Lets talk Hydration

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ABR

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So we've already hit triple digit heat index every day for about 3 weeks here and it's just getting hotter. I work outdoors all day so I sweat. A LOT. In summer I tend to lose quit a bit of weight because I don't eat much during the day due to consuming so much liquid to stay hydrated. I drink straight water most of the day and then around 2-3pm I'll drink an electrolyte drink. I still end up slightly dehydrated at the end of the day.

How do y'all stay hydrated on the day to day? I'm always look for suggestions to improve.
 
Eight pints of water a day, plus a pint of water after each six beers.
I like to fill a gallon jar half full of water & freeze it laying at an angle, just before I leave the house, I fill it with cold water.
That way will have cold water for about four hours, maybe a little longer.
You can judge how hydrated you are, by how often you relive your self, once in four hours you are not drinking enough water.
Once every two hours is better, I have worked hard & be wet with sweat & not relived myself in four hours, I felt fine, but I was not hydrated.
It does not happen now, to old to work four hours in the sun, if I am doing more than pulling weeds.
Every time I stop to catch my breath, I drink water.
 
This is a really important topic, especially for this time of year. We have two threads about heat and hydration. Sometimes, at least for me, drinking water is not enough. I need something to revive my electrolytes. I believe that both of the following threads discuss electrolytes and include recipes for making beverages that will help replenish them.

https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/dealing-with-the-heat.4675/#post-107972
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/salt-to-treat-cramps.13387/#post-375237
 
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We live in North Florida, 45 miles inland so there's no cool offshore breeze.
In July and August, it is common to see days where it's 105 in the shade with 98% humidity.

Under these conditions, I'll drink maybe a gallon of water during a day, augmented with Pedialite.
Being an old soldier, I've been trained to judge my hydration level by the color of my urine, and drink accordingly.

At age 73, I try to work outside in these conditions in the morning and afternoon, skipping midday.
 
I was sailing in the Caribbean and my crew was feeling sick. I had each of them eat some salt and chase it down with plenty of water. That did the trick. I ate some too. I learned this trick from reading WWII books about life on the submarines. When they asked me how I knew to take salt I told them I was the captain it was my job to know. Yes, today I would add some sugar or just go for a sports drink, but that was many moons ago.

I the Six Day War Israeli troops drank far more water than the Arabs and fought far better for it. With inadequate hydration you lose stamina and strength.
 
So we've already hit triple digit heat index every day for about 3 weeks here and it's just getting hotter. I work outdoors all day so I sweat. A LOT. In summer I tend to lose quit a bit of weight because I don't eat much during the day due to consuming so much liquid to stay hydrated. I drink straight water most of the day and then around 2-3pm I'll drink an electrolyte drink. I still end up slightly dehydrated at the end of the day.

How do y'all stay hydrated on the day to day? I'm always look for suggestions to improve.
We are ready. :thumbs:
Indexes in the 100's for the last week and I have been out in it every day.
...and it ain't even gotten hot yet:oops:.
Rehydrating as we speak!
toast-gif.22685

The 2 threads @Weedygarden linked to are full of tons of great info, read them.
The only thing I could add is, if you are going to be out in the heat for a while, take a small cooler with your favorite 'beverage' with you.
You will be amazed by how much you 'need' if it is handy.
If you have to go back in the house to drink, you get too busy and forget, until it is too late.:(
 
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I'm kind of a hydration fanatic.

This all started back in 2011. I was working on a crew of 5 guys in Southern Minnesota, between Mankato and the Twin Cities. We were out in the middle of nowhere, with no support, in the middle of a flooded forest. The Temps were in the high 90s to about 103 every day for 8 days straight and the humidity was so bad you could feel the air inside your lungs. The heat index out on the tracks reached the mid 140s because of the steel rails giving off so much heat.

I wasn't ready at all. The first day I showed up to that project I hadn't hydrated the night before. I knew I was in trouble when I showed up at 4am and it was already 86 degrees.

9 hours of heavy labor in that heat blew me away. We had two big coolers jammed with ice and 10 oz water bottles and 5 of us drank it all. 50 to 60 oz of water per hour, per man, and nobody was peeing. By the end of the day the only parts of my clothes that were dry were the cuffs on my pants.

In those conditions you learn about electrolytes and pre hydration real quick. As a type 1 diabetic it's even more vital for me. Nowadays I drink 5 to 7 liters a day even when it's not hot outside and I use electrolyte flavor packets sometimes to supplement my hydration, or sugar free sports drinks. I avoid carbonated drinks like the plague when it's hot. I do still have a bit of coffee in the early morning but it's not recommended. And I drink water all evening to avoid being overly dehydrated in the morning. If you start your day dehydrated it's much harder to catch up during the day.

I'll drink so much during the work day that I'm sick of drinking. But I have fallen out in the heat before and I never want to have that happen again. When you reach a certain point of dehydration your whole body and mind just shut down and even simple tasks become difficult. It's very dangerous. But it's also very simple to avoid that. Just force that water down...
 
I got hurt as a kid (in late spring) and was told to walk 2 or 3 miles in the morning and evening and drink LOTS of water (temps in the mornings were mid 90 and it got hot in the evening). I got in the habit of always carrying a gallon jug of water. That became a habit and I always drank a lot (sometimes resulted in judgement issues). Today, I have out grown alcohol but I still drink lots of fluids. Typically, I always have a glass or can in my hand, we tracked it for a while and the average was just over 2 gallons an average day (More if it's hot). I do find that I am better off if I can stop drinking after dinner time.
 
I keep a 36oz Yeti bottle on by me constantly during the day, refilled as soon as empty, and a 30oz Yeti Cup all evening, ditto the refills. I drink so much between getting home and bed that I sometimes have to get up 2-3 times to wee in the night. I also generally limit alcohol consumption to off time(which isn't often) and always go 1:1 water to drink when I do.

Favorite electrolyte drink/mix?
 
My employer provides Squincher Kwik Sticks to us at work. They are sugar free and the don't taste that good, but they are very effective for electrolyte replacement. Each little packet is supposed to go into 10 oz of water.

There's a convenience store chain called Kwik Star in my area. They have their own store brand of sports drink and I'll get the zero carb version of that in the summer. It's pretty good and half the price of Gatorade...
 
Have you heard of the Persian “gatorade”, Sekanjabin? I hadn’t either until a friend of mine introduced me to it.

Ingredients

- 2 cups sugar
- 7 cups water (possibly more, depending on your desired sweetness)
- ⅓ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 cup (fresh) fruit/herbs (ie. mint, strawberries), loosely packed
NOTE:
1). Use as much or as little as desired.
2). I used frozen strawberries. They worked just as well.
- 3 Persian cucumbers, grated (optional)

Instructions

1). Mix 1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar in a small saucepan. Dissolve over low heat, then boil for 10 minutes.
After boil, add vinegar to saucepan. Turn heat down to simmer and cook to thick for 20 minutes or less.

Note: The time difffers from batch to batch.

2). Check consistency of the liquid during cooking time. When it starts to look thicker than water, then it's done. If you cook it to maple syrup thickness in the pan, it will end up being more thick as it cools, and harder to dilute with water.

3). Take pan off heat, stir in the mint, and allow to cool to room temperature for 1 hour.

4). When cool, remove mint (optional)

5). Mix 1/3, 1/2, or 3/4 cup syrup with 6 cups of water.

6). Taste and see if you need to add more water.

7). Some people like this drink very sweet; others prefer less so and with a splash of seltzer water for fizz.

8). Chill the mixture before serving.
Add ice and grated cucumbers to each glass, pour diluted syrup into each.

Note:
1). Alternative for the syrup, undiluted: serve syrup as an appetizer with fresh, crisp lettuce leaves for dipping.
2). You can also make a version with honey, replacing the sugar with about half as much honey.

I also drink Kombucha, a healthy probiotic “soda”. I love the benefits I have experienced and witnessed.

 
So we've already hit triple digit heat index every day for about 3 weeks here and it's just getting hotter. I work outdoors all day so I sweat. A LOT. In summer I tend to lose quit a bit of weight because I don't eat much during the day due to consuming so much liquid to stay hydrated. I drink straight water most of the day and then around 2-3pm I'll drink an electrolyte drink. I still end up slightly dehydrated at the end of the day.

How do y'all stay hydrated on the day to day? I'm always look for suggestions to improve.
Set yourself a repeating 30 minute timer. Every time that timer rings, drink a full glass of water.
 
Have you heard of the Persian “gatorade”, Sekanjabin? I hadn’t either until a friend of mine introduced me to it.

Ingredients

- 2 cups sugar
- 7 cups water (possibly more, depending on your desired sweetness)
- ⅓ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 cup (fresh) fruit/herbs (ie. mint, strawberries), loosely packed
NOTE:
1). Use as much or as little as desired.
2). I used frozen strawberries. They worked just as well.
- 3 Persian cucumbers, grated (optional)

Instructions

1). Mix 1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar in a small saucepan. Dissolve over low heat, then boil for 10 minutes.
After boil, add vinegar to saucepan. Turn heat down to simmer and cook to thick for 20 minutes or less.

Note: The time difffers from batch to batch.

2). Check consistency of the liquid during cooking time. When it starts to look thicker than water, then it's done. If you cook it to maple syrup thickness in the pan, it will end up being more thick as it cools, and harder to dilute with water.

3). Take pan off heat, stir in the mint, and allow to cool to room temperature for 1 hour.

4). When cool, remove mint (optional)

5). Mix 1/3, 1/2, or 3/4 cup syrup with 6 cups of water.

6). Taste and see if you need to add more water.

7). Some people like this drink very sweet; others prefer less so and with a splash of seltzer water for fizz.

8). Chill the mixture before serving.
Add ice and grated cucumbers to each glass, pour diluted syrup into each.

Note:
1). Alternative for the syrup, undiluted: serve syrup as an appetizer with fresh, crisp lettuce leaves for dipping.
2). You can also make a version with honey, replacing the sugar with about half as much honey.

I also drink Kombucha, a healthy probiotic “soda”. I love the benefits I have experienced and witnessed.


I like this recipe. I will need to try it.

I saw this asked about in a preparedness discussion on Reddit. I didn't realize that this would make so many gallons. I don't drink much of this kind of stuff, but it might be good in excessive heat, like we are having this summer. This shows a liquid, but I do know powder is available as well. I remember when I was working on the haying crew with my uncle one summer, there was little that quenched my thirst, and I believe it was Gatorade that worked for me.
Concentrated gatorade.JPG
 
Have you heard of the Persian “gatorade”, Sekanjabin? I hadn’t either until a friend of mine introduced me to it.

Ingredients

- 2 cups sugar
- 7 cups water (possibly more, depending on your desired sweetness)
- ⅓ cup white wine vinegar
- 1 cup (fresh) fruit/herbs (ie. mint, strawberries), loosely packed
NOTE:
1). Use as much or as little as desired.
2). I used frozen strawberries. They worked just as well.
- 3 Persian cucumbers, grated (optional)

Instructions

1). Mix 1 cup of water and 2 cups of sugar in a small saucepan. Dissolve over low heat, then boil for 10 minutes.
After boil, add vinegar to saucepan. Turn heat down to simmer and cook to thick for 20 minutes or less.

Note: The time difffers from batch to batch.

2). Check consistency of the liquid during cooking time. When it starts to look thicker than water, then it's done. If you cook it to maple syrup thickness in the pan, it will end up being more thick as it cools, and harder to dilute with water.

3). Take pan off heat, stir in the mint, and allow to cool to room temperature for 1 hour.

4). When cool, remove mint (optional)

5). Mix 1/3, 1/2, or 3/4 cup syrup with 6 cups of water.

6). Taste and see if you need to add more water.

7). Some people like this drink very sweet; others prefer less so and with a splash of seltzer water for fizz.

8). Chill the mixture before serving.
Add ice and grated cucumbers to each glass, pour diluted syrup into each.

Note:
1). Alternative for the syrup, undiluted: serve syrup as an appetizer with fresh, crisp lettuce leaves for dipping.
2). You can also make a version with honey, replacing the sugar with about half as much honey.

I also drink Kombucha, a healthy probiotic “soda”. I love the benefits I have experienced and witnessed.


Why does this make me want to barf?
 
Why does this make me want to barf?
This reminded me of this. There's a guy who lives in my area who decided it was important enough to tell how disgusted he was with kombucha that he posted about it on Facebook in a neighborhood group. He went to the store, decided to try this beverage that was all the rage, kombucha. He said he took one swig and spit it all out.
 
Add a pinch of baking soda and a pinch of sugar, it makes pedialite.
add flavor, its Gatorade. :)

There are some trace vitamins like B,C, Niacin and such one can dissolve and filter the grit later that truly boost what you're drinking's effectiveness.
 
I know I don't drink enough water, but 95% of the time I would pass the color test on this chart.

I will stand by one of my all time favorites: Drinking 80 ounces of water a day seems impossible, but six beers and six shots in three hours goes down like a fat kid on a seesaw.
 
I know I don't drink enough water, but 95% of the time I would pass the color test on this chart.

I will stand by one of my all time favorites: Drinking 80 ounces of water a day seems impossible, but six beers and six shots in three hours goes down like a fat kid on a seesaw.
I do 80 ounces of water by 10am, everyday. Seriously. 6 liters a day, minimum, and often 8 liters...
 
I know I don't drink enough water, but 95% of the time I would pass the color test on this chart.

I will stand by one of my all time favorites: Drinking 80 ounces of water a day seems impossible, but six beers and six shots in three hours goes down like a fat kid on a seesaw.
DW reminds me that ice tea, coke, lemonade are not water.
 
DW reminds me that ice tea, coke, lemonade are not water.

Just for fun let me play the Devil's Advocate here, and ask WHY NOT? Cocoa Cola is 90% water. Ice Tea and Lemonade are 99% water. Even beer is 95% water. IMHO we are getting some questionable advice. :dunno:
 
If your water has sugar in it, it will not hydrate you. If it has alcohol or caffeine it will dehydrate you.
 
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