Drinking Water and Hot Weather
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
We are into those hot months & man it can get hot! For many of you that live in HOT & HUMID weather, it makes it even worse as the heat seems way hotter than the thermometer says it is out there! I could make an imprint of my whole body on the pavement (if I could even lie on it without frying myself!) with how much I sweat in hot weather. OK, some of it is the change of life hormones BUT I do sweat a lot!!!! In the gym, it is like I just got out of a swimming pool no matter what machine I come off of!!!!
So, during the hot weather, I do want to remind everyone to drink your water & you will most likely be needing more water that normal. Don't wait until you are already thirsty because by then, you are past the point when you should have been drinking it. Yes, do drink up anyway but you want to stay hydrated throughout the day no matter what the weather but even more so during hot weather. Lots of fruit & veggies have a higher water content too a great way to get some additional hydration & enjoy some healthy foods!
A quick story, my hubby went off to his early roller hockey game Sunday morn & it was already 81 degrees outside & he was not only playing on an outside rink but they put on all those clothes too! By the time he got home, he had lost 3 pounds in water weight!!!!
So, I know this may "freak" some of you but a good way to see how much water weight you are losing when you exercise is to weigh yourself before you exercise, drink your normal water or whatever you drink while you exercise, and then weigh yourself when you are done. You don't have to do this every time you work out BUT good to check it now & then especially if you are upping the intensity of your workouts! The scale will tell you if you have replenished enough during your workout session. If you are down 2 pounds, you have lost that in water weight & need to drink a bit more while exercising. Don't fall into that "I am so happy I lost 2 pounds trap"! This is all water weight & will come back once you eat or drink again.
The more important lesson here is that you need to replenish yourself adequately as you exercise. Drink before during & after your workouts & sip water thru the day. Clearer urine is a sign that you are drinking enough water. If you are doing hard sessions of 60 minutes or more, you may want to consider a sports drink with electrolytes such as sodium, especially during warm weather. A lot of us don't get that intense but some do. Me, I cut a replenishing workout drink with water to make it easier on my stomach.
You can also drink too much water & this is normally seen in endurance athletes. It is called, hyponatremia where you essentially waterlog your system. “Too much water can actually be fatal,” says Tammy Lakatos Shames, registered dietician and coauthor of Fire Up Your Metabolism: 9 Proven Principles For Burning Fat and Losing Weight Forever. “As you drink more water, the salt content in your body becomes diluted, and this sodium imbalance prompts the body to extract water from the blood, leading to a buildup of fluid in the lungs.
So, there is always a delicate balancing act. If you are one of those Type A personalities, more is NOT always better! BUT, most of us are on the side where we may not drink enough water!
If you want to read a short but good article on drinking your water, read it here, How Much Water Do You Really Need.
Just be careful & safe.
We are into those hot months & man it can get hot! For many of you that live in HOT & HUMID weather, it makes it even worse as the heat seems way hotter than the thermometer says it is out there! I could make an imprint of my whole body on the pavement (if I could even lie on it without frying myself!) with how much I sweat in hot weather. OK, some of it is the change of life hormones BUT I do sweat a lot!!!! In the gym, it is like I just got out of a swimming pool no matter what machine I come off of!!!!So, during the hot weather, I do want to remind everyone to drink your water & you will most likely be needing more water that normal. Don't wait until you are already thirsty because by then, you are past the point when you should have been drinking it. Yes, do drink up anyway but you want to stay hydrated throughout the day no matter what the weather but even more so during hot weather. Lots of fruit & veggies have a higher water content too a great way to get some additional hydration & enjoy some healthy foods!
A quick story, my hubby went off to his early roller hockey game Sunday morn & it was already 81 degrees outside & he was not only playing on an outside rink but they put on all those clothes too! By the time he got home, he had lost 3 pounds in water weight!!!!
So, I know this may "freak" some of you but a good way to see how much water weight you are losing when you exercise is to weigh yourself before you exercise, drink your normal water or whatever you drink while you exercise, and then weigh yourself when you are done. You don't have to do this every time you work out BUT good to check it now & then especially if you are upping the intensity of your workouts! The scale will tell you if you have replenished enough during your workout session. If you are down 2 pounds, you have lost that in water weight & need to drink a bit more while exercising. Don't fall into that "I am so happy I lost 2 pounds trap"! This is all water weight & will come back once you eat or drink again.
The more important lesson here is that you need to replenish yourself adequately as you exercise. Drink before during & after your workouts & sip water thru the day. Clearer urine is a sign that you are drinking enough water. If you are doing hard sessions of 60 minutes or more, you may want to consider a sports drink with electrolytes such as sodium, especially during warm weather. A lot of us don't get that intense but some do. Me, I cut a replenishing workout drink with water to make it easier on my stomach.
You can also drink too much water & this is normally seen in endurance athletes. It is called, hyponatremia where you essentially waterlog your system. “Too much water can actually be fatal,” says Tammy Lakatos Shames, registered dietician and coauthor of Fire Up Your Metabolism: 9 Proven Principles For Burning Fat and Losing Weight Forever. “As you drink more water, the salt content in your body becomes diluted, and this sodium imbalance prompts the body to extract water from the blood, leading to a buildup of fluid in the lungs.
So, there is always a delicate balancing act. If you are one of those Type A personalities, more is NOT always better! BUT, most of us are on the side where we may not drink enough water!
If you want to read a short but good article on drinking your water, read it here, How Much Water Do You Really Need.
Just be careful & safe.
PS: Update to yesterday's post about how to create recipes with the food you have in your house or your leftovers. I saw a news story yesterday that said on average, families throw away $122 worth of food per month! YIKES! Check out the sites from my Monday post on how to use up leftovers!!!
Also, if you don't read weekend posts, you have to click on my Sunday link.. IT IS SO FUNNY! I laugh every time I watch it!
Also, if you don't read weekend posts, you have to click on my Sunday link.. IT IS SO FUNNY! I laugh every time I watch it!
Jody - this is very important! We had a friend who was doing yard work in the Florida sun a few years ago and had a heat stroke. He almost died, and needed therapy for months to recover. The paramedics said if he had taken breaks and drank water it wouldn't have happened! Thanks for the reminder.
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This is a great post. A lot of people don't realize when they are getting dehydrated. Living in Florida, I always carry a bottle of water around with me no matter where I'm going. The summer months are brutal and I have learned my lesson to say hydrated!
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Great reminder Jody! I was just thinking about this this morning as I woke up dehydrated and bloated. I need to drink almost twice as much water now that I'm pregnant and I often forget that until I'm already suffering the effects of it.
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Diane, thx for sharing that story.. very scary!
Amanda & Charlotte, glad you are upping the water.. ME TOO!
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Great reminder! I'm sipping more these days, but I probably should add in some kind of booster for the long-walk days.
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Not trying to be contrary, but if you lose 3 pounds during a workout (and I do weigh a few pounds less after 2 gym hours), it's mostly water, but you're also burning fat and carbs from your muscles, that fuel your workout. You'll also replenish this, as well as water, when you eat and drink again.
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Julie, you are right. I did not intend to imply that you will not lose weight from exercise but just that weighing yourself right after is not a good indicator of real weight loss vs. water weight. Thx for visiting & your helpful comment!
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