Why it’s Important to Drink Water

There are many obvious reasons why we should stay hydrated. Intense exercise adds a bunch of additional reasons. For those involved in fat loss / body transformation training, being dehydrated can adversely impact the results of your training.

Studies show that being dehydrated causes increased cortisol levels pre and post workout. A bunch of hormones are affected as well, such as testosterone and norepinephrine. Also there are changes in carb and fat metabolism.

So aside from a complete decline in performance and the likely occurrence of you tapping out or at least taking a knee, the results of your efforts are diminished greatly. So you crash and burn and basically don’t accomplish jack shit all because you didn’t want to drink your water. Sounds silly, don’t it?

Also remember that you need to drink consistently throughout the day and not OMG, I’m thirsty and slam a gallon. And if you wait till you feel thirsty, they always say that’s too late – the damage is done.

Just like everything else, excessive water intake is dangerous too. It’s called hyponatremia and results from excessive water intake which flushes out sodium and electrolyte levels which can cause you to tap out with symptoms’ similar to a heat injury.

So how much water should we drink? Like all topics that has 50 answers depending on who you ask. Some say 8 large glasses a day, some say 2.5% of your body weight per day and the list goes on. I say have water with you everywhere, all day and sip water as often as you can, especially pre & post workout. You have to experiment to find what is good for you. The great thing about water is that it actually makes you feel good when you’re hydrated. I try to drink at least 1-2 32oz. bottles a day in addition to coffee, milk, protein shakes and whatever else I drink. It’s still not enough, but the difference between drinking one 32oz. bottle or not is huge. I feel so much better and energized when I drink the water. So I try to drink at least one before I leave work and then another before I go to bed. It helps a lot but I got to drink more so I’m working on it. So come up with a water plan and start hydrating your way to fat loss victory.

Eric

Dempsey’s Resolution Fitness