Far too many of us are walking around in a state of mild dehydration and forcing our bodies to operate that way.  

It’s like expecting a car to run smoothly with half or less of the oil the engine needs. Your car might run a little while on no oil. Then it will start giving you signs that things are not okay under the hood. If you ignore those signs, eventually the car will stop working and need an expensive repair.

The human body is more than 60% liquid. It takes dedication to your hydration to meet your body’s optimal needs.  Which is why our systems are designed to regulate for that if we get slightly dehydrated from one day to the next.  Our systems do not do well over time if we stay dehydrated and it will start send us signals. When those signals are ignored our body’s send us more signals, escalating the aggressive nature of those signals, until we pay attention. Dehydration alarm bells go off in our body’s all the time, because most of us are dehydrated. We often ignore them, because we have just gotten used to feeling all dried up.

It is amazing to me how many of those signals we all ignore. How often we assume that dry skin, dry cracked lips and dry eyes are topical conditions that can be fixed with an ointment or a cream. When in a lot of instances, we are just dehydrated and need to drink more liquids. You might have dark urine and think to yourself that you need to drink some more water.  Not realizing the long term affects that it might have on your kidneys.  You might suffer muscle cramps and headaches due to dehydration. But how many of us realize that as a cause and drink some liquids? It’s more likely that we just sip the amount of liquid needed to take the pain reliever we just reached for.  Think about how many headaches, cracked dry lips and muscle cramps you could have avoided, if you would just be a bit more observant of your daily intake of liquids.

If you are thinking to yourself right now “you’re crazy Laura, I’m not dehydrated, I drink eight, 8oz glasses of water a day.” First, be honest, do you really?  There is no one size fits all hydration goal. That 64 ounce’s we are told is enough. That is not true, it is not enough for most adults.  We have been told the lie, for most of our lives, that all we need is 64oz a day and we are meeting our body’s needs. Leaving those that believe that, as scientific fact, in and out of dehydration, or in a constant state of mild dehydration.

Before you can make the decision to strive for optimum hydration. First you need to know; How much liquid do you need? It’s not one size fits all. You will need to figure out your optimal level of liquids intake base on your weight and level of activity.  There are two easy ways to figure out how much liquid you should be drinking daily to maintain optimal hydration.  Once you know your real needs, it’s much easier to develop the habits to reach those needs.

Method #1: Drink 2/3 of your body weight in ounces of liquid (67%). EXAMPLE: 200lb person that would be 134oz of liquid a day.

Method #2: Drink 50% to 100% of your body weight in ounces of liquid. EXAMPLE: 200lb person would have a range of 100-200oz of liquid a day.

I prefer the second method. With a healthy range, you could tailor your intake based on your individual level of activity.  Aim for the minimum goal and when more active add more liquids. This also gives you a minimum goal that is pretty easy to reach.  The first method could set you up for failure as there is no flexibility with a ridged goal. To be that person who only needs 64oz, your weight would need to be 128lbs, using the second method.  Your liquids range would be 64oz-128oz. But if you are an active person and only drinking in 64oz of liquid. You would probably be getting signals of dehydration. Depending on our weight, activity level and health conditions, we will all need different quantities of liquid. Calculate your optimal hydration goals, based on your weight so you can make a realistic plan.  

While we are myth busting, I have another myth to bust. You might have noticed that I keep saying liquids and not water. Everything you drink does not have to be water.  Water is the main ingredient in all the liquids you drink thru the day and some of the food you eat. Count all the liquids. Count that coffee or tea you drink in the morning. The caffeine in them does not matter. Another myth.  You can count the liquid in foods too, from fruits, vegetables and meats. Depending on your diet, you may be hitting your body’s optimal hydration goal already. Congratulations to all of you excellent hydrators!

If you’re not sure if you are hitting your optimal hydration goals. For the next few days make a note of how much liquid you are drinking, counting all the liquids, to see if you have a shortfall in your regular routine. If you are close, then take a look at your diet. Are you eating foods likely to contain liquids? If so, that might put you right over the top of your goal.  If not, then make some adjustments.

I have dedication to my hydration and even I have days I don’t meet my body’s demand. My goal is to try not to string too many of those kinds of days together. In winter it’s a bit harder.  Short days, low humidity, heaters and the wind can dry us out faster. I might notice my lips and skin getting a bit dry, then look back at that week and see my hydration was not optimal. Happens to all of us when we get super busy. Even those of us with dedication to our hydration.

If you don’t mind sharing, let me know in the comments. How many ounces of liquids to you get a day on average?  Now that you have a better idea of optimal hydration, is that enough? How do you plan to increase your shortfall?  

Are you the master of your hydration? Do you have any tips to share that work for you that might help the rest of us?