door. Still, it gets done and consumed before anything else.
Habit #2 is a bit more fun. A few weeks back, I breezed past a recipe that someone had posted on Facebook for an infused water, one of those "Lose Weight Now!" things. I don't put a lot of stock in those claims, so I never clicked on the recipe itself to see what the real promises were, but the basics stuck in my head. Three eight ounce cups a day of water infused with the following: 1 cucumber sliced, 1 slice of grapefruit, 1 segmented tangerine and a bunch of mint. I actually don't have a problem drinking water throughout the day, but it never hurts to be more intentional about it, and this recipe sounds nice. I've been a fan of cucumber water for ages, especially since my friend Seamane and I had it at the Williamsburg Spa several years ago. So I thought I'd give this a go. With my first batch, I layered the grapefruit on top and it ended up a bit bitter, so with the second batch the cukes went on top and it was just right. Mild, fruity, and more flavorful as the week went on. Easy to get those three cups a day. Well, easy enough, I guess. I might still be working on this habit too, actually.
But no matter what, more water is good, right? Are you guys getting enough? What things are you doing to mix it up and make sure you get enough? And what about your habits? Any goood ones going? Anything you're trying to get rid of? Don't even get me started on those!
Reader Comments (10)
I chug chug chug water all day like I've been walking in the desert for centuries. I probably have more water than you're supposed to, once you add it all up, actually. Hm. I don't really drink anything else, except for tea, and the occasional glass of cranberry juice. I can't do caffeine so that takes care of soda, and well, I guess there's seltzer in the mix, too, but that's just water when you come down to it, right? This looks yummy, but I certainly don't need any help getting my fill. Beautiful presentation!
This looks delicious. I definitely have to drink more water and I love the idea of infused waters.
I've never tried infused water, but your pictures DEFINITELY make me want to try some!!! (you should have me over next time you make some ;)
hello there! it's thursday afternoon, and my husband volunteered to take our teen both to the dentist AND her far away soccer game! ah! here i am. so - your photos need a frame. they were a post with not text at all.
if you insist - i'm reading that book - on your and heather's recommendations - and processing it. drinking more water is a great one to start with - what worked for me there was a hot water maker in the classroom. so i drink unsweetened tea. as long as we are not too busy, that's where i get my water. but your infused water sounds just delicious. i'll try it!
Beautiful habit. Do it every day for 30 days and it becomes a habit, right? You're almost there. ;) You are so smart to make the water both pretty and flavorful. I always forget that step. When I was reading May Cause Miracles, Bernstein suggests making your mediation space a place that you look forward to using - a comfy pillow, your favorite blanket, a nice smelling candle. This way you're more likely to stick with the practice. I bet you can guess what I did. I got down to the business of attempting to meditate and skipped the whole creating-a-peaceful-space, aaaand I didn't stick with it. All of this is to say, you're on the right track. Thank goodness my water drinking habits are well ingrained. Besides my one cup of coffee in the morning, all I drink is water. PS~I'm thinking it's time to reread that book. ;)
Well I gave up caffeine in February and I haven't had an alcoholic since drink since.........6th April! Get me! That's a real achievement for a British person as basically we are all dipsomaniacs.
Chocolate is more of a struggle. I am welded to the crappy vending machine at work and my solution is to quite my job and industry so I never have to be near one again. I have a theory that if you have a chocolate vending machine in your office then you don't like your job. Because people with fun jobs don't need them.
Nope, so not getting enough water. I took recently to slicing up lemon and adding to the jug of water, like you, to mix things up a bit. It was fun for a day but then gave me stomach troubles. I won't go into detail :-)
I love your colour combinations Lauren, your photos are always so stunning.
Like Annie, I've been avoiding alcohol too. I can't tell you how many more hours I've squeezed out of a weekend since making the decision not to indulge.
gorgeous photos lauren! i need to drink more water too. i always have a glass right when i wake up and a few throughout the day but, i need more. like erin. lots more. as you get older you realize your skin needs copious amounts of water. walking is also on my "do that 100x more than you do" list.
A great habit to be forming. Lauren, the colours in these shots are divine. The colour combination makes me feel so happy. I think I will read The Power of Habit too xx
If I had such pretty looking water, I'd probably drink more as well. Those are good habits to get into - my parents do the whole drinking water before the day gets started as well. I've been trying to be more efficient about my time and not spend as much of it parked in front of the tv. It's tough, as I like the background noise, but tv really is unnecessary to my day