Are you drinking enough?
How do you tell what is enough? Well thirst is a very poor indicator of hydration. Often by the time you are thirsty you have been dehydrated for some time.
I prefer assessing colour of morning urine, if it’s clear great, if it’s like apple juice you need to drink more.
Some of you may prefer some clearer guidelines; we’ve all heard of the eight glasses a day suggestion. I consider that a minimum and I’d rather suggest that if you have a low bodyweight then aiming for 2.5 litres a day is better and if you’re built like a rugby player then 4 litres maybe necessary.
Obviously there are a few others factors not just bodyweight but climate, activity level, medical conditions, medicine, muscle mass and dietary practices all contributing to the need for more water.
For every hour of activity I like to consume an additional ½ litre of fluid.
After all our body is made up of 60% water and our muscles 75%, if you’re not hydrated this will have an negative effect on mental & physical performance.
Dehydration is very stressful for our bodies and results in increased cortisol levels negatively impacting our health and physical progress.
Let’s keep it simple; drink with every meal and always carry a bottle of water with you, you will soon adjust to your increased fluid intake and this can also help reduce over-eating not just overheating!
