I hope everyone had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend. We spent it on the baseball field, at a family barbecue and putting in our vegetable garden. (Look who helped dad!)
The Tuesday Tip for this week is in regard to the importance of staying properly hydrated. With summer upon us, it is extremely important to stay hydrated at all times.
Scary Incident with Son #4
My youngest son is entrenched in baseball right now. Multiple practices in one day with double headers each weekend. All good because he loves it, but this week it all caught up to him. He came home from practice with a terrible headache and was beyond exhausted. As the night progressed he continued to go down hill. Dizzy, pounding headache and difficulty concentrating.
He was DEHYDRATED. To the degree that he had to stay home from school for part of the next morning because of his headache. Come to find out he had only drank 1 bottle of water all day!
This is not even remotely enough for a non active person!
As most of you know, I am all about listening to your body and becoming mindful of hunger cues. Eating when you are hungry and stopping when you are full.
NEWS FLASH – This DOES NOT WORK with hydration.
Do Not Rely on Thirst – Drink Early/Drink Often
If you wait until you are thirsty, you are already starting to get dehydrated.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 16 to 20 ounces of water at least four hours before exercise, three to eight ounces every 15 minutes during exercise and at least 8-12 ounces within the 30 minutes post workout.
HYDRATION TIPS
Send your kids to school with plenty of water and remind them to re-fill the bottle at least twice before the end of the day.
Set a target fluid intake for yourself during the day. Set a reminder on your phone or leave a bottle on your desk or kitchen counter as a constant “nudge” to drink more.
Chug a large glass of water first thing in the morning while you are waiting for your coffee to brew.
Be careful with caffeine as it can have a dehydrating effect on the body.
Remind your athletes to not rely on just pouring water on their heads to cool off. The fluid must go IN the body not just ON in order to hydrate.
Include lots of foods in your diet that have a high water content such as:
Watermelon, Oranges, Cucumbers, Strawberries, Lettuce, Spinach, Tomatoes, Broccoli and Cauliflower.
In addition, low-fat chocolate milk is an excellent post-workout hydrator that also provides re-fueling carbohydrates and protein.
An added perk with these foods is that they also help to replace electrolytes lost in sweat.
Consistency is KEY – do not let dehydration sneak up on you.
The garden is in and now we wait for Mr Woodchuck to start demolishing it! Got to love nature…