How To Achieve And Maintain Your Hydration

We all know that hydration is a big part of life; whether if its for athletic performance or for your daily bodily functions. Even though we know we should be consuming water throughout the day and especially after exercise. We can all agree that, often, we are not strict enough with our fluid intake.

What is my recommended daily water intake?

Day to day you will want to try to consume 2-3 litres of fluid. This does not mean just water, instead, this can be made up of any fluid. However, it is reported that you should limit fruit juices to 150ml a day, this is due to the high amounts of sugar in these drinks.

If you have a highly active lifestyle, live in a warmer climate or naturally perspire more, you will need to consume more than the recommended amount. This will help to replace the excess fluid you have used throughout the day.

The easiest way to find out what your recommended daily water intake should be is to use a calculator. Check out our water intake calculator here and find out how much fluid you should be consuming.

What do hydration packets and powdered electrolytes do?

In all of our bodies we have electrolytes; potassium, sodium and magnesium are the big 3. When we exercise, sweat or vomit we lose these electrolytes and need to replace them. These electrolytes play a role in the regulation of blood pressure and muscular contraction. By adding the hydration packets or powdered electrolyte packets to your water will replace the electrolytes you have lost.

When you lose these you may experience cramping, muscle weakness and dehydration. We don’t all lose the same amount of electrolytes when we exercise though; this is dependent on the intensity of exercise, our weight, age etc.

Many sports drinks will help to replace the electrolytes you lose. The downside of having to purchase these drinks is the cost. Check out this great video on how to make your own homemade sports drink.

Rehydrating after exercise

Following exercise the body needs to have the fluid balance returned to normal; this involves the restoration of water and electrolytes that were lost through sweating. It has been reported that you should consume 1.2-1.5 times the body weight that you have lost in fluid. To do this accurately you should weigh yourself before and after you exercise. For every KG you lose through exercise should be replaced with 1L of fluid. You should drink this in small, steady bouts, this is to prevent the fluid being excreted as waste and to stop you from feeling nauseous.

When we exercise we damage muscle fibres. These will repair over time but if you are dehydrated this can slow down this process. For protein synthesis to work optimally you need to be in a fully hydrated state.

If you want to learn more about hydration and exercise check out this great blog post on it.

How to calculate water intake per day?

The following will show you how to estimate how much water/fluid you need to consume per day. The easiest way to incorporate you activity level and the environment you are in is to use our water intake calculator.

So firstly, you need to get a value for your weight. The heavier you are the more fluid you will need to consume daily.

After working out your weight, you will multiply this value by 0.67. This will give you a rough estimate for your fluid intake for the day. However, the value you get may still not be enough. If you are exercising regularly, make sure you drink more than this estimate.

Remember, if you are thirsty you are dehydrated! Get drinking your fluid.