If you are a military infantry or special operations veteran, professional or serious amateur athlete or outdoor guide this piece about hydration was not written for you, please go about your awesome day.  Folks in those groups have unquestionably learned all about how to fuel the human body with water.  If you aren’t someone who is or has been in one of those groups, there’s a really good chance you’ve never been properly hydrated in your life.  Before you write this off as obvious or unnecessary, trust me it’s not.  I’ve been a student if of hydration for nearly 30 years.  If you aspire to live healthier, lose weight, live longer, be smarter and follow the example of elite performers, keep reading.  This isn’t hard. You’ll save money, and can keep most of your life the way it is.

Water is 60% of the human body.  You need it for all parts of your biological life to function properly.  And that’s part of the problem with Americans isn’t it?  Life, as most of us know it, isn’t functioning properly.  According to the US Department of Health and Human Services “Today, about half of all American adults—117 million people—have one or more preventable, chronic diseases, many of which are related to poor quality eating patterns and physical inactivity.”  Half of all American adults is a staggering figure.  That’s also a group of people, who, if they are parents are not likely raising children focused on proper health and physical activity.

So, back to water.  In addition to our bodies being primarily water, did you know that circulation, brain activity, energy, digestion (and everything else in this category) and heart health are all tied directly to how well one is hydrated?  According to the American Heart Institute-  “Keeping the body hydrated helps the heart more easily pump blood through the blood vessels to the muscles. And, it helps the muscles work efficiently.” In other words, the more hydrated you are, the less your heart has to work.  Finally, that headache you always get is directly related to being dehydrated.

Drinking water as a concept is obvious, not in practice.  It is the same with nutrition.  Everyone agrees that good nutrition is important, but relatively speaking most people fail when it comes to eating. Just look at how many overweight people there are in this country today as one indicator of poor health and dietary practices.  Second, most adults (especially if you aren’t in one of the categories I listed at the beginning) probably don’t have experience in understanding their bodies like an athlete, and obsessing about how they ‘fuel’ themselves.  If you are currently in the 117 million group, you’re probably not eating well or living a healthy lifestyle to begin with, so it’s reasonable to assume that you don’t understand hydration. But, if you are someone who has wondered about this thing called ‘active lifestyle’, and decided that you want to make a change but don’t know where to begin, why not start with the most basic and important thing your body needs- water. 

How much do I drink?  The million dollar question.  There are a multitude of sources out there, and there are many factors that go into the answer.  The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine suggest that men consume 3.7 liters of water per day, and that women consume 2.7 liters of water per day.  There are different factors that can influence this, such as diet, environment, humidity, perspiration, physical activity and a few rare medical conditions (if you have them you already know and your doctor has told you about it). This guideline is close to what I use for a daily goal.  For normal (not including exercise) daily consumption, I aim for 110 oz of water per day.  In addition, when you’re properly hydrated your urine will be clear or light yellow, and odorless.  

Better hydration quick start guide:

• Wake up tomorrow morning and have your morning hot drink (coffee or tea).

• Drink 30 oz water between 9-12AM

• Drink 30 oz water between 12-3 PM 

• Drink 30 oz water between 3-6 PM 

• Have dinner and your usual drink with dinner (if not water)

• Drink 10-20 oz water between 6-7 PM

Do this for 5 days straight and you will feel like a new human.

Brad’s Rules of the Road:

• Sugar is poison, have as little as possible in general but especially in your liquids.  

• DO NOT drink soda or Sports Drinks but if you do it should be obvious to you that it is a one off, and you should feel guilty.

• Limit anything other than water in between morning caffeine drinks and evening dinner.

• If you work out you will add 30 oz to the above daily water intake for each workout (general rule of thumb, if you run a marathon drink more).  The point is the above guideline is for a normal human going out their day.  If you work out, you have to fuel with more water.

• Always consume water with food 

• If you eat unhealthy food (which you shouldn’t), consume more water with it.

• Thirst is not an indicator of when to drink water.

• If you look for other answers you’ll find them, but remember- water. 

Almost 30 years on Ft. Benning, GA my eyes were opened to hydration.  It was remarkable to feel, for the first time the energy and immediate recognition that I had been missing out on a very basic fact of healthy living up to that point.  I needed someone to show me the way.  You can take a small, easy and very achievable step forward to a healthier, high performance and Beyond Normal Limits life, by learning how to stay hydrated.  I’m not asking you to change your entire life, just what you drink.  Do it.  Try it for five days.  You won’t regret.