Water, weight loss and bad decisions

mikeyrowlands
mikeyrowlands Posts: 110 Member
in Food and Nutrition
One of my main challenges is not drinking enough water, I often notice I'm dehydrated and it leaves me feeling a bit liable to poor choices, I actually notice how drained I feel.

This has increased a bit as I've started drinking more water and noticed I feel dehydrated more quickly inbetween drinks if not little/often.

Anyway, my post was more about the decision fatigue or poor choices this can lead to. Where I may be commuting home and due for dinner but if I feel mentally drained and there has been a gap between drinks leaving me thirsty.

Does anyone else come across this and have a strategy or tip to staying watered and avoiding bad choices?

Replies

  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,743 Member
    Staying hydrated is essential for me and for me, that means ice water infused with lemon. I keep a large pitcher in my fridge at home and have a water cooler at work. Drinking water regularly is just a habit.

    For you, since you now know the negative effects dehydration has on you, it's not really a matter of tips or strategy. It's more like, "just do it!". Do you like it cold or room temperature? Plain or flavored? From a glass or bottle? Etc. Find how you prefer it and just have it on hand at all times.

    Some people find they can stay hydrated simply by the foods they eat and other liquids they consume. Everyone is different, so find what works for you and stick with it.
  • foldinthecheese
    foldinthecheese Posts: 27 Member
    I think if you're so consistently dehydrated that you feel it's causing you to regularly make poor choices and routinely causing brain fog, you may want to consider checking with your doctor.
  • mikeyrowlands
    mikeyrowlands Posts: 110 Member
    Thanks both, I was reflecting on this, you are right about 'strategies', its just about drinking more water.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,979 Member
    You know, you don't need to drink water. You could eat more juicy fruit, drink tea or coffee, or anything else with fluids. Of course track the calories should you chose anything that has calories.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,541 Member
    When I was under-hydrating and wanted to improve that, I got a sturdy stainless steel water bottle (and a carry strap) and took it with me everywhere. That helped me.

    I also used events in my day as triggers to drink water. Examples: Glass after morning weigh-in, glass with breakfast/lunch/dinner, sips in meetings at work from the water bottle, glugs from the bottle before getting in the car to go home, etc. If it happens on the way home, a water bottle in your cup holder could be useful.

    If your urine is pale yellow, kind of straw colored, you're probably getting enough water. It's fine to have more to taste within reason, but you don't want your urine to be totally clear (no color). Over-hydrated isn't good, either. (It can be OK to have bright, almost fluorescent yellow urine, still light color - getting more of certain water soluble vitamins than we need will do that. Dark urine, like dark yellow or brown, is a bad sign, probably under-hydration. It can be other colors in unusual cases from either kind of extreme but harmless dietary choices (large amounts of beets or carrots, for example) or from certain medications, but if it's dark and you don't know why, see your doctor.)

    If you're thirsty very frequently, how is your blood sugar?
  • KickassAmazon76
    KickassAmazon76 Posts: 4,678 Member
    It's silly but I regularly struggle with chronic dehydration. The fixes... I can't drink water a glass at a time. I get time blind, forget to drink, forget how much I've drank, and walk away.

    I ended up buying a 64oz water jug off Amazon (and then another off Temu) and commit to drinking that a day. It has made a difference. I also found that drinking it with a straw is easier than drinking open mouth or from the spout.

    I used to drink my water out of a lidless protein shake container... but spilled all the time and STILL forgot how many I had drank.

    I've tried setting up regular reminders on my phone - sometimes that works.
    Sometimes adding a little bit of flavor to the water also helps.

    Keep trying different tricks... even getting a friend to check in with you. At the very least, if I haven't finished it all by morning, I end up chugging the rest before I have my morning coffee.

    good luck and don't give up!

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