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Beat the Heat: Tips to Stay Hydrated
One of the most important aspects of your weight loss program is consuming 80-100 ounces of water daily. Proper hydration helps to suppress your appetite, and speed up your metabolism. With the summer heat bearing down it is especially important to meet, and on some days, exceed your daily water consumption goals. On an average day your body loses around 10 cups of water and that is without working out or spending time in the heat. If you are not replacing the water your body starts to dry out. At just a 2% loss you can start to experience serious fatigue, headache, dizziness, muscle weakness and dry mouth. Being dehydrated also lowers your body's ability to burn fat, which causes your metabolism to slow and burn fewer calories. Here are a few tips to stay hydrated this summer so that you will stay healthy and have continued success with your weight loss program.
Never Get Thirsty
If you're thirsty you are already starting to become dehydrated. Thirst is your body's way of signaling that you are at a deficit, and the best way to prevent that is to continually drink water throughout the day.
Plan
If you know you are going to be spending time outside on a hot humid day, even if you aren't exercising, it is important to plan your water consumption. Before heading out consume at least 16 ounces of water. While you are out in the heat make sure to plan to drink at least 6 ounces of water every 20 minutes.
Monitor
A good indicator of your level of hydrations is the color of your urine. Like thirst, change is urine color is another signal from your body that you need to consume more water. Ideally your urine should be a pale yellow color, if it is a dark yellow and cloudy your body needs more water.
Avoid Drinks that Dehydrate
Though most drinks have water in them certain drinks have diuretic effects which can cause you to dehydrate. Make sure to avoid soda, tea, coffee, juice, alcohol ,and sugary drinks before and while you are out in the heat.
Weigh Yourself
It is very common to lose weight through sweating especially if you are exercising on a hot day. Weigh yourself immediately before and after being in the heat for an extended period of time. If there is an immediate weight loss, you have lost water and it is important to replace it. A good rule of thumb is to drink an additional16 ounces of water for every pound lost.
Sweat
While sweating does cause you to lose water it is your body's way of helping you to cool down. Not sweating, especially during vigorous physical activity, is a sign that you are becoming severely dehydrated and nearing the point of exhaustion.
