There are many things that don’t look so fresh when dehydrated: Plants, fish, and your skin just to name a few. So instead of looking like a fish out of water all winter, be sure to drink plenty of water, I wouldn’t want you to wilt.

If plain water bores you to tears than you need to drink some more water to replace those extra fluids you just lost, crybaby.

Wait! Who are you calling a crybaby?

Ok, so I guess that makes me a crybaby. While I can guzzle water like it’s my job during a workout, I often grow tired of water by the end of the day. So, if you are anything like me, you just might like these…

5 Ways to Add a Seasonal Splash to Your Ho Ho H2O

• Cinnamon sticks – Fill up a bottle or pitcher of water and toss in a cinnamon stick or three and refrigerate overnight to give your water a hint of flavor.
• Peppermint extract – Add a drop (I said a drop!) of peppermint extract to your water for a festive and refreshing flavor.
• Cranberries – I like to freeze fresh cranberries and use them as ice cubes. Ok, they don’t add a ton of flavor, but they sure dress up a glass, don’t they?
• Orange slices – I don’t need to explain this one, do I?
• Pomegranate juice – Freeze POM Wonderful juice in ice cube trays and drop them into your water bottle for a healthy pump of flavor.

Drinking enough water throughout the winter will go a long way in keeping your skin glowing from your face to your feet. That, and a little lotion—we can talk about that later because…

Now I really must go drink some water and tell Johnson & Johnson there really will be no more tears.

I always tell people that in my next life I want to come back as a man that way I can eat more and spend less time on my hair. You would cry if you knew how long it takes me to dry my hair, it’s ridiculous, isn’t it, Matt? But enough about my locks, let’s talk about my appetite.

I would eat all day long if I could get away with it, but I can’t so when I find tips and tricks to help keep my diet in check, I’m all ears. So when I heard this tip on the Today’s Show about drinking 2 glasses of water before every meal, I turned off the blow dryer and listened closely…

The research shows that people who drink two glasses of water before each meal eat on average 75-90 calories less than those that don’t. Hmmm…I eat several times a day so those calories could really add up quickly.

Now I really must go finish drying my hair and see what’s on tap for today!

You know how Jerry Seinfeld’s wife Jessica wrote that cookbook Deceptively Delicious where she cleverly hides healthy ingredients into every recipe to make sure kids eat enough veggies? I use some of the same techniques to trick myself into drinking enough water.

In fact, I’ve set up a “hydration station” in my fridge to make sure I stay properly hydrated during the dog days of summer.

While I enjoy good ole plain water, I also like to get my water in by making sure I have other healthy, ice cold, no-to-low calorie drinks on hand, two in particular:

• First up: Sun Tea! I love the flavor of sun-kissed black tea, but to kick up the health quality a notch, I sneak in 2-3 green tea bags to the taste-tea brew.
• Secondly: Lemonade! Who doesn’t love fresh squeezed lemonade? Instead of making it from a mix or with a fancy simple sugar, I just squeeze the juice of 3 lemons into a pitcher of water and stir in stevia to taste. Lemons have so many health benefits including a great dose of Vitamin C so drinking the real deal is a real steal.

When I get my fill of one of these flavors, I’ll replace it with some deceptively refreshing cucumber water. Right now I’m trying to sneak in over a gallon of H20 a day so the variety in my hydration station has been a lifesaver.

And while I’m working on staying hydrated all day long, I’m also really focusing on drinking plenty of water around during my workouts, too. In fact, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends 20 ounces of water before exercise and 10 ounces every 15 minutes of exercise. GULP!

What are your tricks for staying hydrated?

Now I really must go fill up a bigger water bottle all of this talk about water is making me thirs-tea!