My Journey With Health And Fitness – I Can’t Drink That Much Water

Yesterday I started week 4 of my 6 week bootcamp. At the end of each week I have to submit my goal for the coming week which of course should always be a commitment to improve. This week I have opted to set my goal as walking 16k each day this week. I am well on my way and I really appreciate the weather cooperating. My only challenge is tomorrow when I have a zoom meeting from 9:30am-1pm. I think I have a schedule worked out to still be able to get in the walking I need to do.

The other thing I have to log as part of my weekly check-in is how much water I have drank on average each day. While as part of my program I am supposed to drink 2 litres each day (8 cups) the actual recommended amount is 2.7 litres (11.5 cups) each day. Now hold on a second, I just simply can’t do that. Just the fact that at my age I already tend to pee a lot, if I drank that much I probably would never be able to do a 1 1/2 hour walk. It would also mean I would be up all night which would not be great given my challenge sleeping.

So what to do? Well I did some research and it is not about drinking WATER, it is about taking in fluids. Ok, that’s better because I do drink tea, coffee and non-alcoholic beer on top of the water I drink. I decided to look into this via a reliable source, the Mayo Clinic. According to their website if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables which can have a high water content and you drink sufficient other fluids then you are likely well hydrated. Oh, and in during research I learned that it is a myth that caffeine is a diuretic so that coffee and tea that I drink absolutely counts towards fluid intake. When I take that into consideration and the fact that my meals include a lot of fruits and vegetables I figure I am getting the right amount of hydration.

There are a couple of things that indicate if you need to hydrate more. The first is do you get thirsty. If so then drink more fluids. The second is the colour of your urine. As a guide, if your urine is completely clear it could indicate that you are drinking too many fluids. If it is pale or transparent (i.e. a light yellow or amber) you probably are getting enough fluids especially if you are not thirsty. Urine that is dark yellow is a sign that you are probably not getting enough fluids. There are other colours and indicators but I thought I would stick to the 3 simplest indicators.

For me I apparently am well hydrated and need to stop worrying about how much ‘water’ I drink each day. I’ll just keep doing what I am doing as I forge ahead on this journey.

A final note, the above information is based on the research I have done (you know, Dr Google). If you are concerned about your own outcomes please consult a medical professional.