Dehydrated but drinking plenty of water...

oouurr__aayylleeyycan
oouurr__aayylleeyycan Posts: 149
edited October 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,

So I've started at the gym 10 days ago and I've been going every day and doing a mixture of cardio and resistance work. During my gym sessions I'm having to drink a LOT of water to keep my hydrated, roughly 3-4 500ml bottles per session which is a lot more than I was drinking before I started working out. However, yesterday I started to feel dehydrated and today I've woken up with a stinking headache which again is a side effect of dehydration. Not sure how I can be dehydrated when I'm drinking so much water though... any ideas?

Replies

  • fionarama
    fionarama Posts: 788 Member
    thats far too much water. it can be dangerous drinking too much in a short period of time, 2 litres of water in an hour is too much. You can kill yourself doing that. Maybe you should buy a sports drink with electrolytes etc in it and just have one drink but with some nutrients in it.
  • lodro
    lodro Posts: 982 Member
    couldn't it be something else you're feeling? what do you think "feeling dehydrated" feels like then? headaches may also have other causes. if your urine is of a light colour, you're not dehydrated. you're really drinking enough, even with the exercise. I drink less, and I do bikram daily.
  • oouurr__aayylleeyycan
    oouurr__aayylleeyycan Posts: 149
    When I see I'm dehydrated, I'm going on the main symptoms, i.e. dry mouth and smelly pee :) smells like sugar puffs!

    What's this bikram that you speak of? :-)
  • oouurr__aayylleeyycan
    oouurr__aayylleeyycan Posts: 149
    thats far too much water. it can be dangerous drinking too much in a short period of time, 2 litres of water in an hour is too much. You can kill yourself doing that. Maybe you should buy a sports drink with electrolytes etc in it and just have one drink but with some nutrients in it.

    I'm really only drinking as much as I feel I need at the time though, especially when running. So you think cut down on water?
  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
    I would go get checked out by the doctor. Those symptoms could be leaning towards something else.
  • mallory3411
    mallory3411 Posts: 839 Member
    Are you drinking water at any other times throughout the day?

    That much water is a little much but only you can judge how thirsty you are when working out. I tend to not drink a ton while working out.. I drink before and after.

    If you're new to drinking more water start upping the amount slowly. Too much water can be a bad thing. Might be a good thing to go visit a doctor.
  • EvelynForsyth
    EvelynForsyth Posts: 272 Member
    You could be peeing out a lot of the vital vitamins and minerals you need to help stay hydrated. I have a little knowledge on this as i have no large intestine so work hard to stay hydrated, i drink a pint (2 cups!) of water with added electrolytes and salts every day which you can get in tablets you pop into a drink and dissolve. I know you can also get it in powder form. This helps me to make best use of the water i drink. Things like gatorade can help with this but they are high in sugar. My doctor told me to also try 1 part water, 1 part fruit juice (not from concentrate) with a pinch of salt mixed in as a way of getting essential salts back into your body.
    Hope that helps!
    I would also say ask your doctor, they will be able to help you much better than we can!
  • lesteidel
    lesteidel Posts: 229 Member
    Go to the doctor and get it checked out. That could be any number of things. I was eating a low sodium diet because I was cooking for people with heart problems and I was running five miles every day and mine was just simply not getting enough sodium. Try Gatorade or a sports drink and if that doesn't work go to the doctor. Something like that could be a symptom of something that needs treatment like diabetes
  • oouurr__aayylleeyycan
    oouurr__aayylleeyycan Posts: 149
    I've been tested for diabetes before but was negative, so that's one thing I can rule out. I'll take on board the other comments as well though and I'll try and up my water intake during the day where I can... Thanks everyone :)
  • hsnider29
    hsnider29 Posts: 394 Member
    I would go get checked out by the doctor. Those symptoms could be leaning towards something else.

    As a nurse I completely agree.
  • kjh1204
    kjh1204 Posts: 24 Member
    are you on a low carb diet? If you are it could be metabolic degydration as your body will be using its own stores of carbohydrates which are stored with water
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