I’m neither a doctor with an expertise in hydration nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night – but it IS Fat Arse February and I’m curious … are you hydrated?
We’ve all been told “8 glasses, 8 ounces each” – and I was curious, is that scientific? Surely not.
It’s not, btw.
The Mayo Clinic says that it’s not a horrible goal, but provides some other suggestions: men should drink 13 cups (~3 liters) and women should drink 9 cups (~2 liters). Sort of. It’s not a hard fast rule. I mean, I’m a fat arse, shouldn’t I drink more? What about a marathon runner? Or a nursing mother? (same thing #amiright?) The article goes through some varying thoughts on it, with a mother who breastfeeds drinking an extra 4 cups, equal the average man’s 13 cups.
The infamous Camelbak clever-bottle-manufacterer has a hydration calculator which helps you identify how much water to drink during that run, or hike, or waddle … with limitations. 250lbs, 60 years old. Apparently if you’re a big ole fat arse you don’t need to hydrate, or if you’re of retirement age … but that said, it walks you through a number of things including age, weight, height, average urine color, average amount of sitting … you get the point. Not good for every-day living though.
My favorite fitness enthusaist, Jillian Michaels, has an article that ups the totals to 16 cups and 11 cups for men and women, again pointing out that it’s not the same for everyone. Both articles talk about sodium, which water washes out of your system btw so be careful, and other means of getting water. Coffee and tea, sports drinks, fruit and veggies – they all count towards that water intake.
The White House and the CDC even got in on the game with the #drinkH20 campaign. The CDC, btw, says if you’re thirsty your body is signaling it’s already starting to become dehydrated … not just that you’re thirsty.
I could search and search all day to find “the” answer, and I don’t think I’d be able to, but the important part of this post isn’t an answer, it’s a question:
Are you hydrated?
I think not!
[ image source: Source http://www.thelostogle.com/2010/07/02/friday-night-in-the-big-town-july-4th-weekend/drinking-from-garden-hose/ ]
I try to drink 120 minutes a day…
mmmm – that’s a solid 12 ounces of potential hudration 😉