Proper hydration is confusing to just about everyone. I was one of those, "my face is ALWAYS red when I work out!" folks. Until one day, a very snarky Bikram teacher in NY told me, "well then, you are ALWAYS dehydrated!" So I started drinking more water. water water water... but still didn't notice a difference. Well, maybe a little, but I was still tired and my hands and feet would still swell every other day.
Here's the deal: dehydration is not just a loss of water from sweating, it is also a loss of very important electrolytes, including potassium, calcium, sodium chloride and magnesium, plus many lesser known trace minerals which are absolutely essential to the proper functioning of our brains! As well as our nervous systems, hearts, etc. You get the point. As we lose water (ie: sweat!), the body is depleted of minerals, not just water, and then we get muscle cramps, are exhausted and feel like we've been run over by a truck. This is why it is so very important to REPLACE YOUR ELECTROLYTES! It's actually easy - products like Smart Water and "electrolyte enhanced water" already do most of the work for you. But sometimes a little just isn't enough. And, buying bottle after bottle can be expensive (and destructive if you don't recycle). You can actually re-mineralize your own water at home. Try Concentrace or even Cell Food. Both are available at Whole Foods and other vitamin stores. I also take Potassium supplements (Solaray is my favorite brand) as well as Cal/Mag/Vit-D (if you are taking Cal, take it with Mag and always get it with D for proper absorbtion.).
Ideally, drink half your body weight in fluid oz. of mineralized water. On average, that's two liters of water. If you are taking Bikram yoga, try to drink a coconut water or vitamin water 10 (which is actually 25 cal. for the whole bottle) before or after class. On tough days, get a real (meaning 120-140 calorie) vitamin water or a couple of coconut waters.
Drink up!
GREAT INFO Lori!! Thanks! WOW! I REALLY thought I could get what my body needed by my food and one vitamin water daily!!! HA! Thanks for enlightening me. With your help I will continue to learn and improve!
ReplyDeleteSo whaddya think about the no-water-in-class-ever thing? Never done it...but I see alot of people taking it up as a challenge.
ReplyDeleteIMPORTANT information in this article. Loss of ELECTROLYTES cause my headaches........and visits to physicians and expensive exams (luck my insurance is good). Nobody figured it was ELECTROLYTE deficiency. One day, after Bikram class......one of the hippy young yoga instructors said "you probably need more ELECTROLYTES." Of course, I know more than her, but decided to take some free samples of ENDURE. Headaches ? All gone, and now I make sure I hydrate before class with ELECTROLYTES. (Gatorade, Endure, etc) Also, V8 after class is a nice nutritious beverage.
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