How to Check If You Are Hydrated

Hi! How’s it going? It’s cold over. And not just ‘cold for California’ – really actually legit cold. Promise.

Me: It’s so cold!

(you): “How cold is it??”

It’s so cold … I actually had HOT coffee this morning instead of my usual iced. What. I don’t even know who I am anymore.

Wait. I do know who I am – I am someone who finally did an Instagram live story. For some reason my phone wasn’t giving me the option!?! I restarted / reset the app… but nope it wasn’t working.

Then, this afternoon it popped up as an option!! So I did a short one to make sure it was working. Boom. I want to do these all the time so I actually have a semi-human interaction with you everyday.

I also chugged water and was super productive with email and a few new projects.

(That’s my Nalgene waterbottle. Do you have one like this?)

 

Now we’re talking about staying hydrated. It’s an important part of keeping your body healthy and it’s super important if you are running.

I posted about this in the past, but it’s easy to let it slide. So check in with yourself – how much water have you had TODAY? How much did you have yesterday?

How to Stay Hydrated in Winter:

Staying well hydrated is always important. But it’s more challenging in the winter – without summer’s warm temperatures to make you thirsty hours and hours can go by before you realize you haven’t had anything to drink. Often, when you’re super thirsty you’re already dehydrated!

1. Keep a waterbottle with you through out the day.  Make a goal to finish it before the end of the day (or before lunch if it’s a small bottle).

2. Keep track of your water intake with an app (Waterlogged is one option), notes OR challenge your friends to make sure they are getting enough and check in with each other. This is a great way to keep you honest on days you’re not feeling it.

3. Make your water more appealing by adding cucumber, lemon, mint, strawberries OR your favorite fruits. This gives it a great pop of flavor!

4. When it’s cold it’s fine to count water and tea. Water based beverages can count toward your daily intake. But save yourself time and money by making your own at home or work instead of hitting the café.

5. Remember water at meal time and happy hour. Order water when you sit down at a restaurant and drink it while you look at the menu.

Sip water in between cocktails when you go out for drinks. Order water before soda or alcohol when you go out to eat. This will help keep you hydrated and save you money!

 

How to determine how much you need to drink during a run:

1. Weigh yourself (nude) before a workout.

2. Exercise for 1 hour.

3. Keep track of the amount of liquid in ounces that you drink from weigh time to when you are done working out.

4. Record weight after the workout (nude). Subtract starting from finish weight and change it to ounces.

5.  Add the ounces of weight difference to ounces of fluid consumed. That is approximately about how much you should drink an hour.

6. Keep in mind changes in climate/season/other will affect this and plan accordingly.  *Do this again as the weather gets warmer and update your hydration plan.

 

Question: How much water have you had so far today?

Is that a good amount or should you track down your water bottle??