How to hydrate

Geckoqueen

Hello

I went for my annual wellness check this week, its an hour long appointment and you do a number of tests to get a picture of your overall well being. On the whole I was quite happy - blood sugar & cholesterol normal, lung power and stamina up on 12 months ago, a little disappointed with there being no change in my fat percentage (but I only started back on MFP 3 weeks ago ago so it shouldn't be a surprise) but the thing that really threw me was that I was 14% dehydrated (up from 5% last year).

This worries me, firstly because of the damage I may be doing to my body and because I know that having less liquid in my stomach will make me more hungry.

I try to drink a lot of water, have switched to fennel tea instead of coffee in the evening and the day before the test I made extra effort to drink whole pints but its still not enough. I am going to try and drink more, especially when training, but has anyone got any other suggestions please?

Thank you

eldamiano

Water all the way, as simplistic as it sounds.

TavistockToad

you just need to drink more...

aelfrice

I just open up my lips and . . .

McWooey

firstly... well done on the health improvements... and welcome to MFP! I hope you see great changes to your health through this site... I love it

I used to drink practically no water. I have an office job and it was easier to get tea as that meant a walk to the kitchen to stretch my legs. I still get my walk... but its to fill my water bottle now.

I'd suggest you build up your intake of water. when you throw yourself in at the deep end and aim to drink 2 litres a day when having not done so before it does hit you hard. so build up in stages. if you never drank much water before start with a litre and build up that way.

here's my tips below

1. buy a water flask or something similar that you can keep with you, its good to get into a routine. I have a BRITA water filter flask which cost me £5(UK) and it has a filter in the cap, so i can fill it from the tap and it filters the water as I drink! the bottle holds 3 glasses worth of water
2. if you get fed up with water, then add some lemon slices into it (olr other natural fruit) to get a mild flavoured taste
keep your water near you at all time, if you get hungry or thirsty get into the habit of taking a sip... it will become second nature to do so
3. if you drink it out of a cup, I feel using a straw helps me drink it more... cant explain this one... it just seems to be the way for me!
4. if you need to drink tea or coffee stick to decafs, they may taste bad initially but now i hate the taste of cafeinated tea (i dont drink coffee at all) and green tea is good at curbing food hunger (although i couldnt drink more than 2 cups in a day really)

hope these help in some shape or form and Good Luck!
:happy:
N x

Geckoqueen

Thanks everyone for their replies, I know it might sound daft - you'd think it'd be pretty basic survival skill - but I appreciate the advice.

N - this was really helpful. I work in an office as well and am doing some of this already. I have a pint sized kids cup with a sealed lid (I'm very clumsy) and straw on my desk, I can make it my mission to fill it more and cut out the mid-morning coffee. The lemon tip is great too, that'll help me cut the cordial too.

I didn't think about building it up slowly, after realising I was so dehydrated I thought it was case of getting in as much as I can.

Thanks again
Lisa

firstly... well done on the health improvements... and welcome to MFP! I hope you see great changes to your health through this site... I love it

I used to drink practically no water. I have an office job and it was easier to get tea as that meant a walk to the kitchen to stretch my legs. I still get my walk... but its to fill my water bottle now.

I'd suggest you build up your intake of water. when you throw yourself in at the deep end and aim to drink 2 litres a day when having not done so before it does hit you hard. so build up in stages. if you never drank much water before start with a litre and build up that way.

here's my tips below

1. buy a water flask or something similar that you can keep with you, its good to get into a routine. I have a BRITA water filter flask which cost me £5(UK) and it has a filter in the cap, so i can fill it from the tap and it filters the water as I drink! the bottle holds 3 glasses worth of water
2. if you get fed up with water, then add some lemon slices into it (olr other natural fruit) to get a mild flavoured taste
keep your water near you at all time, if you get hungry or thirsty get into the habit of taking a sip... it will become second nature to do so
3. if you drink it out of a cup, I feel using a straw helps me drink it more... cant explain this one... it just seems to be the way for me!
4. if you need to drink tea or coffee stick to decafs, they may taste bad initially but now i hate the taste of cafeinated tea (i dont drink coffee at all) and green tea is good at curbing food hunger (although i couldnt drink more than 2 cups in a day really)

hope these help in some shape or form and Good Luck!
:happy:
N x

TavistockToad

coffee, tea and cordial all count!

Laura165_

Lemon water is good, but try cucumber slices and fresh basil (seriously!) or add some fresh blueberries or raspberries & fresh mint, orange slices & a piece of vanilla pod, pomegranate seeds/juice & mint. Plain water can be a bit dull but I've tried all the above and they're really yummy. Herbal teas are good too. Diet soda can count towards water intake if you fancy a change but it's not ideal. I have a glass that contains exactly 1 cup of water, and I try to drink two of them several times a day. Usually whenever I go into the kitchen, or I drink one before my breakfast and one after, the same with lunch, dinner & snacks. That gives me at least 8 cups, but I can usually fit in another 2-4. Sometimes if I'm struggling to get enough, I'll eat one salted peanut and it gives me an urge to drink water so I can usually down one or two cups.

Laura165_

I second the straw thing btw. It helps me drink more. Same with bottles. I can get up to 20 cups of water if I use a bottle.