Have you noticed? It's hot.
Drinking water is key. You should be drinking 1/2 your weight in ounces per day (unless you weigh yourself in kilograms, divide by 30 and that's how many liters you should be drinking). So that whole 8 glasses of water a day thing... only if you are 120 lbs. Your body is made up of mostly water, keeping it running properly is going to require water, lots of water. These are interesting rules of thumb, but also note that snopes definitely has an opinion about how much water you should drink.
I for one feel better when I am drinking more water, so I am going to err on the side of feeling good. I'll do my 110 oz of water a day, and assume that I get 4 glasses of water through food. So that still leaves me with about 10 glasses a day. Here are some of the water related things I've been doing in the last week.
Venti Ice Water: When I order my morning coffee at Starfucks, I always ask for a venti ice water to go along with it. That's 24 ounces of water, on top of the iced americano I usually get. (don't worry, regular coffee drinkers like me lose very little water from the diuretic effects of coffee.).
Extra Water: We lose a lot of water to sweat. I'm consuming an extra 4 glasses of water with any workouts or jobs. Either 2 disposable water bottles or a refill on my venti ice water will do the trick. Just keep this in mind when you are out in the heat. You really need to figure out a way to get more water!
Ice Water at Dawn: I'm also doing two glasses of ice water within 30 minutes of first waking. This is another recommendation of Tim Ferris and the 4 Hour Body. But it was also told to me by my friend Neil, who kinda has like the best body ever. and I read on the internet that Berlin Scientists found that after drinking 17 oz of water your fat burning metabolism increased by 30% within drinking water.
Piss Clear: At Burning Man, drinking water is like a religion. 2 gallons per person per day they say. But there, in a highly dehydrating environment you can see the immediate effects of not drinking water. Irritability is an early sign, as are headaches. I've had one friend get an IV bag twice for dehydration. Granted, he was drinking heavily, but still. But whenever I notice myself getting a little grumpy or snappy, a bottle of water is my first panacea. Piss Clear, they say out there. A sure sign of dehydration is dark or smelly urine. Keep that in mind.
Moisturizer: Drinking water will make you look younger. It makes sense, right? The skin is your largest organ. It and you are mostly water. Every lotion and potion ever tells you it is hydrating. Drink water and moisturize from the inside. I often find that water, and drinking plenty of it is a better cure for chapped lips than chapstick. You'll look younger!
Unhungover: When you drink alcohol, consider drinking water alongside it. My grandmother's drink was bourbon and a glass of ice cold water. Also, to avoid a hangover, take 2 aspirin or ibuprofen and a tall glass of water. A lot of that hangover is dehydration.
Bottom line. Get the water on. Skip the soda, and quench your thirst with good old fashioned water.
