Hydration is just fitness speak for drinking so much water you have to pee every 20 minutes.
Seriously. I am going crazy with keeping myself properly hydrated lately. How the hell do professional athletes drink enough water to keep their systems happy without living their life in the bathroom?!
I barely drink half of what I need for the day, and I still feel like the whole office is wondering why I'm walking to the bathroom - AGAIN.
And even better, if I drink two glasses of water at dinner (read: post workout), I get a 2am wake up call. Ugh.
Don't get me wrong, I know I need more water, especially lately. And my lips tell be so because of the endless applications of balm I've been doing (not to mention my muscles aren't recovering post workout like they used to). Plus, I'll be the first to admit, I'm terrible about drinking as much water as a should. Especially given how active I am.
So, what's my problem? Easy out - I blame my parents.
Ok, ok... maybe that's not really fair to do ... most of the time. But this time, it's a fair charge. Growing up as a kid, my parents were very firm about the fact that we drank at meals. Or, if we were thirsty, we went to the kitchen and drank a glass of water right then. That's it. They were very adamant that we not keep a glass of water on the coffee table as we watched TV, or have a cup with us at the table if we were playing a game, etc.
I'm not sure if this was because I came from a family of 4 kids, with a mom who did in home daycare... you know, lots of potential spilled messes?
Or maybe it was because I came from a long line of overweight Germans, and my parents thought if I was constantly putting something in my mouth as a kid (even if it was just water), it would train me to want to drink/eat more?
Who knows.
What I can say is, as an adult, I now have this terrible habit of waiting until 4pm to drink anything besides a cup of coffee at breakfast, and maybe a glass of water with my lunch. At which point, all help is lost, because how can I make up for a gallon of water by my 5:30 workout?
Well... not really a gallon.
In fact, I'm not sure exactly how much I DO need. Just for fun, lets try this calculator. Plug in my weight, my average daily workout... and the answer is... (drum roll): 96.5 ounces or 2.9 liters.
OMG! That's 12 cups of water!!!!!!! Which is 12 cups of pee!!!!!!
Just kidding. I know I won't pee ALL that water out... but a fair amount, yes.
Better start that bathroom tally sheet.
Well, time to start breaking another bad habit. Let's lead this horse to water and get drinkin'!
Discuss!
What are you doing to stay hydrated?
Are you drinking the amount of water you should each day?
I should probably drink more water too, but I always have a water bottle at my desk and I drink water for every meal, so I feel like I get a decent amount. Nowhere CLOSE to twelve cups though! That's hard!
ReplyDeleteI know! I've been working on a new habit - filling my water bottle twice a day, always making sure it's emptied once by lunch. Feeling better already.
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