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hydration
Last Post 07/31/2013 11:31 AM by 79 pmooney. 16 Replies.
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THE SKINNY
Posts:506
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| 07/30/2013 11:42 AM |
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how do you know when you're properly hydrated? i sweat a lot, drink some on the bike (although not enough usually), i drink a bottle of gatorade and several glasses of water when i get home. at night i get up 3-4 times to take a leak. at work i drink enough that i'm getting up about every half hour. still sometimes my hands feel dry and my eyes are dry which usually means i'm not hydrated enough. after drinking a glass or two of water i don't feel like eating for about an hour but i know i need to get some food in me.
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| How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/30/2013 12:00 PM |
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I'd say dry hands/eyes could also be symptomatic of something else, maybe sensitivity to poor air quality or an allergy, things that seem to pop up this time of year. I have one finger that always gets dry to point that skin cracks in the pollen season but that is the only and curious symptom.
The colour of your pee should tell you if your properly hydrated, no? |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/30/2013 12:07 PM |
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Based on your urination schedule, I would say you are plenty hydrated. Perhaps your issue is that you are not absorbing enough of the water into your sytem and it is just passing throuh? Maybe up your sodium intake and see if that changes your feelings of dehydration.
But if you are up 3-4 at night and peeing every half hour during the day, you have taken in plenty of fluid.
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 07/30/2013 12:13 PM |
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Posted By Cosmic Kid on 07/30/2013 12:07 PM
But if you are up 3-4 at night and peeing every half hour during the day, you have taken in plenty of fluid.
Either that or you're over 50.... just saying
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vtguy
Posts:298
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| 07/30/2013 12:13 PM |
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| Regarding dry hands & eyes, if you work in an office building, it could be that the humidity is low. I know it is in our building. I gauge my level of hydration by the color of my pee. If it's clear, I'm adequately hydrated. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 07/30/2013 12:24 PM |
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The color of urine can be effected by diet and medications/ vitamins/ supplements so it's not a fool proof method.
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Sweet Milk
Posts:93
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| 07/30/2013 12:25 PM |
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| I'm with OC - I think you are seeing symptoms of something other than dehydration |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/30/2013 12:27 PM |
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But that's the method my mamma taught me which means its the best, no?
Yes, this time of year definitely requires some extra sodium intake: water and a bag of chips. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 07/30/2013 12:53 PM |
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Then there is the easy way. Get on a scale. They do not lie. If you are underweight, you are dehydrated or need to eat. You are probably not going to eat more than a pound at a meal. so anytime you are more than a pound lighter, time to drink.
As pointed out before, trips to the bathroom may not mean much for those of us over 50. I find at times I cannot empty my bladder more than perhaps half. At other times, it works like I am still 30. (Doc always gives me a clean bill at my annual physical.)
I find scales to be the most useful health and fitness tool I have. I use mine a lot. In the summer near daily for dehydration. In winter, the early indicator that I am over-eating. The first 5 pounds I put on are by far the easiest to take off.
The scale doesn't tell me what I should weigh, only what I do. But I know from long experience and especially from racing what I should weigh. (Now 5-10 pounds over my old minimum racing weight. That was 145 pounds. So 150-155 is my range now. 160 and I start dieting. I know that for me, age does not enter into this except that I probably should drop my weight categories by say 3 pounds/decade to account for lost muscle mass. I haven't done that.
Ben |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 07/30/2013 01:28 PM |
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Sodium. I read the book "Food for Fitness" in 1977 and followed it's tenants. it proposed an interesting idea that I followed near religiously. For me, it worked really well and was a real eye-opener. That idea was that we train our bodies to secrete sodium (salt) in direct proportion to our average long-term sodium uptake. Also that our bodies require sodium to facilitate many processes but that the body does not actually "consume" sodium.
In other words, if we eat say 2500 mg sodium daily, our bodies "learn" to place 2500 mg sodium per day into our sweat and urine. Say we normally sweat and urinate 2 kg of water. Our bodies put 2500 mg sodium in 2 kg water making a .125% solution. Now, the problem becomes when we sweat 5 kg water (plus another 1 kg over the day of normal urination. 6 kg at .125% sodium is 7500 mg of sodium. That kind of lose can be very dangerous. And that athlete MUST consume real amounts of sodium when working in hot weather.
But say the athlete limits himself to ~1000 mg sodium/day. For that same sweat and urine loss, he only loses 3000 mg of sodium. Still a lot, but easily addressed with normal food and mildly salty sport drinks. I raced at close to that 1000 mg/'day level. My sweat was not salty. Jerseys stayed fresher and sweat n my eyes was no biggie. It did not sting. And I loved racing when it was really hot and humid. No, I didn't like the heat, but I did love that everyone else slowed down and I consistently placed better.
So, when I hear of consuming salt in hot weather, I have very mixed feelings. Yes, it is critical for anyone competing on a typical American diet, but with the right diet, additional sodium is almost not needed at all. (The RDA for sodium is, I believe 2500 mg for men and 2000 mg for women. 1000 mg works just fine for men. Only challenge is that it is near impossible to do if you eat any prepared foods. Those RDA were set for the food industry, not our health.) Oh, but there is one caution. Our bodies adopt slowly. I haven't seen any data, but I would suggest spending probably 2-3 months going from say 2000 mg to 1000 mg/day. Perhaps a good winter project so by summer you are well adopted. I read that book in April. I was seeing real gains in July ad August.
I have not read anything further on this since that book which was published in 1976 (but I also have not looked) nor have I heard of others promoting low salt diets for hot weather. But my experience was real and profound. And everything my eyes have shown me since backs up what I experienced (and much more often, what I would have experienced had I not gone low salt).
Ben |
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Oldfart
Posts:511
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| 07/30/2013 02:58 PM |
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Posted By Dale Dale on 07/30/2013 12:13 PM
Posted By Cosmic Kid on 07/30/2013 12:07 PM
But if you are up 3-4 at night and peeing every half hour during the day, you have taken in plenty of fluid.
Either that or you're over 50.... just saying
Uh yep.
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jmdirt
Posts:775
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| 07/30/2013 04:15 PM |
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Sodium yes, but don't forget the other electrolytes as well. I add this to water to help my body absorb it: http://new.eletewater.com/
I thought that I was supposed to urinate every 30 minutes! ;] |
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SideBySide
Posts:444
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| 07/30/2013 04:44 PM |
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| On the other hand, if you eat healthily, don't eat much prepared food, and exercise in hot weather, you may need to supplement. I had to go to the emergency room once because of light-headedness due to low sodium levels. If it gets too low you can have seizures or die. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 07/30/2013 04:51 PM |
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jm, good call. I've been using Hydralyte, formally know as Vitalyte, E.R.G. and GookinAid for decades. Formulated to hydrate properly and does it very well. I've never gotten sick from it and can tolerate it when I am sick sometimes better than water. Used in the third world for those with dysentery, cholerea and other major dehydration issues.
Another plus is that it is cheap enough to use regularly. A $16 can from REI fills 40 WBs.
Ben |
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THE SKINNY
Posts:506
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| 07/31/2013 09:04 AM |
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| gatorade seems to have all the electrolytes plus it's cheap. as far as allergies, i've got them but the dryness isn't from them. also i'm nearing 50 so maybe getting up 3-4 times at night is just a warmup. my sweat can be very salty at times and at others it's barely noticeable. i don't know about my urine. i'm scared to taste it. |
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| You are not authorized to post a reply. |
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