Water – the who, what and why.

So by now I'm sure everyone knows water is essential and we need it everyday. But what people often question is how much to have and when to have it.

Water is the most essential nutrient for human life. We can go three weeks without food but only 3 days without water. Water ensures your body is functioning fully in all its processes. When your blood has more fluid it is able to travel throughout your body faster to your working muscles and through your heart.

For example, when you are running your legs require energy. If your blood has enough fluid it will be able to get freshly oxygenated blood from your lungs and transport this to your legs at a faster rate, meaning you will be able to utilise energy at a faster rate and in turn, run faster. IF you do not give your body the fluids it needs your blood is not as liquidised and therefore will flow slower throughout your body, meaning you receive oxygen and energy at a slower rate.

That is why it is so important to ensure you are drinking enough water so your body can function at full capacity.

Also 70% of muscle mass is made up of water. This means that when you are dehydrated or not providing your body with enough fluid your muscles can't function at full capacity. So when you try to run, or even walk around in everyday life, your body will be using all available water toward the most important things such as your bloodstream and cell functioning and leaving less toward muscular power.

SO how much water is enough?

For everyday people:

For people who work everyday and do not partake in very much physical activity you should be aiming to drink about 2L of water a day. Now, most people I speak to tell me they are lucky if they drink 1-2 glasses of water each day, so I know 2L might sound like a lot.

Some tips to help you get to this point are:

• Start slow. If you only drink one glass of water a day don't wake up one morning and decide you want to drink 2L of water. It will only make you feel extremely full, sick and bloated. Work your way up slowly.

• Buy a 1L drink bottle and mark times on it. Split your day in half and make 2pm the half way point. So write each hour from 8am-2pm on one side of your drink bottle and aim to hit each line each hour so by 1pm you would have drank 1L. On the other side of your bottle split the times evenly and write each from 2pm – 9pm then do the same. At first you may feel like you are forcing yourself to drink and you will be going to the toilet A LOT! (This is how I felt when I first started to up my intake.) But don't worry, your body will get used to it and you will become naturally thirsty for this amount of water – and maybe more!

• Flavour your water. If you are really struggling at the start and need something other than plain water try to spice it up. Add a few slices of lemon into your litre bottle, maybe some fresh berries and even a little bit of natural sweetener and you will be surprised how delicious and easy to drink this can make it!

• Remember, foods contain water too! Some foods have a very high water capacity, such as cucumber, celery, lettuce, capsicum, cauliflower and broccoli. So eating these will also help to increase your intake.

What if I can't keep track?

If keeping count of how much water you have consumed each day seems like a difficult task that you won't be able to keep up, an easy way to monitor this is to check the colour of your urine when you go to the toilet. It should be clear or a very light yellow colour each time you go. If it is darker it means that your urine is too concentrated and you need to drink more water.

If you are drinking enough you should be going to the toilet at least 8 times a day.

TIP: Drink a glass of water about 30 minutes prior to each meal to help with digestion and also to prevent overeating as you will have something in your stomach already.

Remember you won't achieve this overnight but as long as you are making an effort everyday to get there you will notice a change.

For gym goers:

For people who participate in activity on a regular basis, whether it be going to the gym 5 days a week or playing a sport with friends a few nights a week, it is important to drink more fluid than mentioned before. This is because you are undertaking extra activities, causing your body to sweat on a regular basis. When your body sweats you lose water and electrolytes which help to keep your body hydrated and maintain the balance of sodium and potassium in the body. Not drinking enough can lead to an imbalance of these minerals and cause problems such as fatigue and muscle cramping / spasming.

Therefore about 3L of water per day is recommended and it is important to drink enough, especially pre and post workout so the body can fuel muscles and have something to sweat out, and also afterward to ensure your body can recover from the stress of exercise.

For athletes:

For athletes who are undertaking vigorous intensity physical activity it is important to drink this amount, however monitor this to a more exact degree.

Athletes as mentioned should be drinking about 4L of water a day, and more specifically:

- 500mL of water an hour to half an hour prior to training to give the body enough time to digest this and not be bloated or feel too heavy when training.

More importantly athletes should weigh themselves pre and post training. The difference in weight lost should then be multiplied by 1.4 and this is the amount of water that needs to be consumed post training to ensure the amount of fluid lost in sweat during training is replaced.

For example:

Weigh in before training at 87kg

Weigh in after training at 86kg

This means the athlete has lose 1kg during training

1x1.4 = 1.4

This means this athlete will need to consume 1.4L of water post training to restore the lost fluid and ensure electrolyte balance. This will mean they have optimal recovery post training to ensure they are performing their best.

The general population does not need to be this strict however it is important especially on hot days or days when you are exercising at a higher degree to give yourself little reminders so you can be functioning with full vitality.