Point to Ponder:
Are you drinking at least 1/2 your weight in ounces of water each day?
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! How many times have we all heard this? We know we should drink at least 1/2 our body weight in ounces of water each day and it’s actually more important than you may think. Over the past several years I have heard several scary stories related to dehydration. Five people in our community, ranging in ages from 16-60 lost consciousness and some were seriously injured when they fell, leaving them hospitalized and placed on IV’s for several days, ALL because of dehydration.
I have had three less-serious dehydration scares (but non-the-less painful) of my own. In the past several years, I have had more and more headaches, with three unbelievable migraines that sent me to the emergency room for very expensive headache relief. I tried to figure out what was triggering the migraines. A glass of wine? A margarita? The high altitude of an airplane flight?
Finally, I realized the common thread… all of these activities were dehydrating. After an 8-week experiment, I have become a HYDRATION ADVOCATE! I started paying attention to my water intake, making sure I was actually getting the recommended daily dose, and lo and behold, I haven’t had one headache since! I can have a glass of wine or a margarita and not get a headache, as long as it’s accompanied by a large glass of water. Now, when I feel a headache coming on I start drinking water and POOF, the headache is gone. It’s so simple, yet magical! Plus, I really do feel so much better when I’m properly hydrated.
Staying hydrated is such a tremendously important topic, which is why we are encouraging HYDRATION (wahoo!) as Step #1 in our "Six Weeks to Summer" #summerreadywithiGnite Online Re-Boot Challenge. Ultimately, we want you feeling (and looking) your absolute best for the fun summer months ahead. So, I am encouraging you to pay extra attention to your water (not tea, soda or coffee) consumption, which I promise you will be doing your body a huge favor! As a reminder, here are the proven benefits of water and adequate hydration:
Increased Metabolism & Weight Loss
Healthy skin
Fights infection
Rids body of toxins
Heart healthy
Reduces joint pain and arthritis
Boosts Energy
Prevent Constipation
Improves brain fog and increases productivity
Helps fight cancer (science is now telling us that cancer cells look for dehydrated cells to live in and spread)
Let's start each day with a giant glass of water and don’t forget to drink a LOT of water before, during and after you iGnite. Make sure you get at least the daily recommendation of 1/2 your body weight in ounces, and avoid using the grocery store purchased water bottles, as our landfills are filled with plastic, (which takes 450 to 1000 years to decompose!) and is actually very difficult and costly to recycle. Instead, refill a reusable water bottle with filtered water. In fact, if you'd like to be entered into a contest to win a 32 oz wide-mouth and pba free iGnite water bottle, on either Facebook or Instagram post of picture of yourself hydrating or your hydration inspiration, tag iGnite and use the #summerreadywithignite.
Cheers to your glass of ice cold water, or our favorite cranberry water...and bottoms up!
Action Item:
Start each day with a giant glass of water (or cranberry water) and drink a LOT of water throughout the day as well as before, during and after exercising. Make it your goal to drink a minimum of half your body weight in ounces of water each day.
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