The idea of remembering to stay hydrated during the day is not new, and as the summer temperatures rise, the reminders become more frequent. And how have they altered this summer?
About one-third of the population was under excessive heat warnings this month. Because of how hot it is in Europe, the most recent heat wave has been named after a character from Dante’s Inferno.
During this scorching-hot (literally?
summer), I’ve decided to return to marathon running for the first time since 2018, the year before I became pregnant with my first of two sons.
I’ve experienced both regular and unusual feelings of satiety after jogging. I’ve also determined that I most likely drink one 24-ounce water bottle every day.
This is partially caused by the fact that my second child treats my water bottle like a toy even though she has plenty of other actual toys. Because of this, I usually keep it out of his line of sight and out of his mind, which puts it beyond my reach. I have another justification for drinking enough water since he is still nursing at 17 months.
I was aware that due to the weather and my training schedule, this needed to change for the sake of my health. I committed to drinking more water.
The usual recommendation is to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily. The advice was probably influenced by a 1945 Food and Nutrition Board recommendation to drink eight glasses of water per day. A few things managed to escape attention in the years that followed.
The second said, “Prepared foods contain the majority of this quantity.”. Because they contain water, fruits and vegetables help you meet your daily water requirements. The second was that, rather than eight 8-ounce glasses (64 ounces), the Nutrition Board advised 20.5 liters (84.25 ounces) per day.
Since that time, scholars have debunked this advice as a myth. The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine advise men to drink 125 ounces (3 point 7 liters) and women to drink 91 ounces (2 point 7 liters), although this isn’t much more than the 1945 standard.
I’ve been a journalist for about ten years now, and during that time I’ve interviewed countless medical professionals and nutritionists. When it comes to water intake, many medical professionals have consistently advised me to start with the baseline goal of consuming 64 ounces per day.
Without a doubt, it’s better than 24 ounces. In some way, I had to start moving.
How I Used.
Theoretically, increasing your water intake is one of the simplest and least expensive ways to enhance your health. Really, all you need is access to clean, safe water—which, regrettably, is a luxury for some—and a drinking vessel. To help me stay on track, I decided to use a few tools:.
My go-to water bottle, measuring 24 ounces.
I prefer using words rather than numbers. To reach 64 ounces, however, I would require just under three full water bottles, as 64 divided by 24 is 2.66.
a Waterllama app. This app allows you to keep track of how much water you use and sends you notifications to prompt you to hydrate more. During my first pregnancy, I used an app to keep track of how much water I was consuming, and I found that it was helpful for maintaining my dietary goals. I reasoned that even when juggling parenthood and work, the reminders would help me remember to drink.
On the first day, I realized how little water I was consuming. By lunchtime, I had drank 12 ounces of water. That might have been a half-full water bottle to some, but to me it felt empty. I still had 12 hours to drink the enormous 52 ounces of water I required to meet my goal. I chewed my food. and then ate. and then gulped. For the rest of the day, I had to urinate every five seconds, making me feel like I was pregnant again and had a stomach full of water.
There had to be a better approach, one that didn’t feel like a stressful fire drill. On the second day I decided to start setting small goals. I would aim for 24 ounces, 24 ounces, and 16 ounces by noon, dinner, and between dinner and night, respectively. I focused on using words like “one water bottle by lunch,” “one water bottle by dinner,” and “two-thirds of a water bottle by bed” to make it sound less daunting.
It was a quick process. I received a reminder to drink water every two hours, and I could quickly check my water bottle to make sure I was getting the recommended amount. I continued to be successful as I observed the statistics for my water consumption in my app rising.
The most difficult task was my morning three-mile run on day two. At 7:30 a.
m.
I was already dehydrated by the time it was over and the temperature was already close to 80 degrees. On the third day, an hour before working out, I drank 12 ounces. It allowed me to use the restroom before exercising and still have the stamina to complete a longer run of five miles.
It was much simpler to down 64 ounces of water by day five. I felt better after my workout and drank more water throughout the day, but by dinnertime I was still feeling lightheaded and exhausted.
Due to the low cost of drinking more water, it seems like a very straightforward strategy for enhancing your health. But it can be challenging, especially if you’re completely dedicated to your line of work and prone to putting others before yourself (hello, parenthood). That was undoubtedly the most important lesson I took away, so if you have a hard time staying hydrated, please be kind to yourself.
I’ve also learned the following.
Eight 8-ounce glasses per day is a good starting point. It would be a great idea to start with this suggestion, which was never the actual suggestion. It might not, however, be your ultimate objective.
Water is fluid and is consumed.
Not a joke, though. On the other hand, it’s perfectly normal to need more water on days that are particularly hot or when you exercised more vigorously than on days when you rested and spent the majority of the day indoors, where it’s cool and comfortable.
Don’t drink when you’re not thirsty. Waiting until you are thirsty or dehydrated is not a good idea because those are late-stage signs that you need to drink water.
Water is pre-workout fuel. You’ll feel more hydrated and won’t feel the urge to urinate after one mile of a six-mile run if you drink water an hour before working out.
Stop just before you go to bed. Try to limit water intake an hour before bed to avoid waking up in the middle of the night to use the restroom (although rest is also essential for health). But I found that 60 minutes worked for me. You might need to cut back on your consumption at some point.
Useful apps exist.
Given that I’m drinking enough water, I’ll probably stop tracking. I found that tracking was a great tool to get me started, but that it can also make me a bit too obsessive. See if you can achieve your short- and long-term hydration goals by experimenting with it.
Water is required. Even though drinking eight glasses of water a day may be a misnomer, the benefits of staying hydrated cannot be overstated. I noticed a significant improvement in how I felt throughout the day, during workouts, and when I first woke up in the morning.
I had more energy, so I could get my to-do list done and run after my kids.
Regarding the last point, I hesitate to refer to drinking water as “self-care” because it is something that is necessary (much like how taking a shower with the door closed or going grocery shopping alone aren’t actually “self-care,” but are labeled as such by busy moms).
You shouldn’t, however, give it up in order to care for your children or finish your career. So that you won’t have to keep pouring from an empty cup all day, fill your glasses (or water bottles).
