STAYING HYDRATED is the key to staying healthy. Here at TB12™, we certainly agree with that. In fact, we believe in consuming at least one-half your body weight in ounces of water a day. Still, with busy lives, it’s not always easy to drink as much water as you’d like. You might not be used to drinking so much water, or maybe it’s hard for you to remember to hydrate throughout the day. Here are four hydration tips you can incorporate proper hydration into your routine without standing by a water fountain all day.
Why Is It Important To Stay Hydrated?
You might not notice when you’re drinking enough water, but you’ll certainly notice when you don’t have enough. Drinking enough water is crucial in order to regulate body temperature, keep your joints lubricated, deliver nutrients to cells, and even keep your organs functioning properly.
It also helps you avoid cramping during athletic performance and can even help your body perform better during your workouts. Some research has even found that drinking enough water can improve your cognition, quality of sleep, and even your mood.
Hydration can even give you more energy for your intense training sessions. A lack of fluids can make your heart work harder to pump oxygen through the body, which uses much more energy than normal. By drinking more water, you can live a healthier lifestyle overall.
How Much Water Do You Need a Day?
The amount of water you need to drink each day can vary from person to person, and even mild dehydration can leave you feeling less than ideal. Athletes who sweat a lot and release a lot of fluids usually need to drink a lot more than people who are less active. If your routine tends to include an intense workout, you’ll need more water than someone who doesn’t often engage in intense exercise. However, as a general rule, most men need about 15.5 cups a day, while women should get 11.5 cups.
You don’t necessarily need to feel limited to those amounts: it’s also okay to drink a little more. If you have a dry mouth, that’s a sure sign that you probably need more to drink.
Other signs of dehydration include lightheadedness, fatigue, muscle cramps, passing urine less often than usual, or having dark-colored urine. If you experience any of these, it might be a sign to drink some water.
Severe dehydration can lead to sunken eyes or no urination at all. If you exhibit either of these effects of dehydration, you may need to contact a local doctor for extra assistance and advice on how to rehydrate quickly.
Getting to a point where you’re that severely dehydrated is very hard to do as long as you listen to your body. Signs like the feeling of thirst or dark-colored urine are clear signals that you need to up your fluid intake to maintain proper hydration levels.
How Can You Get Hydrated More Easily?
If you’re having trouble hitting your water intake goals throughout the day, we’ve got you covered with some simple rehydration tips and tricks.
FIRST THING’S FIRST
Hydration tips are best when they are simple. This one is as simple as brushing your teeth before bed. Make your first move in the AM drinking water. Leave a glass of plain water on your bedside table the night before, so it’s waiting for you when you wake up. Don’t forget to add TB12 Electrolytes!
Drinking water first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, helps flush toxins out of your body, too. Starting your day off with a glass of water is a great way to kick-start your day and help keep your hydration in check.
SPREAD IT OUT
If drinking half your body weight in ounces a day daunts you, you might be tempted to just chug three or four glasses of water with each meal to reach your daily quota. That might be the easiest way you can think of to meet your goal, but hydrating like that isn’t best. To keep a steady level of hydration throughout the day, try to spread out your drinking evenly. It depends on your body weight, but one glass of water every hour or two is generally a good course of action. Try carrying a water bottle with you all day, or making a goal of drinking water every hour on the hour.
We've got a super easy way to keep track of your water consumption and stay accountable: our hydration tracker! You can quickly log eight ounces of water in our hydration tracker with one tap. This is a great way to remember how much water you've had — and how much you still need to drink!
Check out our hydration tracker in the TB12™ Method mobile app »
BEFORE AND AFTER, NOT DURING
While it may seem instinctive to do so, drinking a lot of water during a meal can actually wash away the stomach’s natural enzymes which help break down your food, properly digest it, and absorb nutrients. That’s why it’s a good idea to limit your water drinking to a half-hour before, or an hour after a meal. That allows your body to fully benefit from your meal’s nutritional value.
EAT THE RIGHT FOODS
Water doesn’t just come from drinking straight fluids. In fact, a large amount of the food you eat can also contribute to your daily water intake. In general, fruits and vegetables are usually loaded with water, so incorporating more of these foods into your diet can help you hit your goals.
For instance, fruits like watermelons, strawberries, peaches, pineapples, and oranges are great sources of water. Vegetables like bell peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli, and celery are also effective forms of H20.
There are other benefits to eating more vegetables, too. They are loaded with vitamins and nutrients while also giving you a great source of fiber. Load up on some extra veggies and fruits to experience the benefits all around.
DRINK IN STYLE
Investing in a reusable water bottle serves lots of practical purposes. First, it’s a great way to measure consumption as you try to reach your daily hydration goal. Lots of reusable water bottles have the ounces listed right on the side, so you know exactly how much you’ve had. Carrying a nice water bottle is a good constant reminder to drink water, and it helps you own your hydration routine. Not to mention, you’ll benefit both the environment and your wallet by skipping out on buying disposable bottles of water every day.
ELECTROLYTES
There’s no better time to improve your water routine than the present. Check out TB12 Electrolytes to maximize the benefits of proper hydration. Our electrolytes are an all-natural, concentrated mixture of 72 trace minerals. They’re naturally-preserving and free of flavorings, additives, sugar, and anything else you don’t need. They come in convenient, portable containers, making it super easy to add a squeeze to every glass of water you drink. Check them out!
So, drink up if you haven’t already! See how much better you feel after giving your body the hydration it needs.
The Bottom Line
Being hydrated is a pivotal component of the TB12 Method, and it’s essential for performing at your highest capacity. While it’s important to be drinking the recommended amount of water every single day, it is sometimes easier said than done.
But we’ve made it easy by supplying you with everything you need to amplify your fluid intake and feel your best. With delicious, quality electrolyte supplements and reusable bottles to make it easy to hit your goals, there’s nothing standing between you and the best version of yourself.
Hydration Landscape from TB12 Sports
Sources:
The importance of hydration | News | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Discover 10 Big Benefits of Staying Hydrated | NCOA
Water: How much should you drink every day? | Mayo Clinic
Electrolytes: Types, Purpose & Normal Levels | Cleveland Clinic
