Power Monday #14 Hydration

Happy Power Monday! I had such a great weekend, starting with Friday actually. I woke-up to 2 emails with TWO new fun and exciting blog opportunities! I am so grateful for all of you who stop by and read my little blog. When I started in the beginning of the summer I really had no real vision and thought my blog would run out of steam in a week or two. I had made a few blogs back in the day and they never lasted even a day, haha! But I think I finally found the right path and so far I am loving the journey it is taking me on! I can not wait to see where this blog will be 3 months from now, a year, 5 years! I hope I will be able to continue for as long as I can and I will happily keep posting even if I have just one reader. I am still in the early stages of blogging but I feel like I am really becoming a part of this great community more and more each day. Thank you friends!

So that gave me some pep in my step to get through the last day of school for the week. But then I had the SAT II to take on Saturday morning, which went smoothly so I won't complain. Plus I made Pumpkin Pancakes for breakfast which really helped 😉 Then I did some college stuff, finished my Georgetown application, yay, went grocery shopping, wrote some blog posts, did some studying, made my favorite dinner of Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with a Micro-Baked Sweet Potato, and then I had my Saturday night yoga session 🙂

Then Sunday was the Live Well Sports and Health Festival! (The weather ended up sucking...complete bummer on that front). But I had such a great time and will have the recap and my interviews with 5 Olympic athletes up tomorrow so stay tuned!

Now for the Power Monday post!

Hydration. Our bodies are made up of over 70% water. So staying hydrated in one of the most important things you can do for your body. However many of us fall extremely short on drinking the right amount of water for our bodies. And I want to emphasis the word water, not coffee, soda, juice, or energy drinks. I am talking good old pure water. The stuff that will properly hydrate us and has been consumed by living being for as long as the world has been around. Now we all have different bodies so we need different amounts. But as a general rule of thumb, if you are not very active you should be drinking ½ you body weight in ounces of water and if you are very active you need at drink at least your body weight in ounces of water. Water gives us energy and helps our bodies function properly, so if we are not hydrating throughout the day we will become sluggish, get headaches, lose focus, be more susceptible to illness, and not be able to perform at our optimal levels. Not to mention for those of us who are active, we need water to help us repair and recover from our workouts and training. It needs to be a priority.

So what how do I hydrate through out the day? Well right when I wake-up I drink a 16.9oz water bottle. Then by 11:00am I will have drank 1 cup of tea (just hot water and a tea bag so it counts as water) and a bottle of 24oz of water. Then by 4:00pm I will have drank another 24oz. (sometimes I will have second cup of tea). By 7:30pm I will have drank a 3rd bottle that is 24oz. Then to end my night I always have a glass of almond milk so that is about 8-9oz. So in total I would say I get 110oz a day. You can see I only drink water (or tea and that glass of almond milk) but otherwise I don't drink any other type of liquid. As I have increased the amount I drink it has gotten so much easier to do and does not feel like a chore. When I don't get in all my water I feel terrible, sluggish, and will usually get a headache. My body needs it so I provide!

If you need some tips on getting in your water, try some of these tips I have for you below. I also know a lot of people struggle with water intake during the winter and colder months we are beginning to get in to. you no longer have the heat and sun to increase thirst and now you may for get about drinking enough since your body won't be letting you know it is hot and needs to cool down (If you actually feel thirsty it means you are dehydrated already!). But drinking during these cold months is just as important since we need to keep are skin healthy and keep it from drying out as well as the need to boost our immunity since we will be staying indoors more and sickness is abound. I can totally attest to this. I was starting to get a cold 2 weeks ago with my head feeling full and my nose runny, but what I know to be my tried and true method to shorten the duration and stop a illness in its tracks is to drink water! I drank at least 130oz each day right when I realized my immune system was down. And guess what, I got over my cold and felt perfectly fine after only 2-3 days. Drinking gallons of water always works for me, no medicine required! Try it!

+ I find that drinking out of a fun bottle like the above Plant Fusion bottle make drinking really easy. Even though that holds 25oz it goes down so quickly and I find myself filling it up seconds later.

+ Find out what temperature works for you and plan ahead. I like my water room temperature so I don't have to worry about this. But if you like it ice cold make sure you have your fridge stocked and ready, so you can just grab a bottle when you are in a hurry.

+ Bring water with you everywhere. Do not leave the house without it. Then you could find yourself reaching for a soda or diuretic and dehydrating yourself further. Having a water with you when you are out may seem like a hassle lugging it around. but if you have to carry it you might as well drink it so you can then get rid of the bottle and lighten your load. A little incentive if you will!

+ If you hate plain straight water, try seltzer. I used to drink this by the gallon, but it bothers my stomach to much now. You can also add some flavor to your water by squirting in some lemon or lime juice or add a few mint or basil leaves!

If you want to have a successful start to the week and Power though you need to Hydrate and stay Hydrated! It is so important, I can't stress that enough. So for this Power Monday I want you to make a goal for yourself to increase you water intake by 8oz each day until you reach your activity levels need. ½ your body weight in ounces if you are sedentary and your full body weight in ounces if you are moderately to very active. If you are very active you should be drinking more than you body weight though. And remember if you drink a lot of caffeine, like in those 3 cups of coffee you have before work, you need even more water! Caffeine is a diuretic and removes essential water from the body.

So tell me:

How many ounces to you get a day?

How do you like to drink you water? Straight up, with some fizz, cold, room temp?