As a coach and personal trainer, I like to take a comprehensive approach when I am working with a client or doing consultations with our members/community. What this means is that I don’t just focus on the physical part of your well-being – which is to help you incorporate more movement into your daily life – but I also want to touch base on basic nutrition needs, sleep habits, stress management, and your personal hydration needs.
With the hot months approaching, I thought it would be a good idea for us all to focus on our hydration goals for the month of May.
There is so much information out there about how much we should be intaking per day and the two most common are 8-10 8oz glasses or drink ½ your bodyweight in ounces of water per day.
The thing is, when it comes to your individual needs that can be way more or way less than what YOUR body needs.
Hydration needs are different for everyone so let’s talk about the factors that can contribute to your needs specifically.
First, here’s a little background information…
Did you know that 45-60% of your total bodyweight should be water if you are a woman and 50-65% for men?
That’s A LOT!!!!
Hence why I much prefer to do body composition tests for optimal health rather than focusing on what the number on the scale says. But that’s a different topic for a different article 😉
Water is an essential nutrient just like carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
This means that we need to intake water in order to give our body what it needs.
As humans, we have the excellent ability to retain water but that’s not because we create it within our body. It’s because we aren’t giving our body water to be able to flush it out.
If you are having a hard time obtaining a weight loss goal start with the goal of just meeting your hydration goal daily for a week and see what happens.
I guarantee the number on the scale will drop, you will feel less bloated, you will have better digestion, you will have more energy, you’ll be less inflamed amongst many more benefits that you will notice just by paying attention to your water intake. How AWESOME is that!?
I’m sure you’re probably saying, ok Lynde….so how do I go about this? How do I know I am giving my body what it needs? Well! The answer is super personal … [pay attention to what your urine color is].
If our urine color is either clear or pale yellow then we are on the right track, BUT if our urine color is on the darker side, guess what, we need to intake more water.
DYK?
We can increase our water intake not just by drinking water. 20% of our water actually comes from the foods that we eat. Especially fruits and veggies.
We lose water when we urinate, sweat, and through water droplets in our breath.
We may need to increase water intake if we exercise or are outside sweating in the summer.
If you try to get your recommended 3-5 servings of fruits and veggies in per day or you are outside exercising, mowing the lawn, gardening or doing whatever that makes you sweat then there’s a chance that hydration needs may need to be more or less. This is why focusing on your urine color is a better way to make sure that you are hydrated.
Still need convincing? Here are additional benefits of staying hydrated:
Helps maximize physical performance.
Significantly affects energy levels and brain function.
May help prevent and treat headaches.
May help relieve constipation.
May help treat kidney stones.
Helps prevent hangovers.
Can aid weight loss.
There ya go, that’s it! Now go fill up your water bottle 🙂
Wellness Challenge – Hydration
For 30 consecutive days, drink a minimum of half your bodyweight in ounces of water. Use our free accountability worksheet to track your progress and show your rockstar hydration status to your friends, family, and co-workers.
///
Want to learn more about Personal Training, Health Coaching, Nutrition Coaching, TEAM Training, or Senior Fitness/Senior Personal Training at Performance Health & Fitness? Sign up for a FREE 30-Minute Strategy Session with a certified personal trainer and we'll help you find the resources and information needed to reach your personal goals.
