The author. Courtesy photo.
By Lauren Antrosiglio
Every day, the average person loses about three or four liters of water.
If you’re physically active, if you sweat, if you’re at a high altitude, 0r if you’re in high temperatures inside or outside, you lose even more water.
And if you’re thirsty, that means you’re already dehydrated.
Are you dehydrated?
The best way to test your level of hydration is your urine. If you’re hydrated, your urine is clear; there’s no yellow. If you’re dehydrated, your urine is yellow, and the darker the yellow, the higher the level of dehydration. If you have orange urine, you’re dangerously dehydrated.
The eight cups myth
A big part of the problem with inadequate water intake in America is mis-education and misinformation. For years, the FDA has been recommending that people drink eight cups of water a day. Unfortunately, that’s far from enough. You should be drinking half of your body’s weight in ounces of water every day. For instance, if you weigh 200 pounds, you need to be drinking 100 ounces of water a day.
Coffee isn’t water
Even if you’ve had the correct amount of water, you can still be dehydrated from drinking dehydrating beverages (such as alcohol, tea, anything with caffeine, and soda), sweating, or physical exercise. Again, urine color is your best test of hydration, so see for yourself.
Water, fat loss, and muscles
When you’re dehydrated, your metabolism slows down and you burn fewer calories when resting.
Professional bodybuilders know that drinking enough water increases strength and helps build new muscle fibers. If you’re dehydrated, you can actually increase your strength by 19 percent just by replenishing fluids.
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Lauren Antrosiglio is an ASU-degreed personal trainer in Prescott who specializes in weight loss, increasing muscle mass, rehabilitative fitness, functional exercise, and senior fitness. Contact her at Info@PrescottPersonalTraining.Com.