Are you drinking enough water?

We all need water. About 60% of our body is water and every single organ inside us relies on it to function properly. We lose water through sweat, urine, metabolism and even breathing so unless we top up our internal water tank our ability to just carry out every day tasks is compromised. The result? Headaches, fatigue, false sense of hunger, constipation, lack of concentration. Sound familiar? Being dehydrated tricks us into thinking we need carbs and snacks when actually it is water your body is craving, not food!

So, how much water should we be drinking? 8 glasses? 2 litres? Just water, or do other liquids count? Can you be drinking too much? With so much information out there it is hard to work out what is actually good or bad for us but the fact is each one of us is different and our hydration needs are individual to each of us. For example, if you drive a small car like a Fiat 500 you are not going to need as much petrol to fill a tank as you would if you drove a big car like Range Rover. In the same way if you zip about in your Fiat 500 all day you might need to refill the tank a couple of times but if you are only making one local trip to the shop you wont use as much.

The point is everyone’s body size, shape, metabolism is different. We have different jobs, we do varying amounts of exercise and we live in different climates across the globe. So how can we standardise the amount of fluid we need? We cant! So how do we know? We listen to what our body is telling us. Before books, before the internet, before social media we had our bodies, plain and simple. We can often lose sight of our body’s way of communicating with us because we are so wrapped up in having statistics and recommendations thrown at us from all angles but strip it all back and your body will tell you what it needs. The best indicators that you are dehydrated are thirst and the colour of your urine, which should be a pale yellow colour.

The first thing I get all my clients to do is DRINK MORE WATER. Nearly all of my clients come to me saying they have a couple of glasses a day, and whatever your size that just isn’t enough. If you are drinking tea and coffee, sports drinks, milk, squash, yes this can fulfil l your fluid needs but these drinks will also be raising your sugar levels, putting extra strain on your bodily systems. That’s not to say you can’t have the odd glass of wine, or cappuccino and there are definitely health benefits of many different types of herbal drinks. What I am saying here is that when you look at your body’s need for water to function, pure water is a good start.

The next question I hear you say is “but what type of water?! Tap water, bottled water, flavoured water?” Does it matter?! Stop over thinking. Just drink more water. Yes our tap water contains some toxins (depending on where you live in the UK), plastic bottles are bad for the environment and contain chemicals that can penetrate the water, fruit infusions can add taste and give an extra healthy boost, but in my opinion these are first world problems and if you’re worried about chemicals then get a filter!

My clients come to me feeling bloated, exhausted, frustrated and short tempered and after two weeks of increasing their water intake not only do they feel they have more energy but they feel calmer, less bloated and less likely to snack throughout the day. Before I start any training or nutrition programme we get the water intake sorted.

So this weekend…drink more water. You don’t have to jump straight up to 2/3 litres a day, a small steady increase of a couple of glasses more a day will help your body get used to the change. Believe me you will thank yourself for it. And if you are anything like me, your family will thank you for the change in your mood!

If you are interested in learning more about a training and nutrition programme with me then visit my CONTACT page to have a complimentary initial consultation.

Happy weekend!