I asked Joel from reasons2ride to write a guest post about our new daily habit. Before I started my fitness journey I drank virtually no water daily. I just thought I was never thirsty. I didn't drink soda, tea, juice, I just didn't drink anything aside from two cups of coffee a day. I would occasionally sip water here and there. Since this started, I am up to over 80 ozs of water a day now and feeling better.
Social
Media has been a wonderful addition to my daily life. I like the interaction
with people from all walks and all parts of the globe. I’ve made some wonderful
friends and feel it has really enriched my life. I started blogging almost a
year ago to hold myself accountable for my actions, and invited others to join
the ride.
The
feedback has been nothing short of life changing and I’ve been able to find
personal strength and motivation never before realized. To be asked to guest
blog however, that is special and when Jules asked me to guest blog I was
deeply moved. So I would like to give Jules a heart felt thank you for
providing me with this wonderful experience.
This
all came about nearly 3 weeks ago when I tweeted about being sick, to the point
I felt I should see a doctor. I do not like going to the doctor’s office for
many reasons, none being I dislike doctors. Something was wrong, vomiting;
diarrhea and I could not keep fluids down. I went to an urgent care facility
and was placed on IV fluids within 25 minutes of my arrival. The problem, I was
severely dehydrated.
How? I’d been drinking close to 90oz every day.
That wasn’t enough to maintain hydration based on my activity.
How
could that be? I increased the amount
I’ve been drinking as my activity increased…the problem, I wasn’t
compensating for all the toxins being dumped into my system as my metabolism
finally began firing on all cylinders.
It
was put to me quite simply, “our bodies are literally nuclear reactors and the
hotter the fuel rods become (burning calories), the more water we need to cool
and maintain normal operation”. I wanted to know more about dehydration so I
naturally I took to the web. The information was overwhelming, like asking for
a glass of water and being offered a fire hose. Filtering through these blogs,
case studies and clinical research I was amazed at what I discovered. Here is
an illustration from the
Global Healing Center’s website showing how vital water
is to our personal wellbeing:
Symptoms
of dehydration are fairly universal, but I found the information presented on
the
Mayo Clinic’s website most useful:
Mild to moderate dehydration
is likely to cause:
•
Dry, sticky mouth
•
Sleepiness or tiredness — children are likely to be less active than usual
•
Thirst
•
Decreased urine output — no wet diapers for three hours for infants and eight
hours or more without urination for older children and teens
•
Few or no tears when crying
•
Dry skin
•
Headache
•
Constipation
•
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Severe dehydration, a medical
emergency, can cause:
Extreme
thirst
Extreme
fussiness or sleepiness in infants and children; irritability and confusion in
adults
Very
dry mouth, skin and mucous membranes
Lack
of sweating
Little
or no urination — any urine that is produced will be dark yellow or amber
Sunken
eyes
Shriveled
and dry skin that lacks elasticity and doesn't "bounce back" when
pinched into a fold
In
infants, sunken fontanels — the soft spots on the top of a baby's head
Low
blood pressure
Rapid
heartbeat
Rapid
breathing
No
tears when crying
Fever
In
the most serious cases, delirium or unconsciousness
During
my quest for thirst quenching information I came across a neat site, Dumb Little Man Tips for Life, which does an excellent job
summarizing the key benefits of water (other than it is absolutely necessary
for life).
1.
Weight loss: Water is one
of the best tools for weight loss, first of all because it often replaces high
calorie drinks like soda and juice and alcohol with a drink that doesn't have
any calories. But it's also a great appetite suppressant, and often when we
think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty. Water has no fat, no calories,
no carbs, and no sugar. Drink plenty to help your weight-loss regimen.
2.
Heart healthy: Drinking a
good amount of water could lower your risks of a heart-attack; A six-year study
published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology found that those
who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a
heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two
glasses.
3.
Energy: Being
dehydrated can sap your energy and make you feel tired -- even mild dehydration
of as little as 1 or 2 percent of your body weight. If you're thirsty, you're
already dehydrated -- and this can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness
and other symptoms.
4.
Headache cure: Another
symptom of dehydration is headaches. In fact, often when we have headaches it's
simply a matter of not drinking enough water. There are lots of other causes of
headaches of course, but dehydration is a common one.
5.
Healthy skin: Drinking water
can clear up your skin and people often report a healthy glow after drinking
water. It won't happen overnight, of course, but just a week of drinking a
healthy amount of water can have good effects on your skin.
6.
Digestive
problems: Our digestive systems need a good amount of water to digest food
properly. Often water can help cure stomach acid problems, and water along with
fiber can cure constipation (often a result of dehydration).
7.
Cleansing: To help flush
toxins and waste products out of the system the body uses Water.
8.
Cancer risk: Related to the
digestive system item above, drinking a healthy amount of water has also been
found to reduce the risk of colon cancer by 45%. Drinking
lots of water can also reduce the risk of bladder cancer by 50% and potentially
reduce the risk of breast cancer.
9.
Better
exercise: Being dehydrated can severely hamper your athletic activities,
slowing you down and making it harder to lift weights. Exercise requires
additional water, so be sure to hydrate before, during and after exercise.
Now
that I am armed with the whys, I need to know how much. Oh my goodness!
Congress will agree on a universal healthcare plan before the experts will come
to a consensus agreement as to how much water we drink. Again, I really like
what
Dumb Little Man Tips for Life has to say about how much water we need:
“This
is a debatable question. What's clear is that the old recommendation of
"eight 8-ounce glasses a day" isn't right, for several reasons: that
amount includes all dietary water intake, including food and non-water
beverages; it also ignores a person's body weight, which is an important factor
in figuring the amount; it also varies if you are sick or exercise. It's also
not good to just with each meal, a glass in between meals, and be sure to drink
before, during and after exercise. Try to generally keep yourself from getting
thirsty”.
All
of this information is wonderful and probably review for the majority, but as I
watch twitter conversations and read blogs, it seems taking in enough water
every day is a problem not unique to me. Enter Jules…her caring nature had her
concerned as she learned I had to see a doctor. Once I told her what was what,
she told me she also struggles getting enough water daily. I suggested we use
twitter to remind each other throughout the day to drink some water. I like to
use hash tags (#) on twitter and since water is already bland enough, I thought
I’d liven up the name, thus the birth of #NectaroftheClouds. It’s
funny because
We’ve
both been asked, “What’s Nectar of the Clouds"? “Is it a new energy
drink”? Once we mention it is just water, you can almost hear the duh’s…but
then something cool happens, people say thanks, I like that, it reminds me to
drink water.
How
about you?
Do
you get enough water in a day?
What
are your tips or tricks to keep you hydrated?
Cheers….
