In earlier posts, I’ve talked about why it’s important for people with cancer to stay hydrated. I’ve also shared some juicing recipes and talked about IV hydration therapy.
One of the easiest ways to stay hydrated is to drink more water. Most of us think we drink more water than we actually do. Without a bottle that shows us how much we’ve drank, we overestimate how much water we drink in a day.
For this reason, I’ve created a free printable water drinking chart so you can more closely track how much water you’re drinking.
When the body is properly hydrated, the cells can work together and do the jobs they were created for. Your brain works better and you’ve got more energy.
Staying hydrated can also help your kidneys flush out toxins from your system, which can help you feel better and provide your immune system a bit of a rest. It’s got enough to do to kill off cancer cells, so drinking lots of water can help boost your immune system so it can work better.
Every cell in your body depends on water to function correctly.
Everything from digestion to skin health and improving mood and concentration can depend on the amount of water a body has.
Some chemotherapy treatments and radiation can cause dehydration. This is because they can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, leading to fluid loss.
If you’re suffering from mouth sores from chemo, drinking water that is too cold or too hot can make the mouth sores worse. The pain can make you not want to drink anything at all.
How Much Water Do I Need?
There are a lot of factors that go into determining how much water you need. Your activity level, how much you weigh, and if you live in a hot and/or humid environment can affect what is considered a healthy water intake. A general guideline is that men drink 15.5 cups of fluids (3.7 liters) and women drink 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids each day.
Note that I said ‘fluids’, not just glasses of water. More on that in a minute.
You know your body best, and you know about how much water you currently drink each day. You know if you should start to develop a new habit of increasing your daily goal of drinking more fluids.
It’s ok if some days you don’t feel up to drinking as much water. But be sure to drink more on the other days to balance things out.
More Than Just Water Counts
While water is an ideal drink because it is (usually) available and easily accessible, sometimes water can be boring to drink.
I personally like to mix it up and have flavors because unless my water is ice cold, I struggle to drink a lot of it.
To do this, I like to add slices of fruit like cucumber, lemon or berries to my water bottle. The water gets infused with a slight flavor and it’s much more interesting to my taste buds that way.
Earlier I mentioned that a certain amount of fluids are recommended. It’s not just water, though water is what’s recommended by most doctors and nutritionists.
Almost any type of liquid can count. You may opt to drink some bone broth, have some tea, juice, etc. Each of these are water based and can be counted toward your daily intake.
Alcohol isn’t recommended, because it can dehydrate you even more, and most health practitioners recommend limiting caffeine and drinks with high levels of sugar, like pop or sports drinks.
I used to drink SO much Coke, and later, Coke Zero. When I needed to give it up for health reasons, I found I missed the carbonation, but I didn’t like the bitter taste of plain sparkling water.
I eventually found these flavored sparkling water drinks that give me the right amount of flavor plus that bit of carbonation.
They taste so good, I can drink them quickly and boom, I’ve drank 17 ounces of water in no time.
There are a number of foods with high water content, like cucumbers, watermelon, apples, tomatoes and zucchini. Adding these to your diet can also increase your total water intake for the day.
But without actually tracking and knowing how much water you’ve drank that day, you don’t know if the other liquids and foods with high water content have helped you meet or go over your recommended daily levels.
Benefits of Using a Printable Water Drinking Chart
Rather than guessing the amount of fluids you’re taking in each day, a printable water intake tracker is a great way to actually see how much you’re drinking.
Tracking by checking off when you’ve drank an 8 -10 ounce glass or a bottle of water can give you a good idea of how much you’ve actually had that day.
When you track something, you’re more aware of whatever it is that you’re tracking. Just like with a budget – once you start to track the money coming in and the money going out, you have a better idea of where you stand financially.
It’s the same with drinking water. A tracker is just a creative way to help keep hydration at the front of your mind.
Yes, you can use how you’re feeling and your energy levels as a gauge if you’re hydrated, but the truth is, cancer can mess things up in a big way.
The side effects of many cancer treatments can zap your energy and can lead to dehydration.
So unless you’re paying attention to how much water you’re drinking, you may just be guessing, and likely overestimating.
A water tracker serves as a constant reminder of your hydration goals, making it easier to form new, healthy habits. By keeping a visual log, you’re more likely to reach for a glass of water.
It can also be a way to ‘gamify’ your day – seeing if you can check off all the boxes in a day, or filling in one more than you had the day before.
It’s a fun way to challenge yourself and visibly see your success.
Try This Free Printable Water Drinking Chart
To help you track your daily water intake on the way to making sure you’re hydrated, I created this water tracker printable.
There’s no opt-in required – just click the image below and you’ll be able to download it to your computer and print it out.
The PDF file is currently in US letter size, but just send me a message if you’d like me to convert it to the A4 size. I’d be happy to send you digital files in a different size to meet your printing needs.
The simple chart allows you to color in or mark through each cup of whenever you’re done drinking water.
You can decide the size of cup or certain oz of water to use that will equal one cup on the tracker.
There are 31 days, making it a perfect free monthly water tracker to increase your hydration habits.
You can keep this simple, or make it colorful. You can even add stickers or doodles for customization.
It’s all about encouraging you to increase your water consumption and building a new, healthy habit.
Other Recommended Products
Here are a couple of suggestions on products that can help you build good habits. As a reminder, these are affiliate links, and I may make a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you choose to purchase any of these items.
When I’m craving a bit of flavor, I turn to this Crikul water bottle. I love that I can choose how intense I want the flavor to be.
There are lots of flavors available to choose from, including my favorite, fruit punch.
Making Every Drop Count: Beyond the Chart
If you’re not a big water drinker already, it may seem overwhelming to change your habits to drink enough water.
But taking baby steps in the right direction can make all the difference.
Use this free printable water drinking chart and see your progress over time.
Start by focusing on increasing your water intake today by just a little bit. Then tomorrow drink a little bit more.
Over time, you’ll see on your free water tracker that drinking more has become part of your daily routine.
Find creative ways to stay hydrated, whether it’s adding fruit or flavoring to your water, adding other healthy drinks to your day, or eating more high water content foods.
Make changes depending on how you’re feeling, like drinking lukewarm water if you’re sensitive to hot or cold liquids.
These changes may make a noticeable difference in your energy levels and how you feel overall during your cancer journey and beyond.
Encourage the whole family to join you in this change. Transforming hydration habits into a fun and engaging activity can help everyone increase their daily fluid intake without feeling like it’s a chore.
Click on the image of the water tracker above for immediate free access.
