It's that time of year! Invitations for holiday parties are in the mail, we've begun our lengthy “Dear Santa “ lists, we're pouring over recipe books for new baking ideas, and negotiating where we will spend the holidays with family members.
As a fitness professional, I find myself constantly amazed, year after year, with how vibrant moms look heading into the holiday season (right around this week!) and then how exhausted they look by January 2nd! Some moms abandon exercise completely. They just can’t keep themselves at the top of the list. Their lives are overtaken by trips to Toy "R" Us, baking, grocery shopping, baking, online shopping, baking, holiday parties at school, work, and neighbors, and long nights of list-making and list-checking. Did I mention baking? The moms that do maintain their exercise routines scramble in late, forget this or that (their water, heart-rate monitor, towel, or breakfast…and yes…one woman came in last year with two different shoes!) These moms often complain of exhaustion throughout the workout, or look like they're struggling more than, say giving birth!
Moms blame lack of sleep, eating differently resulting from neighborhood holiday outings, as well as lack of exercise. We all can agree that in the next couple of months, our regular routines will be challenged. With our consistent schedules out the window, we eat, we drink, we're merry….and we're...DEHYDRATED.
Of all the changes in our behavior that make mom’s feel lousy during these rough months, I think dehydration is the most overlooked, and it can make us feel just awful. Symptoms of dehydration range from headaches (maybe that ongoing headache isn't actually caused by your in-laws' upcoming visit), dizziness (maybe it's not the new pine-tree scented candle your neighbor just brought over as a gift), and fatigue (not necessarily because you stayed up until 2am wrapping gifts). Other symptoms include dry skin, sunken eyes with dark circles, constipation, moodiness (feels like depression), dry mouth , lethargy and excessive thirst. Feeling this way is bound to put a damper on your holiday cheer, big time.
Our bodies are made up of at least 70% water and we need water to operate at our physiological best, aka, to be in tip-top form to keep up with the traditions, the lists, the decorating, the parties, and the baking. Dehydration occurs when more hydration or moisture leaves our body than comes in.
This holiday season, try to stay ahead of the problem. Many things can derail you and ultimately leave you high and...dry. Travel is tiring and draining in general, and air travel is known to be completely dehydrating. Always accept the free water offered after take off! Beware of changing climates; if you go on a vacation to a hotter area than your body is used to, this may effect how you feel. Watch the alcohol, salt and sugar consumption at parties. Drink a lot of water the day of a party and carry water around while you're there. Stress can cause people to just plain forget to drink and eat. A client told me last year she realized three days into a holiday vacation that she drank one cup of coffee in the am…and one glass of wine at dinner time. She had completely forgotten to drink anything else all day. By the third day, she was irritable and exhausted, which could have been easily avoided.
There's a very simple strategy to staying hydrated: drink eight ounces of water every hour. Easier said than done? Set an alarm on your phone or watch as a reminder. There are digital water bottles now that keep track of your daily ounces. That’s a great holiday gift to give yourself or a friend!
Personally, I've always thought that if 70% of my body is water, it makes sense that 70% of the liquids I drink each day should come from water and the remaining 30% from green tea, seltzer, and unsweetened flavored water. I do drink coffee, but I think of it more as a "picker-upper" than a hydrating liquid. If you're not a big fan of the taste of water, feel free to squeeze fresh juice from a lemon or orange into pure water to give it a nice light natural flavor. I always suggest to clients when they attend a party, if they bring a bottle of wine, to also bring a six-pack of water or seltzer, so it's right at your fingertips.
Log your liquids for the next couple of days in ounces. Decide if you should be adding to your water intake and when will be easiest for you to fit that into your day. Then stick to it, every day, and notice the difference this holiday season! Let H2O be your secret supplement to an energized, rested, happy and healthy passage into 2012! It’s a no-brainer, a simple change that will improve your overall wellness during a busy, and stressful, time. Cheers to that!
Norah Benincasa is the owner of Pedal and Pose Fitness Studio in Concord, MA. She is a certified personal trainer, spin instructor, TRX trainer, Body Pump trainer, more...and mom of five! Norah holds a masters degree in social work and is an expert in all things family fitness!
