Your mission (you should definitely accept it) here is to increase the amount of water you are drinking.
On average the human body is made up of around 75% water – so it’s safe to say that water is pretty important to us!
Being dehydrated can cause fatigue, tiredness and it tricks your body and mind into thinking you are hungry. A lot people mistake thirst with hunger. So being dehydrated often leads to weight gain. When dehydrated, the cells in your body get depleted of energy, which causes often tricks your brain into thinking you are hungry.
That’s not all though…
Chronic dehydration (not drinking enough water over a long period) causes your body’s organs and skin to wrinkle and wither prematurely (definitely do not want wrinkles!). So if you want to prevent premature aging, then make sure you are drinking enough water!
Digestive Disorders are another thing that are caused by dehydration and lack of water. Ulcers, gastritis and acid reflux are just some of the painful things you put yourself at risk of.
Toxins can only be removed from the body through urination or sweating, and both of these will rely on hydration. Without water, you end up causing constipation – definitely not comfortable!
Without adequate water, you put the body at risk of joint pain or stiffness. All your joints have cartilage padding which is composed (predominantly) of water. When the body is dehydrated, cartilage is weakened and joint repair is slow – causing pain and stiffness.
Again, a pretty compelling reason to make sure that you are drinking water regularly.
What should you be doing?
You should be drinking at least 1.5 litres per day – as an absolute minimum, adding a further 500ml for every 45mins exercise. When I am working with clients a formula that I have tried, I liked and seems to still work well is to drink 1 litre of water for every 20kg you weigh. I weigh around 85kg so I drink just over 4 litres per day. Yes, I do go to the toilet a few times throughout the day – but it seems to work!
Why not add a squeeze (or even a few slices) of a fresh lemon to your water, not only to make it taste a bit nicer, but it also helps out your liver a bit.
With most things, it is all about being prepared – making sure you have a bottle with you/on your desk is a lot more accessible than having to get up and get a glass!
Drink up and peace out,
Josh