July 18, 2021: Importance of Hydration

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Exercising and eating healthy are essential to health and fitness. But, if you aren’t drinking enough water, you may be sabotaging yourself. About 75% of our bodies are made up of water alone. That should give you a sense of how important it is to drink enough of it. This week, we’re going to talk about the importance of hydration to your overall health.

When we don’t drink enough water, our bodies experience stress - our thinking may be fuzzy, we may have trouble concentrating, our vision may become unfocused and blood volume even decreases, which in turn increases our heart rate. Sometimes we may think we are hungry, but actually we are thirsty instead. Yikes, huh?

Shockingly, it is estimated that half of the population is at least mildly dehydrated. Since clean water is readily accessible, that statistic seems hard to believe. But, it makes sense when you consider the fact that many people do not particularly like to drink water when there are so many other beverage choices.

We have trained our taste buds to prefer and expect sweetened beverages, and this makes drinking water more difficult - even to the point of becoming a chore for some people. A dislike of water, then, can make it hard to stay hydrated.

How Much Should You Drink?

When it comes to hydration, the size of your body matters. You want to aim to drink half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. For example, if you are 140 lbs., your goal is to drink 70 ounces of water per day. Aim to drink water between meals as well as with your meals.

Climate matters, too. Dry, hot climates and/or high altitudes suck fluid away from our bodies faster, therefore you may need to drink more water.

Love Your Water Again

If you have a hard time getting in half your bodyweight in ounces per day of water, there are many ways you can sneak in more water. Adding lemon, lime, mint, cucumber, or frozen berries to your water to give it some flavor are all good options.

On your journey to improved health, keeping yourself hydrated is a key component of your success.

Next Sunday, we’ll talk about how to make triple protein burgers.

Want some expert help with reaching your health goals painlessly? Check out my programs! We’ll get everything taken care of in a way that fits into your current lifestyle so you never have to think about your health again.

Do you have a friend who could stand to G(her)ST? Feel free to forward this!

I hope you have a wonderful week,

Kelly

Kelly Morgan, Ph.D.

Tsirona - www.tsirona.com

My weekly GYSTS email give you one actionable thing to do for the week that will make you life a little easier. As "they" say, "Fail to plan; plan to fail." Get these emails (and more!) delivered right to your inbox by clicking HERE.