Water. Sort of a YAWN topic, no?
So boring. But so, so necessary. And I’m here to tell you – you prob need to drink more water.
I don’t really need to sit and talk about how essential water is (DUH, YOU WILL DIE WITHOUT IT). But most people are walking around mildly dehydrated at all times. Seriously – it’s estimated that about 75% of people are living in a chronic state of dehydration – whoa! And the problem is, you probably have no idea.
So many clients tell me they drink only 2, 3, 4 cups of water per day, but the reason they give is always either that a) they don’t like water because it’s boring or b) they’re just not thirsty so they don’t think about.
Yeah, it’s boring, we’ll get to that in a different post. But the lack of thirst? That’s your body adjusting to dehydration and adapting to it. No bueno.
So, first thing’s first, HOW much water should you be drinking? Throw out the 8 cups/day (so dumb – like a 100 lb girl should drink the same as a 250 lb man? no?). Take your weight in lbs, divide it by 2, and that’s the number of ounces you should roughly be drinking each day. So –
120 lbs female.
120 / 2 = 60 oz water per day. That’s about 7 1/2 cups.
In a super humid environment? Get a sweaty workout in? You’re going to have to drink more water than this. And it’ll depend on how much water you’re losing during your daily activity. My general rule of thumb is an extra 8 oz for a workout, unless you get super sweaty, then add more.
Were you outside at all? Work a waitressing shift where you got super hot? Pile on a couple more cups.
“OK, so great. I’m dehydrated but I don’t think it’s really affecting me that much. WHY should I drink more water?”
So. Many. Reasons.
Let’s do this.
Diet soda, sweetened drinks, juices – you really don’t need these in your life. Nothin is better than good ol’ fashioned H2O.
Being fully hydrated can increase your metabolism by up to 30%. This is no joke. This means you can burn more fat by sitting on your ass watching Netflix. YES. THIS IS GOALS. DRINK YA WATER.
Ok, this sounds suuuuper diety, but what I really mean here is that we often mistake thirst for hunger (dehydration can cause hunger). Your body actually can’t tell the difference between hunger and thirst! So, if you’re hungry outside of meal times, chug a water and see what happens.
Water does WONDERS on your skin. You literally detox shit through your skin, so without enough water, waste will build up in your skin and cause breakouts and dull, parched skin. Water also aids in collagen production (and you know how I feel about collagen).
Oooo I loooove regular pooping. It’s a sign of good digestion and gut health. Water flushes out toxins and crap in your body and when you don’t drink enough water, you get toxic build-up. One way this really manifests itself is through poor digestion (read: constipation).
Even being dehydrated 1-2% can raise your stress hormone, cortisol, which is famous for adding belly fat and breaking down muscle (not cute).
My fav. Your body is made up of mostly water, so when you don’t have enough of it, your blood volume drops and your heart is unable to efficiently carry nutrients and oxygen to your tissues. Then you’re hit with brain fog and fatigue. This is also the cause of dehydration induced headaches! Enough water = mental clarity and energy.
I did a whole series on beating the bloat (part 1 and part 2 found here) and water was a major part of it. When you’re dehydrated, your bod holds onto as much H2O as possible in an attempt to keep in equilibrium. When you have enough, you don’t hold onto it! PLUS, being hydrated combats constipation…another maj bloating problem.
My biggest trick, wake up and CHUG water. I like to try to do 32 oz first thing (not cold water, it’s too hard, go room temp). It’s intense, but it’s amazing what an energy boost it gives. It’s a part of my metabolism-boosting AM routine.
Next up – ways to get that water in and make is waaaay less boring. Stay tuned!
xxMeganxx
