We often go out for a walk and return with a dry throat and dehydrated body. This is not good for your health at all. Walking should always be accompanied with drinking enough water and keeping the body hydrated. When we walk, our body loses water and gets dehydrated. Therefore, we must learn what to avoid, what to drink, and what steps to follow before and after a walk to keep ourselves healthy.
Before A Walk
There are certain things we must know to keep ourselves fit for a walk.
1. Drink Water
Before you go out for a walk, prepare yourselves by drinking a tall glass of water (500 mL or 17 ounces). This helps you to allow time for any extra water to pass through your body (urine) before you hit your trail.
2. Avoid Caffeine
It is always recommended to avoid any caffeinated beverage before a walk. Caffeine leads to the loss of fluid, makes you feel thirstier, and also, increases the tendency to urinate while you are walking. Too much caffeine in the body ends up making you feel inconvenient and stop all along the way to urinate from time to time.
3. Take Extra Salt
Before you are embarking on a long walk, it is advisable to have a bit of extra salt with your food. This helps you maintain the sodium balance in the body as well.
4. Carry Water Or Take Hydration Breaks
It is a good idea to carry enough water while you are on a walk so that you can hydrate yourself from time to time. If you don’t want to carry the burden all along the way, you may plan to take hydration breaks at certain water stops. After every 20 minutes, drink a cup of water.
5. Water Calculator
When you are on a walk, you must know how much water you should be taking along so that you have enough water. Make a calculation of how much time you are walking and stop for water breaks accordingly.
During A Walk
There are certain things you must know about drinking water, your health, the climate, and the altitude of the place if you are embarking on a long walk.
1. Drink Plain Water
Drinking plain water is the best habit for a walk of the duration of an hour or less. It keeps you well-hydrated.
2. Get Enough Salt And Electrolytes
When you are on long walks (more than an hour), it is recommended that you take a sports drink instead of plain water. Accompanying your drink with salty snacks such as pretzels will help you with the absorption of water in the body and also, replace the loss of salt and energy in the body.
3. Believe Your Thirst At Once
It is important to drink water or any electrolyte when you are thirsty. Trust your thirst mechanism at once and drink when you feel the thirst. Do not let your throat go dry.
4. Drink More If You Are Sweating
When you are sweating more than usual, you are losing more water, salt, and energy. It is very important to drink water more than you usually drink if you are sweating out more than usually sweat out.
5. Climates And Altitudes
When you are walking at a high altitude, you lose even more fluids than usual. This applies the same in hotter climates and areas with low humidity. You will feel thirstier than usual, and it is important to drink water or electrolytes as soon as you feel thirsty.
6. Flavored Water
When your water tastes good, you will want to drink it more. You may add a few drops of fresh lemon juice and a tincture of salt to make your water flavored and taste better.
After A Walk
1. Replenish Yourself
Like you start your walk with a tall glass of water, end it with a tall glass (500 mL or 17 ounces) of water.
2. Take Electrolytes
After a long walk, it is important not to take much of plain water. Instead, drink electrolytes, sports drinks, and have salty foods to balance the sodium levels in the body as well.
What Are The Signs Of Dehydration?
Dehydration is accompanied by nausea after exercise, a dry, sticky mouth, and dry eyes. It can also be noticed that you are not urinating or urinating it dark yellow if you are utterly dehydrated.
Therefore, it is extremely important to keep your body hydrated before and during a walk and also, replenish your salt and water levels and bring them to a balance after a walk.
