Natalie’s Weekly Fit Tip
Who keeps a glass of water next to their keyboard? Me! Hydration is an often neglected tenet of nutrition. If you feel thirsty you are already in a state of dehydration. Not drinking enough water messes with some of your body’s monitoring systems, making you feel tired and fuzzing your memory. It is also often mistaken for hunger, leading to extra unnecessary snacking (check out this article on snacking and metabolism). On the other hand, drinking enough water helps monitor body temperature and chemical reactions, and helps you eliminate waste. You know how crummy your bike performs when the chain isn’t lubricated? Same deal.
An easy way to calculate how much to drink: Divide your body weight in pounds by two. That’s how many ounces of water you should be drinking at a minimum. For example, if you weight 120 you should be drinking at least 60 ounces of water (two Nalgene bottles). Add-on: Drink a liter of water after every hour of strenuous exercise. Better yet, sip it every 15 minutes during the exercise.
Tricks of the trade: I keep my vitamins at work and take them after lunch (as I’m refilling my water bottle). I take a multi-vitamin, calcium, and Omega 3. I also count green tea in my daily water intake. Green tea is a wonder drug, but I think it tastes nasty (right?) so I buy the flavored kind (peach is my fave), make a huge batch, and keep in the fridge. Then I fill my water bottle with it in the morning. Refreshing.
Brine and Grit 