Sip n' Sweat

The islands have been quite hot and humid the last several weeks. Walking outside is like a constant battle against a wall of humidity. My hair frizzes out, or is just completely flat, sweat drips down my back (and I'm sure for everyone else too), and the windows in air conditioned businesses start sweating. Humidity has been at 100 percent for I don't even know how long now. Now, we hear that this weather will continue into our Hawaiʻi "Winter." Shoot. I'm hoping for some cooler waters and some northern winds.

All this heat and water loss has lead me to think about hydration and dehydration. Our bodies need to be replenished with water and vitamins, electrolytes etc., especially with all this sweat! Often times you won't know if you're dehydrated, but a good sign is when you're thirsty, this is sign of mild dehydration. Weird, right? But, keep in mind that thirst is not a complete accurate way to diagnose your self with dehydration. If you use the bathroom and the color is well, dark yellow or amber, you're dehydrated.

Beautiful West Side - green and lush.
Photo: Instagram: EpicAdventureHI 

A few other signs, you might be lightheaded, dizzy, haven't used the bathroom in a long time, or even a dry mouth. Mild dehydration may not be require you to head to the doctors, but in some cases if you don't address the situation, you may have to do just that. Read EveryDayHealth.com's article on dehydration to get more information.

Don't let this sway you from having a good time outside, inside or where ever. Just be prepared, stay hydrated and enjoy the final days of summer.

Healthy Tidbits to live by: Part 2

1. Stay Hydrated:
• Bring a water bottle with you and sip throughout the day. I usually bring no less than 24 oz. If you're walking around at school, that's a easy size to carry and you can refill a fill station, or water fountain. However, if you don't want to fill up at a water fountain (which can sometimes be not the best water), go for some like 34 oz or more. 
• Concerned if the water is filtered or not? bobble water bottles filter your water
2. Have a sweet tooth? 
• If you've got as sweet tooth, or just enjoy your treats, go for it. Just don't indulge everyday. Find something healthy, like a small square of dark chocolate (70% or higher). Lindt is my ultimate favorite, smooth, chocolatey, and the darker the chocolate, the yummier it gets! 

Lindt has a 60-piece Dark Chocolate Sea Salt for $21.
 It'll last you two months if you eat one a day!  Photo: screenshot

• Don't be afraid to indulge everyone once in a while, just figure out how your body works. If you indulge on, say, a piece of cake, or two (or three) cupcakes, you may have to fit in more exercise the next few days. Don't beat yourself up about it though. 

Get your hydration on!

Drinking water is vital to our survival, it's an important factor to weight loss, and feeling good in life.

• Sometimes when you think you're starving, you're actually really thirsty, especially if you've eaten not to long before hand. Give it a shot. If you feel like you're hungry sitting in front of the TV, or studying, get  glass or bottle of water and sip on it. You just might notice that the hunger feeling dissipates. 
• Another good reason to drink water, it keeps your kidneys healthy. If you've ever come across a kidney infection or UTI, drinking water is KEY to flushing out "germs." 
• Always get your hydration on. Staying hydrated keeps you in a good mood. Even when you are just a little bit dehydrated, you'll get cranky.

Ah Sugar..sweet right?

Not quite. It's not the best for you and should be consumed in moderation.

Women have a greater risk in developing cardiovascular disease than men. Us women require less calories than men. Sugar sweetened beverages bring in factors of this disease like high triglycerides in individuals who don't gain weight, according to an article by the American Heart Association.

The reference to sugar-sweetened drinks would be sodas, and flavored waters. Funny because we see so many ads on TV and in magazines about flavored water and how it can quench your thirst.

In the article, those who drank two or more sugar-sweetened drinks a day were more likely to develop the high triglycerides and increase waist size. We definitely don't want to increase waist size if the high triglycerides factor doesn't do it for you.

Don't know what triglycerides are? --> Triglycerides: Lowering them

You, in moderation ladies..In moderation. Water is always best.

HYDRATION!

A while ago I wrote about how important it is to stay hydrated.
Again I'll stress it's importance. Especially when living in hot places, well anywhere it's important to drink water. Sometimes is hard and kind of a drag to carry around a water bottle, but you'll be thankful.

those of you athletes out there, peak performance is achieved also through being properly hydrated. I'm sure you know that, but Like me sometimes, it's hard to carry bottles on a long and strenuous hike, but that dry mouth feeling isn't fun, and getting light headed isn't safe either. Becoming dehydrated while working out decreases the body's ability to cool off and leads to heat exhaustion.

We also lose water through out the day, going to the bathroom, sweating and breathing, according to livestrong.com

OK even with losing weight. Drinking water and staying hydrated keeps the good ol' appetite in control. Water in your stomach makes you fuller.

For certain health conditions, it's important to stay hydrated. Kidney infections require a lot of water drinking and going to the bathroom, so do bladder infections or kidney stones. Kind of intense conditions, but it's good to know. I mean for other health conditions and just to stay healthy in general.

Scan your horizons

Hiking outdoors is such a great way to get a satisfying workout. It keeps your stamina up to speed and helps your muscles grow, it's a full body workout.

I highly suggest Hawai'i Loa Ridge on the way to Hawai'i Kai.

It's about two hours for those blazing through, well running and jogging. It could easily be three hours just taking your time.

The view at the top is worth all the repelling on the trail, achy kegs and water breaks to catch help your breath. (check back for a picture..I think you should experience if for yourself..surprise)


Check list:
-water
-camera(If you wanna Carry it.)
-toe shoes/sneakers
-subscreen

Are you dehydrated?

LOVE water right ? Yeah it doesn't taste like anything fruity or soda like, but it is SO good for your body.

timetospa.com explained that reports show 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated. wow. It is also the number one reason for being tired during the day. You know sometimes when you feel hungry, I was once told that you might actually be needing to drink water.

Drinking water is also a good way to nourish and keep your skin healthy. It's also a natural way to flush out toxins in your body.

Drink up !

Water is key in our daily diets to prevent kidney stones and can prevent us from getting headaches, dizzy, tired and weak. Water is there to help keep us hydrated, which leads to a happy you!

They say to drink 8 glasses a day, but according to Healthy Living with Ellie Krieger, water intake is a very individual thing. Men are supposed to drink around 13 glasses of fluid a day and women around nine.
Also make a note that you can get your water intake in several different drink items throughout the day...even coffee..weird,but true. To get water in the form of pure water, men should drink seven cups and women five.

Don't lose sight of the fact that water is probably your best choice, and healthiest.

exercise isn't the only solution

Only exercising isn't the final solution in losing weight..
Part of it also is your diet.
When I work out, I'm starving after, and it's so easy to pick up a nice lunch and eat it and think, oh I worked out, that's OK.

Truth is, even though you burned calories in your work out, you're just eating them back right after!

If you want to lose weight, you have to change your eating habits too, even if it's reluctantly. Just think about the postive outcomes if you do. : )

Reading Larry Krutka's Fitness blog on the everydayhealth Web Site, he says that an 16 oz sports drink can add on 40 percent of those calories you just burned off; looking at a 170lb person who burned 250 calories on an elliptical. Almost half of 250 calories burned, from a sports drink. WOW.

SOLUTION: WATER, it's probably the best bet to quinch your thirst and it also hydrates your body after sweating for 30 minutes.