Your body depends on water to survive. Every cell, tissue, and organ in your body needs water to work properly. Our bodies us water to maintain our body temperature. It flushes out toxins through liquid waste as well as supporting bowel regularity. It helps to lubricate our joints to make movement easier. It also keeps all of our tissues moist and functioning optimally.
The very act of living causes us to lose water through breathing, sweating, and digestion. There are many indicators that we are dehydrated and most of the time, we don’t connect the dots to call it what it is if there isn’t another known cause for the symptom:
- Increased thirst
- Dry mouth
- Tired or sleepy
- Decreased urine output or its darker than normal
- Headache
- Dry skin
- Dizziness
- Low grade fever
- Heartbeat feels quick
- Rapid breathing
- Sunken eyes
- Confusion or irritability
- Fainting
Kind of shocking isn’t it to realize how little water most of us drink! When I first started on Plexus, I wasn’t a big water drinker. I believed the myth that all liquid intake was created equal – iced tea, Dr. Pepper, orange juice, frozen margaritas – if it was liquid – I counted it!
So how much water should you drink? It’s an individual amount, as hydration needs vary from person to person. The amount of water we need depends on size, body composition, activity level, stress level, the climate or temperature, medical conditions and our diet.
The most agreed upon recommendation at this time is to take your body weight (in pounds) and divide it by 2. This is the number of ounces of water that you should be drinking each day up to 100. For example, I weigh 190 pounds, so I will need 95 ounces of water per day – my goal is 6 – 16oz bottles since I don’t have any medical conditions that would cause my doctor to alter this recommendation. If I am going to be outside in a Texas summer or working out intensely, I may need to add in another bottle or two.
For optimum usage and max benefits of the water you drink, here are a few suggestions.
- Right when you first wake up to get things lubricated and moving again
- 30 minutes before meals to get your stomach and digestive system ready to absorb nutrients
- When you are hungry, as a snack, between meals. Often we don’t distinguish between hungry and thirsty.
- Before and after workouts. It gets our bodies more pliable and ready to move and then rehydtrates after we’ve sweat.
- Many people find that they do better getting most of their water in by mid-afternoon to support digestion and elimination before going to bed. And too much too late in the day and you may be up and down all night disrupting sleep.
- Don’t guzzle it all at once. I’ve seen studies that say we can’t absorb more than 8 ounces in a 15 minute window, so pace yourself
- Drink purified water – City flavored tap water often has chemicals (like chlorine) that tend to be harmful to us in high doses. Choose a filter that works for you and gets you to the flavor you desire. When you drink a lot of water, you will realize that water can have a flavor!
Drink up! Hydrate! Enjoy!
