Are you hydrated?
I’ll keep this one fairly short, just look at the infographic below:
Staying properly hydrated is pretty damn important to your health and especially if fat loss is you goal!
But how does it help with fat loss?
1. Being dehydrated is often mistaken for hunger.
If you feel a slight hunger pang in your stomach then have a glass of water first, reassess your hunger levels in 20 minutes time. Most people will find they were actually thirsty rather than hungry.
2. Dehydration affects exercise performance.
Ensuring adequate levels of hydration ensures you can rule out at least one barrier to performing your best in the gym. Performing resistance training or a form of exercise you enjoy will help you build muscle and lose fat. It’s also great for health!
3. Dehydration can make you feel fatigued.
This results in less motivation to move or exercise, which equals less calories burned over time. As we know, fat loss is all about balancing energy in (from diet) with energy out (from activity).
How do I know if I’m drinking enough?
A very easy way to estimate if you’re getting adequate amounts of fluids?
Check your urine colour.
Ideally it should look like the top three bars in this chart:
Another method is to take your body weight (in kilos) and multiply it by 35ml. This is roughly how much water you should need per day tp stay hydrated.
So a 100kg active male needs around 3.5ltrs of water per day to stay hydrated and a 60kg female should aim for around 2ltrs per day.
Remember all fluids contribute towards your intake. Contrary to popular belief tea, coffee and diet drinks all do count, their water content exceeds any diuretic effects caused by their caffeine content.
You can read Part 2 of our fat loss series here.
