Staying Hydrated
Nov. 25th, 2015 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebMany Americans walk around a little bit dehydrated even though we have lots of places to get clean water. I guess we don't get thirsty, ignore our thirst, get distracted, feel we have more urgent priorities at any given time, etc. And we can get along fine with less than ideal amounts of water, but it makes things easier on our bodies to get enough. So it can be good to have a strategy.
Just go get a big drink of water every time you have a hot flash.
Okay, that strategy might not work for everyone. But once I thought of it, well, I couldn't resist inflicting it on all of you!
It seems like most of the strategies I've heard of boil down to either keeping water super handy or tying the act of drinking water to some other act that you perform frequently.
Keeping water handy
I know some people who keep large bottles of water with them, say, on their desk at work, and have calculated how many times they need to drain the bottle to stay hydrated.
Serious bicyclers can get a water bottle rack to attach to their bikes. Some knapsacks have a special pocket for water bottles. You can get a shoulder strap to attach to your water bottle.
There are "camel" containers where you can drink from a backpack-like device from a straw-like device.
Association
Hot flashes - See above.
Clock - Once when I had a bad flu, I was told to drink water every hour on the hour. I asked if I had to set the alarm in case I was asleep. The nurse said no, only when I was awake. So at about five 'til the hour I was wishing really hard that I'd fall asleep right away. (Even water tastes bad when I'm that sick.) I noticed that when I did this I had to use the bathroom about once every two hours.
Hunger - People trying to lose weight are often advised to have a big glass of water every time they feel hungry.
Breastfeeding - Every time you breastfeed or pump your milk--again, this one probably won't apply to you.
Combo - I currently have a number of situations where I try to get in the habit of drinking water:
* when I get up in the morning, before I go to bed at night
* before I leave for a walk; after I return for a walk
* whenever I eat a meal
* whenever I use the bathroom
Combo
When I was working, it was generally enough to get a long drink of water every time I passed a water fountain. I decided to assume that 12 swallows of water counts as eight ounces.
Other
If you like checking things off of lists, you can add drinking enough water to your to-do list. Or better, drinking a first glass of water, drinking a second glass of water, etc. Or just put a bunch of blanks next to that item to check off as you go through your day.
Preparation
Some people don't even like water, so it makes things a lot easier for them if they can find a way to like water. For example:
* get a water filter or buy filtered water
* add lemon or lime juice
* infuse water with something like cucumber or mint leaves
* buy flavored water
* get the water very cold so you can't taste it as well
* make it into herbal tea
I've also heard of some desert animal that can get all its water from food. So adding a lot of soups and juicy fruits and vegetables to your diet could help. Even meat (aka "ugly bas of mostly water").
How much is enough?
I've heard of two great home tests for this. If your pea is dark or even medium yellow, that's a sign that you're not getting enough water. (This test may be problematic for you if you have a black toilet.)
If you pinch your skin and it doesn't bounce back right away, there's another bad sign.
Your turn
Do you get enough water? Do you have any strategies you recommend?
Just go get a big drink of water every time you have a hot flash.
Okay, that strategy might not work for everyone. But once I thought of it, well, I couldn't resist inflicting it on all of you!
It seems like most of the strategies I've heard of boil down to either keeping water super handy or tying the act of drinking water to some other act that you perform frequently.
Keeping water handy
I know some people who keep large bottles of water with them, say, on their desk at work, and have calculated how many times they need to drain the bottle to stay hydrated.
Serious bicyclers can get a water bottle rack to attach to their bikes. Some knapsacks have a special pocket for water bottles. You can get a shoulder strap to attach to your water bottle.
There are "camel" containers where you can drink from a backpack-like device from a straw-like device.
Association
Hot flashes - See above.
Clock - Once when I had a bad flu, I was told to drink water every hour on the hour. I asked if I had to set the alarm in case I was asleep. The nurse said no, only when I was awake. So at about five 'til the hour I was wishing really hard that I'd fall asleep right away. (Even water tastes bad when I'm that sick.) I noticed that when I did this I had to use the bathroom about once every two hours.
Hunger - People trying to lose weight are often advised to have a big glass of water every time they feel hungry.
Breastfeeding - Every time you breastfeed or pump your milk--again, this one probably won't apply to you.
Combo - I currently have a number of situations where I try to get in the habit of drinking water:
* when I get up in the morning, before I go to bed at night
* before I leave for a walk; after I return for a walk
* whenever I eat a meal
* whenever I use the bathroom
Combo
When I was working, it was generally enough to get a long drink of water every time I passed a water fountain. I decided to assume that 12 swallows of water counts as eight ounces.
Other
If you like checking things off of lists, you can add drinking enough water to your to-do list. Or better, drinking a first glass of water, drinking a second glass of water, etc. Or just put a bunch of blanks next to that item to check off as you go through your day.
Preparation
Some people don't even like water, so it makes things a lot easier for them if they can find a way to like water. For example:
* get a water filter or buy filtered water
* add lemon or lime juice
* infuse water with something like cucumber or mint leaves
* buy flavored water
* get the water very cold so you can't taste it as well
* make it into herbal tea
I've also heard of some desert animal that can get all its water from food. So adding a lot of soups and juicy fruits and vegetables to your diet could help. Even meat (aka "ugly bas of mostly water").
How much is enough?
I've heard of two great home tests for this. If your pea is dark or even medium yellow, that's a sign that you're not getting enough water. (This test may be problematic for you if you have a black toilet.)
If you pinch your skin and it doesn't bounce back right away, there's another bad sign.
Your turn
Do you get enough water? Do you have any strategies you recommend?
no subject
on 2015-11-30 01:56 pm (UTC)So yep, I lug a giant thermos of iced tea with me to work every day. It's one of the little things that improves my work quality of life quite a lot (even if these Northerners don't understand drinking iced tea on a snowy morning like today...).
Sally
no subject
on 2015-11-30 11:32 pm (UTC)Sadly, I don't like tea. Well, maybe I would like some herbal tea, but only with lots of sugar in it, so I don't do that. (I like chai.) In winter I actually just heat up plain water.