Why drink more water? How much should I drink? Do I really need 3L per day? Sounds familiar right…
In the health and fitness world, the phrase “drink more water!” is said so often that it can be easy to overlook the importance of it. But drinking water actually helps your body run at its optimal level, and without it, dehydration can affect not just your thirst, but even your mental health.
The human body is made up of 75% water, so you can start to imagine why it’s so important that you stay hydrated!
Being dehydrated can affect your digestive system, and prevent your body from properly removing toxins from the body. It can also cause fatigue, affect your focus at work, cause premature aging, and can even cause weight gain! With all of that being said, why wouldn’t you want to drink more water?
So how much H20 should you actually be drinking you ask?
A good rule of thumb is to take your body weight and multiply it by 0.33 (1L for every 33kgs), and drink that each day. So for example, if you weight 70kgs, you should be drinking 2.3L throughout the day. However, if you are exercising that day, you also need an additional 500mls for every 30mins of exercise you do. So if you came to a 1hr boxing session, you would need 3.3L that day.
After a good sweat, it’s quite easy to get more water in – because you’ll actually feel thirsty – but you want to be drinking a lot throughout the day to keep your body functioning at it’s best, and help you get a top notch workout in.
So how do you get 3.3L in?
1. As soon as you wake up, drink 500ml. Your body hasn’t had ANY water for 8hrs (or maybe just 5..) – fill your drink bottle before bed and have it on your bedside table.
2. Drink half your drink bottle while you’re on the way to AND from work/uni/school drop off/anytime you’re in the car. This one is where a lot of people are missing out!
3. Drink a glass or two before each meal – sometimes, your body is actually thirsty, and we can all be pretty poor readers of what our body is trying to tell us. Have a glass of water and this should stop any overeating too.
4. After you finish an exercise class, drink your whole bottle. You don’t want too much during a tough workout as you can get that sick feeling – but afterwards, get that water down!! Then re-fill it at the drink fountain for your drive home.
5. Most important of all – drink throughout the day! It’s better to water a garden little bits at a time, rather than flood it. If you need to, set an alarm on your computer (or on your phone if you’re out and about) to have a few sips or gulps. After a few weeks, you won’t need the alarm anymore.
6. Track it. What doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get done. Use an app on your phone – I use my fitbit app to enter how much I’m drinking. It’s a quick and easy way to see how much I’ve had or even what days I don’t drink enough. It’s easy to see what needs to change when you have it right in front of you.
7. Buy a big reusable bottle that you actually like. I use a 1L stainless bottle (BPA free of course), so that I only need to refill it a few times per day – and I can easily track how much I’m drinking. It’s much easier when you actually like the bottle/glass/mug that you’re drinking from.
So, what action are you going to take to get more water in? Comment below.
Deanna