Staying hydrated is uber important on a regular basis, but when you’ve pushed yourself too far, are stressed out and exhausted, it’s even more vital.
We’ve all heard that you need to drink a lot of water (an average of 2-4 litres) a day in order to keep your body properly hydrated…. so why aren’t most of us doing it?
Coffee, Tea, Pop & Booze, although they include water, do little to hydrate us. (In fact, they deeply contribute to the dehydration of our body!)
If you live somewhere hot or dry, your body will need more water. If you work out or sweat a lot during the day, you will need to drink more water to compensate. Even if you’re stressed out or anxious… your body will need more water!!!
Water is so important for so many reasons; it flushes out toxins, hydrates our cells, lubricates our joints, nourishes us and so much more. It even makes up to 70% of our brain, so you can just imagine how much harder it has to work when we’re all dried up.
Starting today, your new goal is to drink between 2 and 4 litres of pure, real water a day. I know, I know it sounds daunting, but don’t be discouraged, I’ve got some helpful tips for you to try.
- when you wake up in the morning, have 1 glass of water to quench your thirst and 1 more to hydrate your body after all that sleep
- every time you go to the washroom have a glass of water. I know this sounds counter-intuitive as the more water you drink the more you’ll have to go to the washroom… but trust me that’s a short game! once your body is used to more water it will happen less and less (think of a dried-up plant and when you give it water it rushes out the bottom of the pot, but once it’s hydrated and happy, it holds onto the water better!)
- if you have a cup of coffee or tea or glass of wine or beer, match that with another glass of water
- keep a pretty glass or water bottle nearby all the time and practice reaching for it!
- mix fruit, lemon or even a pinch of salt in your water if you find it tastes bland or needs a change. Back in the day when I drank ZERO water, I needed to add a few drops of chlorophyll to it to make it palatable and now I’m a pure water lover!