Need a Nudge to Drink More Water? Try this MyFitnessPal Trick!

August 27, 2014

Need a Nudge to Drink More Water? Try this MyFitnessPal Trick!

Cool, refreshing water has been a hot topic on the blog for a few weeks now. The benefits of drinking enough water each day are undeniable, but remembering to hydrate is a habit that can take some time to develop.

MyFitnessPal will let you track your water intake in one-cup increments, but you’ve got to remember to do the drinking—and the logging! But what if you want to log your water in less rigid units of measure? Here are some power-tips to make your water-logging more fluid. (Yeah, I went there.)

If you’d like more flexibility in your water-logging, try searching the food database for “water – municipal.” The serving sizes available include cups, fluid ounces, grams, and even ice cubes—perfect for logging exactly the amount of water you’ve consumed.

You can also create a custom meal category for Beverages, or even exclusively for Water. Once a custom Water meal is in place, users of our Android or iOS apps can create reminders, and receive push notifications if nothing has been logged to that meal by a specified time of day. (Click here for full details on creating meal reminders.)

I hope these tips help you to stay hydrated. If so, you totally H-2-Owe me one! (Clearly, I can’t resist a good pun! #sorryimnotsorry)

Got any MyFitnessPal user tips of your own for staying hydrating? Share them in the comments below!

About the Author

Steven Spraragen

Steven Spraragen is the Customer Happiness Lead at MyFitnessPal, where teaching users about MyFitnessPal is his passion. Prior to joining MyFitnessPal he trained customers for Apple, Inc., and acting students for New York University and California Institute of the Arts.

26 responses to “Need a Nudge to Drink More Water? Try this MyFitnessPal Trick!”

Andre says:

August 27, 2014 at 10:06 am

Cool, you need to add it to the Windows Phone app too.

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theunknownsleeper says:

August 27, 2014 at 10:55 am

MFP does a lot of different things for a lot of different people who have a lot of different goals. I would love to see an alert functionality added that would allow for a “drink water” alert that I currently need a separate app for.

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Little_Monster says:

August 27, 2014 at 11:29 am

Super helpful! Would love more blogs like this, figuring out the ins and outs of customizing MFP!

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bshulbs says:

August 27, 2014 at 1:19 pm

I carry a 750mL water bottle with me at all times and aim to drink 4 bottles a day. Because I am only drinking out of one container, I always know how much I’ve drank. Drinking 3L of water a day has totally helped my weight loss because I’m always full of water!

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- adam says:
  
  August 27, 2014 at 8:39 pm
  
  I’m with you there too. I have a blender bottle that holds a little over “3 cups” when its filled to the absolute brim. I fill this up at midnight every night, and log the water in 3s, as I drink the water……:) I typically drink 4-6 bottles per day……aiming for half my body weight in fl. oz……
  
  Reply
  - tifee says:
    
    October 2, 2014 at 3:22 pm
    
    Can you explain the half body weight in fluid ounces of water. Would love to know what my body really needs. Thank you in advance.
    
    Reply
Josiah says:

August 27, 2014 at 3:51 pm

I wish MFP on my phone would buzz in my pocket when I need to drink another cup of water. That would be nice.

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- Victoria says:
  
  September 5, 2014 at 7:25 pm
  
  There are some great apps that do that. I love waterlogged for iOS (the downside is it costs $3.99) and I am sure there are some wonderful free iOS/Android apps as well.
  
  Reply
- Jennifer says:
  
  September 6, 2014 at 5:34 am
  
  Josh I just got app called water minder, it buzzes and tells me periodically during day that I need to drink!!
  
  Reply
- Leah_Vaughn says:
  
  June 5, 2016 at 8:41 am
  
  i wish it would just let us log in Oz. My water bottle is 32 oz so i just have to use 4 cups for that & use another app to get the functionality
  
  Reply
Bridelooksat50 says:

August 29, 2014 at 9:07 am

One way to make sure you get enough water is to pre-fill a clear pitcher with your desired daily intake. Keep it where you will see it. Or simply set your phone at intervals. Drink Up!

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Catherine says:

September 5, 2014 at 6:28 pm

the waterlogged app works for me – I tell the ap my daily goal, start and end time, number of reminders I would like throughout the day and you can log your water in 8 oz increments

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21marsha21 says:

September 6, 2014 at 5:00 am

Here’s the best way of tracking: purchase a 32 oz. water bottle with the oz.s marked on the side and carry it with you throughout your day. Then consume 3 bottles a day. Easy to track, as well as being a gentle reminder. I found my bottle at Target.

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Sharon says:

September 6, 2014 at 5:02 am

I bought a water jug at Walmart that holds just over 2.0 litres, I fill that in the morning and keep it with me throughout the day. Sipping water regularly makes it very easy to empty the jug verses stopping to drink a whole glass, which just doesn’t happen. I usually finish the jug mid afternoon, and it’s worked for me for 2 years now. Combining the water consumption with better food choices/portion control, I’ve managed to lose about 40% of my body weight.

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Doreen Burke says:

September 6, 2014 at 5:17 am

I use Water Your Body app on my phone. It let’s you log in the amounts and will buzz every hour or so if you don’t log in that you drank you next amount.

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- Doreen Burke says:
  
  September 6, 2014 at 5:17 am
  
  It’s free!
  
  Reply
Gabrielle says:

September 6, 2014 at 8:01 am

Do things like Crystal Light & Iced (black)Tea count towards my total water for the day? I get tired of drinking plain water – no matter how good it tastes.

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- Tmedina says:
  
  September 6, 2014 at 2:09 pm
  
  Gabrielle I heard that doesn’t count! 🙁
  
  Reply
- Sabrina says:
  
  September 7, 2014 at 4:02 pm
  
  My doctor told me that plain water is better for you because it goes right through the stomach. But if you have a hard time drinking plain water you can put water inhancers in your water because it is more important to drink the water how ever you can take it is better than not drinking water at all. Hope this helped. It helped me because I have a hard time drinking my water. how
  
  Reply
- Redmond Jennings says:
  
  September 9, 2014 at 6:26 pm
  
  Yes, it absolutely counts. Caffeine has a mild diuretic effect that is thought to dehydrate slightly, but that’s not scientifically proven (as most beliefs about food are not). Even it’s true the volume of liquid you take in from drinking large amounts of tea will more than make up for the small amount negated by caffeine.
  
  Think about it; for much of human history water was unsafe to drink (still true in many parts of the world) and people survived by drinking other things. A lot of people still don’t drink plain water at all on a regular basis. Are those people desiccated husks? Pure water is great, but what really matters is fluid intake vs. output.
  
  Reply
TiddlyWink7 says:

September 6, 2014 at 5:41 pm

Gabrielle, my Doctor told me all water counts, coffee, tea, crystal light, herbal teas, smoothies, soups, even watermelon that is mostly water. So try a bit of everything .

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Rebecca says:

September 7, 2014 at 8:50 am

The title for this article was deceiving. It referred to using water log apps versus HOW to drink more water. I hope the writers will be more clear next time.

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Mellow N Calm says:

September 7, 2014 at 7:38 pm

Here is my fast and easy TIP for drinking water:
on the o’clock have a glass of water.
Most of the time you will not be able to but out of 24 O’Clocks (if you will) there are at least 8 you can drink water.

have a reminder on the 1/2 and hour.

good luck. it works great for me…. I just need help meal planning!

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Beverly says:

September 8, 2014 at 5:44 am

No issue at office….I’ve my 32oz cup on desk that I fill up twice, drinking both fills by end of work day (8AM-4PM). Though I take with/drink from my cupped water in car while driving about (to include taking cup to vacation destination(s)), my issue was ensuring intake while at home (weekends/etc) as I tend to not use the cup unless leaving house. My reminding solution? After every trip to the bathroom, I drink a 12oz cup of water….no apps needed. “]

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Redmond Jennings says:

September 9, 2014 at 4:57 pm

That was NOT a good pun.

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Irnz says:

August 5, 2015 at 9:17 am

I always found it hard to drink water in large enough quantities even though I enjoy the taste, but I do notice that when I am dehydrated I crave foods that tend to have more water content such as fruits and vegetables. Some days i find that i only drink one or two cups of wasted a day, while other days I might drink 8-10 cups. I wonder if there it’s a way to calculate total water consumption from food as will as fluids to see if I am actually getting enough on a daily basis…any suggestions?

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