Ever forget to drink water all day, then suddenly realize you’re super thirsty at 9 PM?

Me too. And it’s probably affecting your health more than you realize.

Tracking your hydration alongside your meals is a game-changer for your overall health. It’s like having two pieces of the puzzle finally come together.

Let’s dive into why this combo approach matters and how to do it without making your life complicated.

Why Track Water With Your Food?

Water isn’t just something you drink when you’re thirsty. It’s the foundation of how your body functions.

Proper hydration:

• Keeps your energy levels up (goodbye, 3 PM slump!)
• Helps your body actually digest and use the nutrients from your food
• Prevents that “I’m hungry” feeling when you’re actually just thirsty
• Makes your brain work better (ever notice how foggy you feel when dehydrated?)

When you only track your food without paying attention to water, you’re missing half the story. It’s like tracking your running distance but ignoring your pace.

How to Track Both Without Losing Your Mind

1. Use One App For Everything

Nobody wants to juggle multiple apps just to track what goes into their body. Several platforms now let you monitor both in one place:

• MealByMeal: This service lets you text your meals and water intake, making it super simple to track everything together without opening multiple apps.

• Carbon Diet Coach: You can search for “water” within your daily entries or create a dedicated water log. It even adjusts recommendations based on your exercise level and climate.

• Trainest: Offers toggling on hydration tracking right in the nutrition settings, so you see water and food data side by side.

• MyFitnessPal: Allows water logging right from the food tab, showing your totals alongside your calories and macros.

2. Set Personalized Hydration Goals Based On YOUR Life

The old “8 glasses a day” rule? Yeah, that’s way too simplistic.

Your water needs depend on:

• Your body size
• How much you sweat (gym warriors need more!)
• The weather where you live
• What you’re eating (salty foods = need more water)

Apps like Trainest let you customize daily water goals based on your specific factors. I recommend adjusting your targets based on:

• Activity level (more water on workout days)
• What you’re eating (processed or salty foods need more water to process)
• Your pee color (sorry to get personal, but pale yellow = properly hydrated)

3. Log Water With Your Meals (Or Not)

You’ve got two main options here:

Option A: Log water as part of each meal
When you record breakfast, lunch, or dinner, add how much water you drank during that meal. Simple and contextual.

Option B: Create a separate water log
Some apps let you track water independently from food. This can help you focus more on your hydration patterns.

Either way works! Just pick one method and stick with it. Consistency beats perfection.

4. Set Up Smart Reminders

Let’s be honest – most of us forget to drink water regularly.

The best apps incorporate reminders:

• WaterMinder: Offers customizable notifications and easily adjustable cup sizes for quick logging.

• Water Time Drink Tracker: Includes fun animations and rewards to keep you motivated (because we’re all basically children who need gold stars).

• Trainest and Noom: Provide hydration alerts that complement meal tracking.

A simple timer on your phone works too. I set mine for every 2 hours during the workday.

5. Connect The Dots Between Water, Food, and How You Feel

After tracking for a few weeks, look for patterns:

• Notice how your energy levels change based on hydration
• See if drinking more water reduces post-meal bloating
• Track if proper hydration helps with workout recovery

Apps like Nutrilio help you connect water intake to mood, energy, and other factors. This is where the real insights happen!

Practical Tips From Someone Who’s Actually Done This

• Count all hydrating beverages: Water, herbal tea, and sparkling water all count. Coffee and alcohol? Not so much (they’re actually dehydrating).

• Track urine color: Sounds weird, but it works! Aim for pale yellow, not clear (too hydrated) or dark (dehydrated).

• Use text-based tracking for simplicity: Services like MealByMeal let you text your meals and water intake, which is way easier than opening an app 10 times a day.

• Link hydration to existing habits: Drink a full glass of water before each meal and after every bathroom break. Habits stack well together!

• Adjust seasonally: You need more water in summer and during workouts. Be flexible.

My Favorite Apps For Combined Tracking

While there are many options out there, these stand out for tracking both food and water together:

• MealByMeal: Text-based tracking that makes logging both food and water super simple
• Carbon Diet Coach: Great for personalized hydration recommendations
• Trainest: Clean dashboard showing both nutrition and hydration
• Noom: Focuses on building better habits for both eating and drinking
• MyFitnessPal: The OG nutrition tracker that also handles water well

Final Thoughts

Tracking hydration alongside meals isn’t just another health chore to add to your list – it’s a way to make your existing nutrition tracking way more effective.

When you monitor both together, you get a complete picture of your health inputs. You’ll start noticing patterns between what you drink, what you eat, and how you feel.

And ultimately, isn’t that the whole point of tracking anything? To feel better and understand your body better?

So grab a water bottle, pick an app that tracks both, and start seeing how these two crucial health factors work together!