The average Australian only drinks 1.29 litres of water each day.
With the recommended intake almost double that at 2.6 litres for men and 2.1 litres for women, most of us need to shape up and make some serious lifestyle changes to stay properly hydrated.
One team of employees at Mackay Regional Council is changing how much water they drink in a day by undertaking a 30-day water challenge.
Challenge lead and coordinator of employee services Renae Campbell said her team is shaping up by inspiring each other to drink a minimum of two litres or 8 cups of water per day.
“It’s quite confronting to see how little water you have been consuming when you’re not closely monitoring it,” she said.
“Only two weeks into the challenge we already started to see benefits such as increased energy, improved skin and reduced appetite.
“Seeing this, and understanding all of the health benefits that come with drinking enough water each day, has been an eye-opening experience for our team.”
As part of the community-wide Let’s Shape Up! initiative, leaders within council are looking at ways to inspire their tribe and assist their staff to make healthier lifestyle choices.
The Employee Services team has used this to identify a health and wellbeing goal that was inclusive and achievable for all.
“Our team members vary in age, lifestyle, health and activity levels, therefore we needed to ensure whatever goal we chose was something we could commit to together,” she said.
“Initially it was only the Employee Services team of seven undertaking this challenge, however, it has since generated some interest with other employees and they have joined us on our challenge which is great.
“The more we can encourage to join us, the better!”
With the challenge end-date now over, the team aim to continue to drink the recommended daily water intake and are even planning their next challenge.
“By focusing on our water intake, checking in on each other’s progress throughout the day and reminding those who struggle to hit the 8 cups per day mark, we have made drinking water a topic of discussion which we would like to see continue,” she said.
“We are a tight-knit unit and love nothing more than working together which we get to do even more of with this challenge so we would like to extend upon this even further.
“We are currently researching 10,000 step challenges and are looking to challenge other teams in our office to a ‘Race Tournament’ where teams race against each other to reach the virtual finish line.
“We thought this would be a fantastic way to get moving as our roles are fairly sedentary, being office based, and also a brilliant way to bring other teams along on our journey!”
Tips on drinking more water:
• Carry a water bottle with you to encourage you to drink more water.
• Have a drink of water with your meals and snacks.
• Keep fluids cool.
• Men should be drinking around 2.6 Litres of 10 cups of water a day.
• Women should be drinking around 2.1 Litres of 8 cups of water a day.
• You should increase your intake with heavy exercise, sweating or extreme heat.