What are we all doing about water?

islandtime50

islandtime50

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I have something going on with hydration that I have never solved completely. Does this happen to anyone else?

I am a recovering utility arborist (among other things) which means I used to wear really thick chainsaw and fireproof clothing and climb hazard trees to remove them near power lines. Long story short, it is hot, very physical work and sweating and cramping just come with it. I am careful with coffee and alcohol and have tried many hydration tablets, powders etc. over the years. Never really got that figured out.

I don't kill trees any more but I do run and work out and if I have very much coffee (1 homemade espresso) or beer (we're talking 1 or 2 max) I feel it in my calves or hamstrings right away. I have a bag of Hydralyte or some such from Costco in the cupboard and have been using that quite a bit lately but I am not always convinced it is helping as much as it should.

I felt dry this morning and crampy-ish, downed a couple of litres with electrolyte and peed ... and peed ... pretty clear

Is anyone here better at this than me? I have started TRT and have some tirz on the way and I can feel it already so I feel like I can't be the only one thinking about this.
 
woundcarping said:


I’m a bit confused to the question… are you asking about hydration related cramp solutions?

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Sorry, it was a bit meandery ...

Mostly wondering if other people are also struggling with hydration or if it is mostly dialled. If so, how the eff are they doing that?
 
OT, but I just had to say damn that's a hard and dangerous job! The guy that did some tree work for me was crazy (would get lifted in the bucket of the tractor, jump from tree to tree, etc). I heard a few months later he was working somewhere else and the client came out and find him hanging in the tree. Something happened and he got caught up and nobody was around to rescue him.
 
sfkid said:


Buy some zero sugar electrolytes powder. Makes chugging a gallon or more over the day much easier.

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What he said... I use LMNT zero sugar electrolytes packets which does make it easier chugging 120oz of water daily. I have to force myself to drink more water since my appetite/thirst has drastically diminished while on reta.

​#-
 
islandtime50 said:


Sorry, it was a bit meandery ...

Mostly wondering if other people are also struggling with hydration or if it is mostly dialled. If so, how the eff are they doing that?

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My hydration is usually pretty easy. 23 years in, the long days of heavy sweating doing tree work are mostly behind me with the additional equipment we have now.

Caffeine doesn’t make me cramp… is cramping your main complaint you associate with hydration?
 
I don't quite understand your question: you mention hydration without saying how much water you drink each day.

Why are you taking Tirz: to lose weight, or for diabetes?

Have you had a blood test to check your kidney function and electrolyte levels? Do you have high blood pressure or low blood pressure?

All of these questions should first be discussed with your doctor.
 
sfkid said:


Buy some zero sugar electrolytes powder. Makes chugging a gallon or more over the day much easier.

Click to expand...
Click to expand...

rixsternaz said:


What he said... I use LMNT zero sugar electrolytes packets which does make it easier chugging 120oz of water daily. I have to force myself to drink more water since my appetite/thirst has drastically diminished while on reta.

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I second this (or third it), just watch the sodium intake. The western diet already tends to be high in sodium and powders like LMNT tend to be high in it. You may want to consider some lower sodium options.
 
I also struggle to get hydrated. I love water but just forget to drink and some days have not even hit the 64oz bare minimum.

Yesterday I set a recurring 30 minute timer with a very soft chime sound and just kept hitting “repeat” on it when it’d go off. Every time I heard the chimes I’d drink, and I was able to meet my 100oz goal (I know some of y’all are getting a lot more than this, but for me it’s a win).

I know some of the apple, Fitbit etc. watches/trackers can be programmed to give a little vibration every so often to remind you to get up and move. Maybe they also have a vibrate timer function for water reminders?
 
I have a 22oz water bottle that I keep with me. I do hash marks on a post it as I refill it throughout the day. I aim for 6 of those a day. I track K and Mg and supplement both with a multi vitamin, one scoop a day of hydration powder, and Mg glycinate at night. Lately, my appetite was so low that I didn't get enough sodium for several days (without realizing it). My blood pressure got really low and my HR dropped to about 33 BMP. So now I drink a spicy V8 every day.
 
Sorry everybody, it was a long day at work.

I had a cup of water with pre-workout before my run this morning. Took a 26oz herbal tea, 72oz of shake (protein powder, spinach, mixed berries, kefir, yogurt, ice, water, banana, vit c and iron), and a 40oz water with electrolyte to work. Haven't really had much since I've been home - that seems about normal.

I am a little over six months out from significant colon cancer surgery. Had a tumor for 8-10 years and just didn't know it; the last four were definitely brutal. I have had issues with hydration I think much longer than that. I more or less figured it was just an occupational hazard. I have definitely been on and off with coffee, alcohol and creatine (also seems to make holding water in hard for me).

A little worried about the zero sugar stuff as it tends to be a little hard on the guts. I have been having some pre-workout again but I usually only have a fraction of recommended dose (full dose will definitely make me have to pee before I can finish a run).

I have recently had a lot of blood work and there seems to be no issues with kidney function.

I am going to take tirz mainly to get back in shape. But tirz is also pretty good for long term post colorectal cancer outcomes.

I am 51, 6', 215lbs, 17% bf according to my renpho smart scale, eating 2000 cal watching macros - none of this is particularly new those are all old habits that I have had for more than a decade (at least regular workouts and running, food tracking and using a smart scale). I am trying to ease back in a bit so no hard calorie deficit right now.

For starters I am just going to cut coffee again. Already not really drinking (had two bud lights two Fridays ago and was definitely dehydrated the rest of the weekend along with shit workouts and runs).
 
islandtime50 said:


Sorry everybody, it was a long day at work.

I had a cup of water with pre-workout before my run this morning. Took a 26oz herbal tea, 72oz of shake (protein powder, spinach, mixed berries, kefir, yogurt, ice, water, banana, vit c and iron), and a 40oz water with electrolyte to work. Haven't really had much since I've been home - that seems about normal.

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I'm following this thread, but...

Maybe it's late. Maybe it's my old eyes. But bro, that white text is almost impossible for me to read. Just sayin
 
islandtime50 said:


Sorry, it was a bit meandery ...

Mostly wondering if other people are also struggling with hydration or if it is mostly dialled. If so, how the eff are they doing that?

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I'm really bad at hydration.... I'm more the coffee type ;-)

With your symptoms, I think, you should be safe and go see your doc, get a blood sample all round health stuff, especially electrolytes, but could also check some of the xx (don't know english name) like magnesium, zink etc. B vitamins.
 
I know you probably don’t want to add more equipment but maybe a Hydration backpack?




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Personally I think this option is better, plus it’s on sale. Thank me later:

d70aa2fc209a60de133884273835844735ffe1d2e7773a6857bee9717fa6b4fc.webp
 
islandtime50 said:


I have something going on with hydration that I have never solved completely. Does this happen to anyone else?

I am a recovering utility arborist (among other things) which means I used to wear really thick chainsaw and fireproof clothing and climb hazard trees to remove them near power lines. Long story short, it is hot, very physical work and sweating and cramping just come with it. I am careful with coffee and alcohol and have tried many hydration tablets, powders etc. over the years. Never really got that figured out.

I don't kill trees any more but I do run and work out and if I have very much coffee (1 homemade espresso) or beer (we're talking 1 or 2 max) I feel it in my calves or hamstrings right away. I have a bag of Hydralyte or some such from Costco in the cupboard and have been using that quite a bit lately but I am not always convinced it is helping as much as it should.

I felt dry this morning and crampy-ish, downed a couple of litres with electrolyte and peed ... and peed ... pretty clear

Is anyone here better at this than me? I have started TRT and have some tirz on the way and I can feel it already so I feel like I can't be the only one thinking about this.

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Maaannnn the other day I was thinking to myself…..IM SO SICK OF THINKING ABOUT DRINKING WATER AND WORRYING IF IM DRINKING ENOUGH!

But no, I don’t have a solution yet. I just drink when I remember, and I try to drink small amounts frequently. If I don’t, I chug chug chug when I remember 😣

Here’s a dope electrolyte hack for you tho! I’m blue collar in Vegas and we have to wear FR gear in the field so I have a bit of experience with thick clothes and heat……dried apricots and figs are HIGH in potassium! Try adding those in! LMNT electrolytes if you sweat a lot. Super high in sodium content, no artificial sweeteners just a tiny bit of stevia and no sugar.
 
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