A few months before Lori and I left Australia I started an exercise regime and lost around 80 pounds. But at the same time I was in a tremendous amount of pain from an un-diagnosed anal fissure. A week after we got to San Francisco I went to the doctor and they performed an operation to fix the problem. But the symptoms lingered for years after that. I could work out a couple of days, then I would get some symptoms and back off for a week or two, then try to work out again, and once again have problems.
Eventually I gave up on exercise because of a combination of that health problem, and with the advent of a new job that I decided I would dedicate myself 150% to. Eventually that dedication was rewarded with narrowly avoiding getting laid off and I learned some hard lessons about balancing work and home life.
Now I am back on the workout regimine and it seems to be going well. I haven't had any problems yet. But I know that it could come back. The strange thing about anal fissures is this, nobody really knows what causes them. Though it could be linked to dehydration. And what causes dehydration better than sweating for an hour during a workout routine?
So my question is, if you work out, how do you keep hydrated? Do you work out less and hydrate more intentionally? Do you just over-drink on water? If so, how much? Or do you drink sports drinks?
I know I sweat a lot, probably more than most folks, but this has to be something that active people deal with all the time. As it stands I'm trying to drink a couple of liters a day, and then add on water and gatorade at around a 50/50 mix every 10-15 minutes during exercise.
It is my understanding that hydration is an ongoing process. You not only need to drink water (or gatorade) during a workout, but drink water throughout the day. Constantly.
This is an daily battle for me since I don't really like water that much.
Do you have a target amount of water that you want to drink every day? Like 5 glasses or something like that?
Posted by: jherr at February 10, 2006 01:24 PMActually, I've always hear 8 glasses. Urg. I try (and don't always succeed) to drink 1.5 liters (one large Fiji bottle) per day, plus a small bottle (.05 liter) if I go to the gym. If I am playing tennis on a warm day, I'll likely drink a liter within 2 hours.
Just start by adding a reasonable amount to what you drink now and work your way up.
I'll tell you, I dropped a few pounds quickly with just that small adjustment.
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