Summer Hydration 101: Foods And Fitness Fun That Quench The Thirst
30 August 2019
Keeping well-hydrated is something that we all know we need to do, but sometimes, it can be so easy to end up dehydrated. Indeed, the challenge of maintaining healthy hydration levels is likely to heighten still further during the summertime, when you’ll almost certainly be sweating so much more, and might also have certain fitness goals that you wish to pursue. So, other than just the somewhat obvious tip of chugging down more water, what else can you do to ensure you’re well-hydrated amid the current elevated temperatures and sweltering conditions?
Eating Well
This might seem like an odd tip to share, but it’s easy to forget that what you eat can be an invaluable source of hydration, not merely what you drink. As registered dietician Isabel Staples, RD, has been quoted as saying by EatingWell magazine: “We naturally get some water from what we eat.”
She estimates, in fact, that if you consume a 2,000-calorie diet, you’ll already be getting two or three cups’ worth of water from food alone.
As for which foods do the job best, the magazine’s suggestions include watermelon – which is, after all, in common with other melons, a water bomb – as well as the likes of apple, tomato, baked potato, kidney beans and yoghurt.
What About When You’re Set To Exercise Heavily?
While it would be the easiest thing in the world for us to simply suggest that you keep a well-filled water bottle with you at all times during your workout, it’s also the case that ‘real world’ fitness pursuits don’t always make it easy for you to maintain hydration.
What if you start a football match, for instance, in the knowledge that you won’t get much or any opportunity to top up your fluids again until half-time? Or maybe you’re going swimming in warm water, and don’t want the awkwardness and inconvenience of having to constantly leave the water to go and get a drink?
Well, that’s where ‘pre-hydration’ comes in. As Gazelle Nutrition Lab advises, when you drink up well in the hours leading up to your workout session, you’ll be able to better defend your body against such risks as heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
The Right Fitness Holiday Could Also Go A Long Way
Now, you might understandably wonder how embarking on a fitness holiday or boot camp could possibly help you to stay hydrated. Wouldn’t the intensity of such a vacation simply increase the risk of you becoming dehydrated?
Well, yes; that’s precisely why the leading providers of boot camps and fitness holidays often incorporate some kind of juicing programme into their offerings. Fitness holidays from Prestige Bootcamp, for example, can include seven days of juices and vegetable soups that are specially chosen to hydrate your body effectively, while also giving you the benefit of nutrients that will be instrumental in your efforts to look and feel better and fitter.
Imagine that; embarking on just one or two such holidays, and bringing back with you much-improved hydration habits – in terms of not only how you hydrate yourself, but also when and what you use to hydrate yourself – that could last for a lifetime.
As you can see, it’s not necessarily the most complicated of tasks to keep yourself well-hydrated – but there are definitely some things that can make it all a bit easier.
