Yes, you, too, could be dehydrated

Long--but a lot to explain--sorry.

Since cold weather hit, I've resorted to working out at the YMCA nearby. I've been doing circuit training and learning all the cardio machines. I work out for between 80-90 minutes each time I go there.

And, boy, do I sweat! I mean, it's almost embarrassing. I'm a "sweater", and I just drip buckets. My T-shirt gets literally soaked, my arms get covered, my legs get covered--when I'm riding the stationary bike, it drips from my arms!

BUT, it feels great! I don't usually sweat on my "real" bike because of moving along in the air keeps you from sweating.

But, in the gym, oh boy! I'm dripping sweat!


I drink pretty much nothing but water (couple cups of coffee a day but water rest of day), and I drink water when I'm working out, so I've never really worried about getting dehydrated.

Yesterday, I drink about 30 ounces of water WHILE at the gym.

Plus, 30 ounces before going, and another 30 ounces within a couple of hours of getting home.

I normally drink 120 ounces of water or so a day--usually a little more, so like I said, dehydration is not my concern--USUALLY!

But yesterday, I developed this intense "salty" taste in my mouth--like I was sucking on a salt cube! It was gross! And, after a few hours, didn't go away either.

I Goggled and discovered that a salty taste in the mouth can be a sign of dehydration! to rule that out, I decided to drink another two bottles of water--another 60 ounces of water.

Now, let me say here that I had gained 6 pounds over the last 4 days--yes, 6 pounds in 4 days! I knew it was "fluids" but wasn't sure why because I'm on a diuretic. I figured that my TOM was going to be early again or something. And, also attributed at least part of it to glycogen storage issues associated with the weight training I had done at the end of last week

But, after drinking that extra water, the salty taste in my mouth went away--so I was dehydrated!

Then, I must have "gone to the restroom" about every 30 minutes over night--I was up at least 5 times during the night, I know that. I lost count after that.

This morning, those 6 pounds are gone plus 1 more to boot!

So, I'm assuming that because I was dehydrated that my body was retaining fluid. The diuretic won't take care of that "kind" of fluid I don't think--it only keeps your body from retaining sodium.

I'm really not exactly sure how the diuretic works into it all BUT, I know that I lost 7 pounds since yesterday!

And, given the salty taste in the mouth, I have to assume I was dehydrated.

Anyone know more about this stuff that could hazard another reason why all this came about?

Anyhoo, I learned that I do need to watch my water intake more when I'm working out at the gym and sweating like that. And, wanted to share in case someone else could learn from my experience.

Keep up the good work, MFPers!

Oh, and my body fat percentage dropped since I last checked it too. When I started in April, I was at 54% body fat :sick: but I'm now at 41.2% body fat!