It is always important to drink enough. But especially in hot weather, it is essential to maintain hydration. MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiß drinks a lot, but often the wrong things. A brilliant app now holds up a mirror to her.
In the height of summer, the weather often tortures us with temperatures around and above 30 degrees. Cooling down is the first thought that comes to mind. But it is also important to drink regularly and especially enough. Drinking is truly vital as the body cannot sustain itself without enough fluid.
The Consumer Center states, for example, that water is essential for transporting nutrients through the body, excreting toxins through the kidneys, and regulating body temperature. Especially the latter is important on hot summer days – it’s hard to sweat when you water your body as often as a cactus.
To reach my personal drinking goals, I got myself a tracking app. However, it first cleared up some misconceptions for me: Not everything I drink during the day hydrates me enough – some things even dehydrate me negatively because I have to pee more often as a result. And that’s exactly why I love Waterllama, a tracking app for iOS.
How much should I drink a day?
Since we at MeinMMO are not health experts, we have gathered information for you from the Consumer Center, the Techniker Krankenkasse, and the AOK.
The Consumer Center recommends that every adult drinks 1.5 liters of water a day. However, the actual amount needed can be three or even four times higher on hot days and during activities like sports and heavy work. The AOK agrees here. The Techniker Krankenkasse, however, recommends drinking two to three liters of fluid per day.
On the AOK website, tips are also provided on how to hydrate during sports: They recommend consuming about 0.3 to 0.5 liters of fluid every 15 to 30 minutes and to drink a little at least every 15 minutes after an hour of activity.
Waterllama won’t let me cheat
I installed Waterllama about three months ago because I was dissatisfied with the fluid tracking of my nutrition tracker. The app was designed in 2019 by a Ukrainian couple and awarded by Apple in 2022 for cultural influence.
In the app, by entering your drinks, you fill day by day a silhouette of a selectable figure with colorful bars. Each bar represents a different drink, leading to great color combinations. Except if you, like me, primarily drink water, black tea, and energy drinks. Then the block remains quite blue and olive-colored.
Waterllama natively offers over 150 types of drinks but also allows users to add their own drinks. For example, I entered Energy Drink Zero to accurately represent my consumption of calorie-free caffeinated beverages.
What I particularly like is that the app also takes into account the hydration level of different drinks: Coffee is a liquid, but it only hydrates 90%. This is probably because coffee is diuretic, and you end up needing to use the restroom quicker and more often (via bzfe.de).
I can’t just chug three liters of beer in the beer tent and say I’ve reached my hydration goal of three liters. Beer with low alcohol even hydrates by -40% in the app – so one actually has to drink even more non-alcoholic fluids with alcohol consumption. The dehydrating effect of alcohol is also mentioned by the AOK on their website.
Easily and quickly enter drinks – this is how Waterllama works
To keep me on track, the app allows me to set automated reminders. Currently, it pings me on my Apple Watch every two hours. However, you can completely disable this feature.
Creating entries is quite easy: At the bottom of the screen, the self-selected drink types are displayed. With a click, a menu opens where the consumed amount in milliliters can be entered via keyboard or slider. Click the button to confirm, and you’ve tracked your drink.
The daily fluid goal can either be calculated by entering your personal data like gender, weight, activity level, and current weather or set manually.
Besides the core functions, the app also has a few fun features: It gives tips about drinking or prompts multi-day drinking challenges. I once participated in the Tea Rex
challenge, where I had to track tea at least once a day for ten consecutive days to unlock a T-Rex as a new drink figure.
The drink figures that you fill daily all have the same function. However, they are all very lovingly and detailed designed. Unlocking them is completely free with daily entries or challenges.
But not everything is free with Waterllama: The app can be downloaded and tested for free. However, for permanent and full use, a subscription is required. The costs are 0.99 euros per month. You can also purchase the app for a one-time price, which usually ranges between 7.99 euros and 9.99 euros.
Click on the images to enlarge them and take a closer look at the UI of Waterllama:
Waterllama – is it worth it or not?
In fact, the price and the sales practices are so far the only downside to Waterllama in my opinion. During my trial period, the app repeatedly suggested the one-time purchase offer, accompanied by a timer that suggested time-limited exclusivity.
I liked the app after a few days of testing, so I went for it. However, while researching for my article, I found out that this lifetime offer is not a one-time deal: According to iosapps.de and HealthAppInsider.com, the offer is permanently available. This leaves a bitter aftertaste regarding the purchase pressure in the app.
The very playful design may also not be to everyone’s taste. It makes me happy, and I joyfully choose a new drink character every day.
For me, Waterllama absolutely serves its purpose as a simple and appealing app for tracking fluid intake. Because the app can also send its data to Apple Health, I have the information in my central database and can combine it with my other tracked health data. And I also enjoy it.
Do I need Waterllama to track water? Of course, there are many other apps that allow you to track water, coffee, beer, and more, some with less playful designs. Here are a few examples:
Water Minder – iOS & Android
According to HealthAppInsider , it is the best overall package for a tracking app. The app also looks a lot simpler than Waterllama and might therefore appeal more to app purists.
Plant Nanny – iOS & Android
With Plant Nanny, you are the parents of a little digital plant that you care for and water by tracking your drinks. More gamified than Waterllama, the app was considered somewhat too elaborate by GameStar, but is recommended for people who want to drink more playfully.
Hydro Coach – iOS & Android
Hydro Coach ranks third at HealthAppInsider and also appears in the introduction round from GameStar. The app is very good for Android smartphones because of the possible extensive data synchronization. In addition, there is a weather connection and a social feature that allows you to add friends.
Water Tracker – iOS & Android
According to GameStar, Water Tracker is the most comprehensive app in their test. The design is modern and clear. Additionally, the app does not overwhelm the user, according to the test.
Apple Health, Google Fit & Samsung Health
However, if you don’t want additional apps, you can simply record fluid intake directly on iPhones via the Health app, on Android devices with Google Fit, or on Samsung devices with Samsung Health.
No matter whether with or without the app, you should now be prepared for the next heat waves this summer. However, drinking enough is important but is often not sufficient for your physical well-being on most really hot days. Therefore, the MeinMMO editorial team has put together a total of 19 tips on how to withstand the summer heat and cool down.
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!