H2O to the Rescue: How to Up Your Daily Water Intake
Do you know what your daily water intake should be? Staying hydrated is vital to a healthy life. This article covers all aspects of what, why and how much of a daily water intake level must be.
Daily Water Intake Introduction
While most people know that it’s important to stay hydrated, few of us actually do so on a daily basis. Water benefits your body in countless ways; it keeps your skin looking and feeling healthy, helps you shed water weight if you’re trying to lose weight, and much more.
The trick is just remembering to drink enough every day. To help you up your daily water intake, here are some helpful tips on how to make sure you’re getting enough H2O into your system every day.
Hydrating Is Important
When your body doesn’t have enough water, it has difficulty digesting and absorbing nutrients. This can lead to side effects like constipation and fatigue. Aim for at least a gallon of drinking water per day, about nine cups (64 ounces) is a good starting point.
Here are a few ways you can up your daily intake without getting bored with plain old H20. Fill a travel mug or BPA-free plastic bottle with cold water throughout the day instead of relying on coffee, soda or juice. A great habit to get into if you’re also trying to reduce your consumption of sugary drinks.
Add slices of citrus fruit or berries for extra flavor and antioxidants. And remember that as long as it’s BPA-free, plastic isn’t all bad: Studies show that some people prefer drinking from plastic bottles because they’re less likely to spill on busy commutes than glass bottles.
If you fall into that category, look for BPA-free brands like SIGG .
Start sipping hot tea instead of coffee in the morning, it’s hydrating.
All About Hydration, From Head to Toe
If you’re concerned about staying hydrated, there are plenty of ways to calculate your water intake. There’s also a smartphone app for that. In addition, more and more restaurants are serving up ice-cold water with their meals instead of calorie laden beverages (ask for it, if they don’t have it, speak up).
Even better? Drinking bottles of water throughout your day will replace sugary sodas and juices as well as caffeinated drinks that can lead to weight gain. Pack an insulated bottle filled with H20 so you always have access to fluids.
Amount of Water Needed
Many people get plenty of their water from food and beverages (juices, soup), but many don’t. According to a report by the World Health Organization, an adult needs about 2 liters of fluid each day-with at least 1/3 coming from drinking water.
To calculate your personal daily target, multiply your weight in pounds by 0.8 for women and 1.0 for men; that’s how many ounces you need per day if you don’t want to be dehydrated during exercise or everyday life.
So, if you weigh 140 pounds, aim for 112 ounces of drinking water each day; that amounts to just under 2 1⁄2 cups-which is a great goal to set (and hit) every day.
What’s Happening in Our Bodies When We Don’t Drink Enough?
When we don’t drink enough water, our bodies become dehydrated. And when that happens, there’s a chain reaction of problems happening in your body-which can lead to bigger health issues like high blood pressure and kidney disease. According to Dr. Robert Davis Jr., drinking enough water is especially important if you live in a dry climate or if you workout regularly.
Also, be sure to have more than one glass at dinner time; most people don’t realize that it takes about six glasses (or about half a gallon) of water for your body to fully digest one meal.
The Importance of Fluid When Exercising
Though we often associate water with hydration and thirst, our bodies actually require water even when we’re not feeling thirsty. That’s because when you sweat, especially while exercising-you lose more than just salt and minerals. You also lose water, which explains why it’s important to replenish fluid after your workouts.
The right amount varies based on a number of factors including how hard you worked out and how long you exercised for; but in general, experts recommend consuming at least 16 ounces of H20 about half an hour before working out and another 16 ounces within 30 minutes after finishing your workout.
The Best Way to Replenish Yourself Throughout the Day
A simple way to ensure you’re up-ing your daily water intake is by setting a goal, like carrying a water bottle throughout your day or getting in 8 glasses (or 2 liters) of H20. Each time you sip from it, jot down your total intake for that time period.
Then, at the end of each day add up all your individual tallies and make sure you hit your mark. It’s not complicated, but it will help keep hydration top-of-mind and that’s what matters most when it comes to making sure you have enough H2O throughout your busy day.
Water Drinking Schedule
Calculate your water intake to make sure you’re drinking enough water every day. First, take your body weight in pounds and divide it by two (because we’re talking ounces of water, not cups). For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need 75 ounces of water per day.
Next, multiply that number by how many hours of activity you plan on participating in. So if you exercise for 3 hours a day and hit three meals each lasting one hour each, that makes nine eating/drinking events-times 75 ounces equals 675 ounces or about 17.5 (medium) sized bottles of water throughout a single day.
Why Do I Struggle to Drink Water
It is human nature to avoid things that are difficult. When it comes to drinking enough water, there are so many factors working against us. Instead of reaching for another cold beer on a hot day, why not reward yourself with a tall glass of H20? If you’re having trouble figuring out how much water you should be drinking each day, here are some easy ways to calculate your daily intake:
(1) divide your weight in half and drink that number in ounces
(2) multiply your weight by 0.035 and drink that number in ounces r
The goal is to consume at least 1/2 ounce per pound of body weight.
So, if you weigh 200 pounds: 1/2 x 200 = 100 ounces + 1/4 ounce = 101 ounces. In other words, 101 ounces equals about 12 cups of water each day! This means four 16-ounce glasses will do it-or three 20-ounce bottles.
A great way to keep track of all those glasses is by using an app like Hydro Coach. They have really cool features like a virtual pet fish who grows as you drink more water.
How To Increase Daily Water Intake Without Frequent Urination
When you drink a lot of water, more is excreted through your urine. If you are urinating frequently and increasing your water intake, then there’s a chance that some of that water intake is going down the toilet instead of staying in your body. That’s right — some people are dehydrated because they over-drink when they actually need less water.
It’s counterintuitive, but it can be a problem for people who rely solely on thirst as their means of calculating water intake. To avoid frequent urination from reducing your daily fluid balance, estimate how much water your body needs and take any amount beyond that in liquid form (like juices or soups).
Daily Water Intake Conclusion
Stay hydrated, for crying out loud. Every cell in your body is made up of water and your life depends on it. It’s a little disconcerting that so many of us still don’t drink enough H20, and even more worrisome is how much our intake can vary day-to-day.
To be safe, calculate your daily water intake based on your weight (in pounds) and height (in inches), and then divide that number by two-then drink at least that much every day. As a general rule of thumb, most people should shoot for roughly half their body weight in ounces per day.
Originally published at https://gettingfittoday.com on May 23, 2022.
