Water Intake
For every calorie you burn, you need to drink approximately 1 milliliter of water.
So for example, if you burn 2,500 calories per day, you should drink about 2.5 liters of water or 84.5 ounces each day.
However, age, gender, climate, and activity level are important too:
- Kids and teens also need more water because they are growing and often more active.
- And if you exercise a lot or play sports, you’ll need more water to stay hydrated.
- If you live in a particularly hot climate or are pregnant, you will also need to drink more water to stay adequately hydrated
So from the baseline level above, we make specific adjustments based on your unique caloric requirements.
And this helps us to come up with an accurate approximation of how much water you should be drinking every day.
Drinking the right amount of water is important because it helps your body stay hydrated, supports digestion, keeps your temperature normal, and ensures all your organs work properly.
How To Calculate Water Intake
To figure out exactly how much water you should drink each day, we to start by calculating how many calories you burn (also called Total Daily Energy Expenditure or TDEE for short):
TDEE = BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) x Activity Level + TEF (Thermic Effect of Food)Part of the TDEE calculation includes calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR.
You then multiply that by your activity level and add in the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), which is essentially the amount of energy that your body uses to digest, absorb, and process the nutrients in the food you eat.
And finally, the standard recommendation is to drink 1 milliliter of water per calorie burned, so we divide your total calorie intake or estimated number of milmiters by 29.57 gives you the amount of water in ounces:
Water Intake in Ounces = (TDEE * 1) / 29.57Benefits of Staying Adequately Hydrated
Here are some key reasons why staying adequately hydrated is important for your health:
- Supports Digestion: Hydration helps to break down food and absorb nutrients.
- Regulates Body Temperature: Hydration keeps you cool through sweating and respiration.
- Maintains Healthy Skin: Hydration keeps skin hydrated and can improve appearance.
- Boosts Energy Levels: Hydration helps prevent fatigue and maintains energy.
- Promotes Healthy Kidney Function: Hydration aids in filtering waste from the blood.
- Improves Cognitive Function: Hydration supports concentration and mental clarity.
- Prevents Dehydration: Hydration reduces the risk of health issues like headaches and dizziness.
Of course it is possible to be overhydrated.
Overhydration, or drinking too much water, can lead to an imbalance of electrolytes in the body, potentially causing symptoms like headaches, nausea, and in severe cases, confusion or seizures.
So make sure that you drink water, but not so much that it causes further problems!
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