We are made up of mostly water, and our kidneys are like sponges just waiting to be filled with water! All of our bodies systems run on water! So let’s just call water the elixir of life! And I’m sure you have been told to make sure you are drinking plenty of water each day!
Personally, I have been told by Massage Therapists, Chiropractors, Yoga Instructors, Acupuncturists, and many more, to drink plenty of water. I am clear that I am supposed to be drinking plenty of water, got that, but how much water is plenty of water? This is a question I asked years ago and set out to find out how much water is plenty of water for my body, and how much water to advice others to drink.
So how much water is plenty of water for you? We can start with a basic formula, take your body weight, divide that in half and that is the minimum amount of water you should be drinking per day. So lets say you weigh 150 pounds, you should be drinking a minimum of 75 ounces of water per day.
Did you notice I said minimum amount of water back there?! That minimum may not be enough water for your body each day. If you have an 8 ounce cup of coffee in the morning, add another 8 ounces of water to your total. If you have a 12 ounce soda in the afternoon, add another 12 ounces of water to your total. Having a glass of wine with dinner, add on another 8 ounce glass of water. Coffee, soda, caffeinated teas and beverages and alcohol all dehydrate the body, so we need to add more water in to counterbalance the effects.
And wait, we are not done adding water! If you add on a yoga class, a workout at the gym, sweaty yard work, an evening of dancing, add on another 8 ounces or more of water!
Now lets do some more calculations, say your minimum daily amount of water is 75 ounces, you start your day with a cup of coffee, have a soda in the afternoon and a glass of wine with dinner. On this day, your daily amount of water should be about 100 ounces! Add on a yoga class or gym time in and you should be drinking about a gallon of water that day!
Now that you have this calculation, are you getting plenty of water for your body? What are some ways that you can make that happen? Do you have a favorite water bottle to carry with you? Can you set a schedule to remind yourself to drink water? Think you can get in plenty of water each day?
I would love to hear any tricks that you have on getting plenty of water!
Here’s to hydration! Cheers!
Carly Burke