Melissa Paris Fitness

Jul 21, 2013

Drink Heavily!

by Melissa Paris & Jessica Moy

Drinking water is one of the easiest things to incorporate in your diet and exercise plan...What'd you think I was going to say? Unlike saying no to that delicious slice of pizza or cycling class once or twice a week, making sure you drink enough water takes little to no will power. There should be no excuse to not drinking enough water! We are fortunate enough to have a safe and pristine water supply system here in New York. Take advantage of that clean water, fill up your water bottles and drink away!
I'm not going to sit here and explain the endless benefits of water, however I will explain to you how much water you should consume based on your weight and physical activity levels. A simple calculation can provide you a clearer picture of how much water you should actually drink, contrary to the common belief of drinking 8 glasses of water a day.

1. Weight:The first step of calculating your weight is knowing how much you weigh. The amount of water depends on how much a person weighs. For instance, a 200 pound man would have to drink more water than a woman who weights 120 pounds.
2.Multiply by 2/3:Next you have to multiply your weight by 2/3 (or 67%) to determine the number of ounces you should drink everyday. If you weigh 160, multiply that number by 2/3 to get 107. 107 should be the number of ounces you drink daily.
3. Activity Level:During exercise, our bodies lose and use fluids to expel toxins and sodium through sweating. Add 12 ounces of water for every 30 minutes you work out. So if you exercised for an hour, you should add an additional 24 ounces to the amount you drink daily.*

So if you weigh 160 and exercised for about an hour, you should be drinking 131 ounces a day. That’s about 16 cups of water a day!

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