How much water do I actually need? So when I’m having a consultation with a client ,,,,I like to go over the basics of hydration and nutrition. Surprisingly many women do not drink enough water.. and consider coffee and tea water. WHAT NO NO NO!!!!! My standard question during a nutritional consult might be how many bottles of water a day do you consume? The poland spring type water bottles? I use this as a reference because we all know what those are. A typical response is one or two at the most. I get it… I used to hate water to …until I really started focusing on my nutrition did I really start to focus on how much I was drinking! I get it it’s hard to always go to the bathroom… Or feel bloated… Or carry that damn water bottle around.. I so get it…I actually use to laugh at all the gym people carrying around their milk jugs… Like seriously bro…. are you going to drink all that right now? Ha… come to find out thats how they TRACK their water.. But here’s the deal.. 60% of your body is made up of water and it serves many functions! It helps make saliva, regulates our temperature, lubricates your joints and helps maintain blood volume. Have you ever been dehydrated? You may feel lethargic.. OMG.. did that come out of my mouth?? really?? good one yvette and great scrabble word. Any who…   severe headaches, irritability, dizziness, and  many others …Not fun. Dehydration results when you begin to lose more water than you are taking in.  How much water do we actually need to stay hydrated? Well the average for women is 2.7 L per day.. keep in mind this is just an average intake recommendation… This does not take into account someone’s diet… activity level …bodyweight or environmental factors. Because obviously if you’re working out in the heat you’re going to need a lot more water.. so there are variables involved.

There is actually an equation that can help you figure out your water intake. For non-athletes take your bodyweight and multiply it by .55 to get your average intake needs. In my case I would take 135 and multiply it by .55 to get 74.25 meaning I need to drink minimum of 74 1/4 ounces of water per day as an in active adult BUT athletes on the other hand need to drink  more…multiply your weight by .66 So for example I would take my weight ….135 and multiply it by .66… I am quite active throughout the day and participate in both resistance training and cardio training on a daily basis…. I would then want to drink a minimum of 89 ounces of water …capiche? You might be asking yourself how can I possibly drink this much water?
AS The non-water drinker let me tell you what I do.
  • First thing off I start my day with one bottle of water this is my initial intake so that I can reword myself with coffee! See how my mind works… its like boom check mark now you can have the liquid crack.
  • I also have an app called Reminders and I insert drink water three times a day it comes up on my phone in the morning in the afternoon and in the evening
  • And last but not least before during and after my workout I try to consume at least two bottles.
  • I’m not one to cut up fruit but I know a lot of my clients like to cut up cucumber lemon lime and insert it into their water bottles! My dear friend Janet is the queen of cutting up her lemon and limes.. looks so pretty in her beautiful water bottle!. Drink up my friends… And drink before you actually feel thirsty… Remember by the time you feel thirsty you’re already dehydrated!
So cheers to the clear stuff… .. water  not vodka.. Damn you vodka 🙁