Its no secret that water is GREAT for you. Surely everyone knows that by now? But the question is..how much water do we need to be hydrated? and why is it so important to stay hydrated throughout the day?
How much water do I need?
Firstly, I will start by saying that everyone is different, some find they need more/less than others. The National Health Service recommends that we drink 8 200ml glasses of water a day; personally I feel this is NOT enough! I could drink that much before breakfast. However, many would recommend 1 gallon per day if you are exercising.
Personally, I drink around 1.5 to 2 gallons of water a day. Yes I'm always drinking and always peeing haha. Not everyone needs to drink this much, just find what is right for you, but I would recommend aiming for around 1 gallon to start with.
This water doesn't need to come only from water. Personally, I only drink water and green tea but feel free to include other drinks such as coffee, tea, fruit juice or anything else that you like to drink.
So why is hydration so important?
Staying hydrated is so important for many reasons especially if you are an athlete. Dehydration can cause headaches, lack of energy, lightheadedness, sunken eyes, dry mouth and skin, little or no urination, and the list goes on.
Water makes up 85% of your brain, 80% of blood and 70% of lean muscle, so as you can imagine water is essential for a good functioning system.
If your goal is weight loss hydration will be very important as the process of burning calories requires a good supply of water. Water is also required to flush excess toxins out of the body and create a healthier body.
In terms of weight training or exercise in general, hydration is important to supply the functioning muscles with an adequate supply of water to allow them to contract, lubricate joints, and reduce muscle and joint soreness (i.e DOMS) when or after exercising.
Another very important reason to stay hydrated is to prevent constipation. As we all know fibre (see my blog post on fibre) is critical to a healthy diet but too much fibre without adequate water supply can easily cause constipation; drinking plenty of water can help to eliminate or reduce this problem.
There are so many more reasons why water is essential in a functioning body, but moral of the story is DRINK YOUR WATER!
How much water do I need?
Firstly, I will start by saying that everyone is different, some find they need more/less than others. The National Health Service recommends that we drink 8 200ml glasses of water a day; personally I feel this is NOT enough! I could drink that much before breakfast. However, many would recommend 1 gallon per day if you are exercising.
Personally, I drink around 1.5 to 2 gallons of water a day. Yes I'm always drinking and always peeing haha. Not everyone needs to drink this much, just find what is right for you, but I would recommend aiming for around 1 gallon to start with.
This water doesn't need to come only from water. Personally, I only drink water and green tea but feel free to include other drinks such as coffee, tea, fruit juice or anything else that you like to drink.
So why is hydration so important?
Staying hydrated is so important for many reasons especially if you are an athlete. Dehydration can cause headaches, lack of energy, lightheadedness, sunken eyes, dry mouth and skin, little or no urination, and the list goes on.
Water makes up 85% of your brain, 80% of blood and 70% of lean muscle, so as you can imagine water is essential for a good functioning system.
If your goal is weight loss hydration will be very important as the process of burning calories requires a good supply of water. Water is also required to flush excess toxins out of the body and create a healthier body.
In terms of weight training or exercise in general, hydration is important to supply the functioning muscles with an adequate supply of water to allow them to contract, lubricate joints, and reduce muscle and joint soreness (i.e DOMS) when or after exercising.
Another very important reason to stay hydrated is to prevent constipation. As we all know fibre (see my blog post on fibre) is critical to a healthy diet but too much fibre without adequate water supply can easily cause constipation; drinking plenty of water can help to eliminate or reduce this problem.
There are so many more reasons why water is essential in a functioning body, but moral of the story is DRINK YOUR WATER!