#PropelFit Hydration Challenge
I recently accepted a challenge from Propel to stay in a hydrated state for one week. On the surface, that doesn’t sound too difficult…its only a week right? WRONG! This was very difficult as I’m not in the habit of drinking a bunch of fluid throughout the day. This challenge forced me to do that but it wasn’t easy. Propel gave me a nifty little tool in the form of a sweat rate formula to help me understand my hydration level so I know how much fluid I needed to consume to stay hydrated with an emphasis on pre, during and post workout. The formula is:
sweat rate (L/h) = (weight loss – fluid intake (L))/exercise time (hours)
Weight loss that results during a workout comes from fluid loss and not loss of muscle or fat. To determine how much fluid you lost during a workout, weight yourself before and after the workout. I used this formula for four workouts over the last week; the results are interesting. My sweat rate, on average, was around 1.66 L/hr or about 56 ounces per hour. I learned that the key is to drink plenty of fluid during the workout to replace the sweat and sodium lost while working out. During one of my workouts, I tested this and plugged in my info into the formula after and saw that I needed quite a bit less of fluid after a workout than when I didn’t drink fluid while working out. Science is awesome.
I monitored my hydration level by looking at the color of my urine throughout the day. I know that if it’s apple juice in color, I am slightly dehydrated and if it’s lemonade in color, I am properly hydrated. Using the information from the sweat rate formula, I was able to understand how much fluid I actually needed. While staying hydrated is not easy, having information as to how much fluid I need helped made it bearable as it gave me a goal to strive for.
Drinking fluids isn’t enough however. It is very important to drink fluids that contain sodium because sodium helps the body regulate the desire to drink and helps retain the fluid you consume. This is where Propel comes in! Propel is the perfect fluid to help me get and maintain hydrated.
I did experiment a bit this week with my hydration level. By monitoring my hydration level and amount of fluid consumed I purposely cut back on my fluid intake and noted the color of my urine. Once I noticed it turn to an apple juice color, I consumed more fluids and watch it turn to a lemonade color. It was fascinating to figure out how much fluid it took to go from dehydrated to hydrated. For me, it took a lot more than I thought it would. The lesson I learned is to get and stay hydrated rather than try and catch up!
This week was certainly trying and difficult. As I mentioned, I’m not in the habit of drinking a ton of fluid and being at an optimal hydration state. Having Propel liquid enhancer at the ready was a life saver. It makes the fluid I was consuming so much more enjoyable and tasty! There are two awesome things that came out of this hydration challenge: 1) I now feel that the ball is rolling for me to form a habit of being hydrated and 2) I noticed that I feel better when I am hydrated. I have more energy throughout the day including during my workouts.
Are you in the habit of staying hydrated? I would love to hear your tips and tricks for staying hydrated. Do you struggle with drinking enough fluids throughout the day?
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2 Responses to “#PropelFit Hydration Challenge”
I just found your site via Google…looks nice! It’s amazing how much water is actually required on a daily basis to stay hydrated.
Great post Jon! I think the hardest part for me was just making sure to drink enough water each day… tough to do when you’re always on the go, isn’t it?