You know you should drink water, but are you confused about how much is “enough”? I don’t blame you. Hydration is a very personal thing, and depending on your lifestyle, age and activity levels, your adequate water intake would be different from the next person’s.
Below I have compiled some basic tips on hydration. This list is not exhaustive, meaning there are many other factors that could affect how much water your body requires. But, this is a good place to start.
A good equation to start with is to take your body weight in pounds, divide that in half, and drink the result in ounces.
For example,
150lbs / 2 = 75 oz
So, for your weight of 150lbs, you would drink at least 75 oz of water every day. That works out to approximately 2 litres and 1 cup of water.
This equation is good to use as a general marker for your water intake, but it unfortunately doesn’t account for variables like your activity levels, or muscle mass, would could raise your intake needs.
When exercising, you should drink your daily required intake, and then some to account for water lost from sweating.
During a workout, for every 1 hour of strenuous activity, drink 500mL of water, and another 500 mL after your workout, plus the rest of your usual requirements.
Coffee lover? Coffee is a diuretic, which means that it dehydrates your body. In order to account for this water loss, for every 8 oz cup of water, you should drink two 8 oz cups of water to replace the water lost. The same goes for tea, since it also contains caffeine.
0 Comments