They make hydration look so easy! And so not fun!
Fitness Myth: You need 8-10 glasses of water a day.
Truth: There is no set amount each person needs. Rather it’s conditional on your age, gender, the status of your womb and especially your activity. If you are running outside on a hot day you will probably need more than that. If you are indoors doing macrame and eating grapes with your toes then you’ll need much less. According to experts, the best way to tell if you need more water is how yellow your urine is.
Fitness Myth: By the time you feel thirsty you’re already dehydrated.
Truth: “Thirst is, in fact, a very sensitive mechanism for regulating fluid intake, according to Barbara Rolls, PhD, a nutrition researcher at Pennsylvania State University. In a 1984 study in Physiology and Behavior, she and a group of colleagues at Oxford University followed a group of men as they went through their normal day. Left to their own devices, the volunteers became thirsty and drank long before their hydration levels showed any signs of dipping.”
Chances are you’ve heard these two axioms hundreds of times over the years and yet there isn’t any scientific evidence for either. This doesn’t mean that hydration isn’t important, however. Getting enough water is particularly important for us exercising types because dehydration can lead to everything from sluggishness, fatigue and underperforming to fainting, mental confusion and, you know, death. (But don’t drink too much – there is such a thing and hyponatremia can kill you too.)
I know you’re excited by all this death and mayhem talk but for most of us, it’s just a matter of making sure that we have access to clean water when we need it. As long as you don’t live in a 3rd world country you should be all set and yet so many of us are still peeing urine the color of carrot juice. I can’t speak for everyone but my two main roadblocks to properly hydrating are 1) I can never find my water bottle because my kids steal it and 2) I hate the taste of my tap water. If you love garlic then you should totally move to Minnesota because that’s what our tap water tastes like. They’re either really terrified of vampires or there’s something untoward in our water supply. (Of course, Minnesota is also the state that had garlic ice cream at our state fair this year. We even have our own garlic festival.)
So when my new Brita filter water bottle showed up, half my problems were solved. I don’t do product reviews for stuff I’m not really excited about (anymore) but I have to confess I was ecstatic when I got the offer from Brita* to be a part of their hydration challenge. Just ask the Gym Buddies how often I complain about the water at the gym. I’ve long used a large Brita water dispenser in my fridge for drinking water and having it in gym bottle form was pure genius. I took it to the gym with me to see if it would hold up to my extreme sweatiness.
Given all the fancy Shape photo shoots and cutesy tutu shots and Champion USA modeling going on up in here lately, I have a feeling some of you are wondering if a) we actually workout and b) we ever get really nasty sweaty. The truth is yes and turn-our-treadmills-into-slip-n-slides yes. It’s not that I’m afraid to look goofy and/or hideous on here. The problem is that we usually don’t remember to take pics in the middle of a good sweatfest because we’re in too much pain and also, it’s hard to hold our camera phones with slippery, shaky hands. But last Saturday Gym Buddy Allison and I took it upon ourselves to document our swoobs for you. (Swoobs = sweaty boobs) And while there was some swack and swotch going on as well that was not documented. You’re welcome.
First, you should know it was “crazy hat day” in TurboKick which I inexplicably interpreted as “Ballerina in a Hothouse.” Second, you see all that stuff on my stomach that kinda looks like my shirt has a fun print? It’s pretty much just sweat. Allison and I paused between “turbos” (the high-intensity intervals sprinkled throughout the class that give TurboKick half its name and all its barf) to snap us soaked in sweat.
All our friends got good and sweaty too – check out Jon’s hair! It’s like he showered! In sweat!
Except for Turbo Jennie. Here she is teaching her second class in a row (BodyPump) and she just has an artful sheen. (Although she has been known to tell people to stay out of her “splash zone” due to all the sweat flying off her hair.)
I, on the other hand, am rocking the sweaty bangs. And I LOVED my Brita water bottle. In fact I loved it so much that I thought I’d try and do that sexy pour-water-over-yourself model thing. Except me being me, I just got it in my eyes and almost lost a contact.
Sexy FAIL. But hey, at least I didn’t smell like garlic water!
What does your tap water taste like or do you use filtered water? How do you make sure you stay hydrated? Would you try garlic ice cream??
*Brita sent me the water bottle and a rockin’ purple pitcher free, for me to try out and there’s totally a giveaway coming for you! This post was sponsored by Brita.
The water in our apt. building tastes nasty – even our filters couldn’t get rid of the slightly off taste of being stale!! It’s gross. We buy large generic jugs super cheap at the grocery store. However, our Brita filtered water worked for years everywhere else, we really liked it.
I have a bit of a hand-to-mouth obsession, so I try to have a glass of water available at all times. I used to down soda (hello, Diet Dr. Pepper) to the tune of 3-4 cans a day, and now I don’t even buy it at home (though I do indulge several times a week – just don’t keep it here). I also figure if I have water, I won’t want junk food, although sometimes that idea just plain fails. My workout fails if I don’t drink enough water, I can totally tell. So water, it is!
And no, I would not eat garlic ice cream. Although I would try sweet corn ice cream, which is the new thing in Iowa.
Sweet corn ice cream does sound strangely good! I’d try it!
The tap water in my city tastes amazing, because it’s from a glacier- seriously, the city’s water reservoir is filled by a river that comes from a glacier. So, I don’t filter it, I just drink it. It is hard water though, which is a bit annoying when it comes to cleaning my kettle, and garment cleaner. And my shampoo doesn’t lather very well. Oh well.
To stay hydrated I drink tons of herbal and green tea at my desk all day, it seems to work pretty well. Plus, it helps keep me warm in my cold office.
I’d try garlic ice cream, but…no guarantees on liking it. The best ice cream I ever had was zabaione gelato from a place just a block away from the vatican. I doubt garlic would beat the zabainoe gelato.
Also, have you seen this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/health/20brody.html?ref=health
First, I am insanely jealous of your glacier water. I know what that tastes like. When I lived in Utah our water came straight from a glacial lake and it was delish. I’m in withdrawals still.
Second, I did read that article and found it really interesting – it totally agrees with my personal experiences with dieting and what I’ve observed in other people. I think it also dovetails neatly with the new research out about how being obese actually changes the brain’s chemistry in regards to food. Apparently when you are obese, eating does not reduce your craving for food whereas for thin people this is not true. Again, it’s not all about the willpower…
Calgary has THE BEST WATER. Delish and COLD right from the tap. YUM….. (My town, however has gross, yellow/brown water from all the tanins in the Florida water system…) At the house, we have well water, so it’s an R/O system all the way…
Absolutely perfect! Wow great idea, i have to try!
Unfortunately not all instructors stay sweat free! My swoobs put my class to shame, if I don’t wear a headband I run the risk of blinding myself with my own sweat. I like to think my perspiration levels are proportional to my enthusiasm levels….
Px
Hey I’m right there with you on the swoobs!
Though I don’t mind it, apparently our water here tastes foul, judging by the vast queues of folks lining up to fill bottles at a public aquefer tap. And my partner used to wax lyrical about the sweet sweet water of his hometown Christchurch. Sadly, ever since the big earthquakes down there, that sweet sweet water tastes of chlorine and silage.
Oh, but ice cream. I take your garlic icecream, and raise you the tuna icecream I had in Japan. ( awful, but still better than durian icecream -I was honestly considering licking the pavement to get rid of the taste).
Ewww! I’ve heard Durian is in it’s own category of vile.
I had durian ice cream a few weeks ago. It’s NASTY!!!!!
Oh, but ice cream. I take your garlic icecream, and raise you the tuna icecream I had in Japan. It was chocolate dipped. Yes indeedy. (And though it was awful, it was still better than durian icecream -I was honestly considering licking the pavement to get rid of the taste.)
I take your garlic icecream, and raise you the tuna icecream I had in Japan. It was chocolate dipped. Yes indeedy. (And though it was awful, it was still better than durian icecream -I was honestly considering licking the pavement to get rid of the taste.)
I’ve had garlic gelato and it was actually really good! But I LOVE garlic, so maybe it’s just me 🙂
(uh oh. I wrote mine this weekend and it is MYTH FACT TOO!!!)
Your Brita post? Ah, we need to start coordinating this things, lol.
The water coming out of our 90 year old pipes is so nasty that it can be tasted through a strong cup of coffee. I ALWAYS run our water through a Brita filter if I’m using it for food. Ice, soup, anything.
I’m a big fan of water filtration systems, especially after we moved out of the San Francisco area, where we were spoiled because the tap water was totally drinkable. Not so much in San Diego or Provincetown, blehh. And filtration beats buying bottled water, both on cost and on being environmentally friendly.
And hey, if I looked that cute all sweaty, I’d have a sweat-fest picture posted every day!
” And filtration beats buying bottled water, both on cost and on being environmentally friendly.” So true!!
Right- memo to me, when little box thing tells me there publishing Failed as I have written too many characters – it’s LYING.
Buwhahah! That’s ok, I’m leaving all your comments because tuna fish and durian ice cream is *that* awful;)
The tap water in my city is supposedly amongst the world’s most drinkable, but I still think ick – I always use a Brita filter. (Little w00t! for my new employers who have a big Brita cooler in the kitchen – yay!)
I just drink as much water as I naturally feel like, which is usually between 1 and 1.5 L a day, though up to 2 L if I’ve been exercising a lot and/or it’s summer.
Yes on the garlic icecream. Not promising I’d actually like it, but I’d give it a try …
BTW, re your comment that “According to experts, the best way to tell if you need more water is how yellow your urine is” – this doesn’t apply if you take a multi-vitamin (one containing some sort of B complex). Cos that stuff is gonna turn your pee lurid yellow, no matter how many damn litres of water you’ve had.
SO true about the B vitamins! Then your pee is highlighter yellow no matter what. Good point!
I don’t like the taste of filtered water which is a problem because our tap water tastes like chlorine which is also yucky. We had really good well water while I was growing up so I always drank tap water. When I lived in Charlottetown, PEI for a couple of years the tap water was also good. Now I buy bottled spring water – Evian, Nestle, Real Canadian. As long as it is not filtered. I know, I know – plastic bottles are killing the planet! I promise, I recycle them.
If you like filtered water bottles, check this one out, too: http://www.waterbobble.com/ I have one and I love it!
Oooh thanks for the rec! I’ll go check it out!
I drink ungodly amounts of water. Being the scientist that I am, a while back I actually measured my intake for a week and found that I average 2-3 gallons a day. Probably due to my location in the south, my exercise addiction, and a set of kidneys that are still a bit battle-scarred from some years of not being kind to my body. I use a Brita dispenser (holds 27 cups or somesuch like that); I had one of those 32 ounce pitcher filters for a while but had to refill it so often that it was a huge pain.
When I’m working in the tropics, I’m amazed at how often the cooks will be careful about giving us boiled or bottled water to drink, but will make Tang with unsterilized water, like if you can’t taste the microbes they don’t exist!
And on the off chance Tang did kill off all the microbes, should you really be drinking it?? 😉
I’ve always just trusted my feelings about hydration regardless of the current views. I remember salt tablets, no thank you! I just drink when I’m thirsty and that’s about that. Because I am very active, I do drink a fair amount of water.
I usually drink 8 glasses from a 16-oz cup while I’m at work. Those 128-oz of water make me not feel so bad about the 3 Red Bulls. Plus, I drink berry LaCroix at home.
And then I saw these ladies at work dropping slices of cucumber into their water and I thought I was going to throw up.
Cucumber water’s not bad actually – you should try it! They also say it’s good for PMS bloat;)
So is chocolate. Wait, that’s just the PMS part. I’ll remember it for the next time I’m bloated from PMS.
I’ve noticed that some tap water in Minnesota tastes like garlic, too! Luckily, my tap water about 30 miles north of the Twin Cities doesn’t. The water at my work, though, tastes and smells like copper. Eww! I have to cover it up with Crystal Light.
Weirdly enough, I would try garlic ice cream. Had I known they had that at the State Fair this year, I might have made the trip! I LOVE garlic, just not garlic tap water apparently.
Yeah we didn’t make it this year either… Ah well. Maybe they’ll have it next year!
I have a Brita water bottle…somewhere. My kids also like to steal my water bottles. But I really like it when I can find it!
We live about an hour north of Gilroy, which is, apparently, the garlic capital of the world. At least, self-proclaimed. The entire town smells of garlic and diesel (because there are a lot of farm vehicles and it’s a major through-way, so lots of trucks coming through). They have a garlic festival every year which INCLUDES garlic ice cream! I have yet to try it, however. Or attend the festival. We say we’re gonna go every year, but time gets away from us…
I must say, however, our tap water is GREAT! Fortunately.
I use a filter for my home water. It tastes a little chlorinated/bleach-like for me. I can get over the chlorine taste if it is super cold, but once it is room temperature I can’t handle it. I try to add lemon, or a splash of tea or juice if I am having a hard time getting my water in. I might use up 4 oz in a day if I am going crazy with my splashes of water. I tend to use vitamin water and gatorade in this way. The light flavor makes a big difference for me.
If I am really lucky, I have spare cucumbers and mint and I put that in my water bottle.
The tap water here tastes fine, but it’s so hard that you need to run it through a blender first.
As for garlic ice cream, I’d try it, but only if you paid me.
“but it’s so hard that you need to run it through a blender first.” ROFL. We have hard water here too…
Tap water where I live now is great. Where I grew up? Horrid…you could taste it through the slurpees in the summer. Yuk.
I just don’t like water…it tastes like nothing. I try so hard to drink enough water in a day (instead of just coffee and tea). It’s a work in progress…
I’d try garlic iced cream (I’ve ahd garlic gelato and it was good so hey!)
Awesome post girl, and good to know facts. I am so thankful for your pics right now because I’m hurting pretty bad and you made me smile, thank you!
Hahah – that’s what I’m here for!
I’ve always been confused by that, “If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated,” thing. Good to know it’s not true and I’m not walking around dehydrated half the time.
As for the tap water, ours tastes a bit metallic. That would be why the majority of Southern Californians buy bottled water in bulk or own some sort of filtration device. We keep a filtered pitcher in the refrigerator.
Despite the fact that I love garlic and put it in pretty much everything, I don’t think I’ll be trying that garlic ice cream any time soon. 🙂
Hi Charlotte. You should see me at the end of my cardio session – NOT a pretty site & soaked like I just went swimming…. then I do weights! YIKES!
I use a PUR water filter on my faucet & I take 2 water bottles with me to the gym due to cardio & weights in the same session.
Hey, Britta, want to test your filter against PUR?? 😉
As for the 8-10 glasses a day & all that.. I figured that was not the case a few years back.. when some articles started to say that. I drink my water for sure but I remember the days when I tried to get all the water in we were supposed to & it was making me way too full AND in the potty way too much! Work places are not fond of you being there all day long! 😉
So what color should your pee be (assuming you don’t take a multi vitamin)?
I believe they say it should look very pale yellow. My first thought: we should all take pics of our pee and post them so we can compare colors! Second thought: Worst post idea ever, Charlotte. Third thought: I bet someone somewhere has already done this.
What a great read. I love that you busted that myth about the 8-10 glasses of water a day, you are very right that it depends on what you’re doing in your day.
I’m also pleased to hear that brita makes a water bottle! I love brita and they make my water so much better, we have the filter that goes on the sink faucet. Up where I’m from the water tends to taste a bit swampy, so the filter is the best thing I find.
Good clarification on hydration myths. I always heard that you had to drink before you felt thirsty, but didn’t feel like it was true intuitively. It’s nice to have the confirmation. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Yeah it never felt intuitive to me either – good word choice!
Pingback:Bodily Fluids and Fitness 101: Deodorant [$100 Visa Card Giveaway!] | The Great Fitness Experiment
Pingback:Bodily Fluids and Fitness 101: Deodorant [$100 Visa Card Giveaway!] | Elite Fitness
We have the best, sweetest Rocky Mountain water here in my hometown. But I have a friend who moved here from Minnesota and her water tastes like garlic (eck, by the way). Do you all use the same type of dish soap?
Pingback:The Grossest Thing That Has Ever Happened to Me at the Gym [Illustrated with crappy pictures*] | The Great Fitness Experiment
Office and domestic cleaning services, providing a professional cleaning service for both Edinburgh and West Fife