It’s summer.  The days are long and hot.  I find myself outside even more than usual, whether it’s walking, on a bicycle, or just sitting with my lunch and a book and enjoying the sunshine.  I THRIVE on sunny days.  Why am I suddenly, after 14 years, having a difficult time getting in all my water?  I really don’t know.  I’m hoping by looking at hydration with a little bit of a clinical eye I might get myself back in gear.

First, I just about ALWAYS get in the 64 ounces that my doctor recommends.  That part is not too hard for me.  I wake up, sip some water before I get out of bed, come downstairs and have 2 cups of herbal tea (mint leaves briefly dipped in hot water) before I allow myself 1 cup of coffee.  Before I leave the house in the morning I have downed at least 24 ounces of my 64 ounces minimum, and it’s only 7AM.

Then I leave for the gym and if it’s a weight training day I may finish a liter of water at the gym.  If I’m swimming I don’t stop and drink water so I have some catching up to do when I am showered, changed and on my way home.

I walk around with a liter bottle of water everywhere I go.  I have extra water in my car at all times.

I guess I am just not sipping often enough.  Ha! 

So now it’s time to look at why I need at least 80 ounces of water.  That is truly the amount that it takes for me to feel good.  When I don’t get all my water here are some of the ways I get to pay for it:

• Headache
• Dry skin
• Hungry (or at least I think I am)
• Digestive issues
• Tired
• Cranky

The headache is typically what hits me first.  I don’t know about you, but I hate having headaches.  Especially those headaches that a couple of Tylenol will not touch.  I have learned in the past few months that the FIRST thing I need to do when I feel a headache coming on is to drink water.  More than half the time that is all that it takes.  Guess I was a bit dehydrated.

That midafternoon, coffee break time, need for a snack because I am tired, so I must have low blood sugar and need to feed it - know what I’m talking about?  I have learned to try water first and see if I’m still hungry 15 minutes later.  Again, more than half the time, water is what my body was really asking for.  And bonus, it has no calories.

Cranky?  My husband tells me I’m “hangry”.  (hungry and angry).  Sometimes I am, sometimes I just need water.  My learning is to try water first and if I’m still cranky 15 minutes later find a protein snack and continue to tell him, no thank you to the chocolate he invariably offers me.  It’s scientific you know- chocolate will raise my blood sugar at the same time that it releases endorphins so I will no longer be hungry, and I will feel good so any anger will go away… water might not taste as good, but it certainly has fewer calories and if it does the job who am I to argue…

Dry skin and digestive issues happen after several days of insufficient hydration.

The bonus to all this hydration is that water assists weight loss a few different ways:

• It helps remove the toxins from your cells;
• It helps you identify true hunger cues - many of the feelings associated with being hungry, such as an empty, gurgling stomach, low energy levels, and even light-headedness, also strike when you’re running low on water
• It helps power your workout - if you wait until you’re thirsty you’re already dehydrated, and you are not getting all the benefits of your workout
• Your body actually has to burn calories to process the water
• It boosts energy.  Water keeps your cells firing, your muscles fed with oxygen and nutrients, and your brain focused. 
• It keeps you from drinking other higher calorie liquids

Now that I have reminded myself of all of this I need to keep sipping, especially during hot weather when my body is losing more water.

Are you getting enough water?