One of the more common questions that I will ask patients is ‘how much water do you drink a day’. The answer is usually either ‘heaps’ or ‘not enough’. Both of these answers are very subjective – that is heaps according to that person could be either two cups at one end of the scale or at the other end it could be four litres! There needs to be a measurable unit of consumption that becomes individualised and tailored to that person, not a one size fits all rule for women and men.
Current literature suggests that men should drink 3.0 litres of water a day, while women should drink 2.2 litres of water a day. The question I have around these measurements of fluid consumption is; does a 70kg man need to be drinking the same amount of fluid as a 110 kg man? The answer to this is of course , no. How much water do we then need to consume daily? It will be dependant on a few variables, but we can start with our weight. We should consume between 25 – 35ml of water per kilogram of body weight. For example, someone weighing 40kg, should be drinking between 1.0 – 1.4L of water.
One rule of thumb to go by, so as you know that you have consumed enough water, is that of your urine colour. The more yellow your urine, the more water you need to consume. The clearer your urine, the better the consumption and better hydrated you will be!
Initially the amount of water needed to be drunk throughout the day seems like climbing Mount everest for some, but remember the saying, ‘inch by inch it’s a cinch, yard by yard it’s hard’. The easiest way to drink your allotted amount is not all in one go, it is bit by bit. Gradually drink throughout the day. Master this step and you are that little bit closer to a healthier you.
How Much Water Should I Drink?
One of the more common questions that I will ask patients is ‘how much water do you drink a day’. The answer is usually either ‘heaps’ or ‘not enough’. Both of these answers are very subjective – that is heaps according to that person could be either two cups at one end of the scale or at the other end it could be four litres! There needs to be a measurable unit of consumption that becomes individualised and tailored to that person, not a one size fits all rule for women and men.
Current literature suggests that men should drink 3.0 litres of water a day, while women should drink 2.2 litres of water a day. The question I have around these measurements of fluid consumption is; does a 70kg man need to be drinking the same amount of fluid as a 110 kg man? The answer to this is of course , no. How much water do we then need to consume daily? It will be dependant on a few variables, but we can start with our weight. We should consume between 25 – 35ml of water per kilogram of body weight. For example, someone weighing 40kg, should be drinking between 1.0 – 1.4L of water.
One rule of thumb to go by, so as you know that you have consumed enough water, is that of your urine colour. The more yellow your urine, the more water you need to consume. The clearer your urine, the better the consumption and better hydrated you will be!
Initially the amount of water needed to be drunk throughout the day seems like climbing Mount everest for some, but remember the saying, ‘inch by inch it’s a cinch, yard by yard it’s hard’. The easiest way to drink your allotted amount is not all in one go, it is bit by bit. Gradually drink throughout the day. Master this step and you are that little bit closer to a healthier you.