Staying hydrated is SO important for those dealing with chronic illnesses, especially POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome). Since many of those who are diagnosed are already dealing with low blood volume, it is essential to keep your body replenished with not just liquid, but the “right” kind of liquid. This means making sure that what we’re drinking isn’t regular water (which many would assume is the smart way to go), but instead ensuring that what we’re consuming is rounded with electrolytes & sodium (that you would get from a sports drink) so it doesn’t flush us out or leave us depleted. A product we love & have mentioned before is Ultima. It’s perfect for those like us, who need to stay super hydrated & is made with all 6 balanced electrolytes plus minerals. The great thing is that it is stevia sweetened so you’re not going to get those awful sugar crashes (like you get from Gatorade or Powerade), & we love that it doesn’t have a fake taste to it.
Because hydration is so important, we thought we’d share with you our 6 tips for staying Hydrated…
1. As soon as you wake up, DRINK. We like to get 32 oz in us first thing in the morning before we eat or do anything. It’s important to hydrate first thing because after all those hours of sleeping, your body is dehydrated. Both of us were recommended by our doctor to drink 100 – 120 oz a day in order to keep our blood pressure up which would also help keep our heart rates lower (a win win if you’re a potsie). So we like to start the process right away so we can keep a steady pace throughout the day.
2. Keep a water bottle with you everywhere you go, & know you have to drink the entirety of it a specific amount of times to hit your goal (so if you want to drink 100 oz and your water bottle is 25 oz, then you know you have to fill it up 4 times throughout the day). We find that if we have our bottle with us we tend to gravitate towards it more often which helps us hit our daily goal.
3. Another great way to stay on top of your daily goal is to set a reminder on your phone. It’s easy to get distracted with work, technology or just life for that matter, but setting a few daily alarms helps us ensure that we’re staying on track & taking the proper care of our bodies needs.
4. Any time you have a drink with caffeine in it, make sure to consume some extra water (with electrolytes) afterwards to replace the liquid lost due to caffeine’s diuretic effect. We both have different tolerances on caffeine but when we do drink it, we make sure that we aren’t counting those ounces towards our daily intake goal.
5. For all those who hate drinking plain water, throw in some cucumbers, mint, lemon, ginger etc. There are plenty of fun ways to dress your water up & give it a new spin on life. Plus they look fun & fancy.
6. Like we’ve mentioned before add electrolytes to your drink (if it’s not obvious, we’re huge proponents of this option). It will help you retain the water your body needs (and don’t let the word ‘retain’ freak you out, if your body is holding the right amount of water, you’re LESS likely to bloat).
Bottoms Up!
Leave a Reply