Friday Reading Report: Water

Pretty much all nutrition advice includes the concept that we should drink more water, since most of us don’t get enough.  Want to know why we need so much?  Here are five things that water does in the body:

1.     Helps us resist environmental extremes.  Water has a high heat capacity, which means that it takes a lot of energy to increase its temperature.  Since we are 45 to 70 percent water (depending on how lean we are, our hydration status, etc.), we get water’s help with homeostasis.

2.     Helps us cool down when we do get hot.  Yep.  This is where the sweat comes in.  We can’t sweat if we’re out of water.  Then the sweat can’t evaporate and keep us from melting.

3.     Helps with pretty much all the chemistry.  Almost all of our metabolic reactions involve water.  It dissolves some things, reacts with others, and is the product of yet more reactions.

4.     Helps maintain our pH balance.  If our internal balance gets too acidic or alkaline, we die.  Water, being neutral, helps keep us neutral, too.  It also helps out with various reactions that produce acids or alkalis as needed to restore the balance when it tips too far one way or the other.

5.     Helps make up (all right, IS) all the bodily fluids.  We’re not getting far without blood, synovial fluid, spit, tears, and the like.  All those fluids have other ingredients, but water comes first.

So go drink some.

Gimme Two Reasons...

Sometimes we need reasons to get moving.  Today I offer two:

1.     So we don’t die.  People who get sufficient exercise live longer.  (And no, they don’t spend all the extra time working out.)  There is a positive correlation between regular exercise and decreased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, various cancers, and osteoporosis.

2.     So we feel better while we’re alive.  Exercise improves brain function.  It helps us move more gracefully.  We can open our own jars.  We get better sex.

Go play.

Who's Your Buddy?

Many of us are more likely to work out if there is someone else there.  This is the whole idea behind fitness classes, personal trainers, and even workout buddies.  However, choosing who we work out with requires a little bit of care.  Some things to consider:

How likely to flake on me is the person I’m considering?  Sadly, this is not just a question about our friends.  Some fitness professionals are more professional than others.  (No, I’m not saying that fitness people can’t get sick or go on vacation; just that some of us are better at showing up regularly and on time than others.)  If we want someone to be there to help us be there, too, we need to ensure that we pick someone who is good at arriving, not someone who is good at giving us a reason not to show up ourselves.

What does the person know and how does that person know it?  This question depends on context.  If we’re looking for someone to walk with us, pretty much everyone we know is qualified.  If we don’t have a wonky knee or a tendency to faint when we get overheated, we don’t need to interrogate the class instructor.  However, if the instructor is not asking the class if there are any issues, it is not an entirely good sign.  We want to work with people who know how to modify things for our parts that are not perfect.  If we ask our trainer about what we should have for breakfast, is she giving an opinion or an educated answer based on actual, factual research within the scope of her practice?

How trustworthy is the person?  Working out can be scarier than therapy.  We all have “issues in our tissues.”  Is your friend the kind who will help you face the stuff you are scared about?  Is your trainer supportive when you succeed and when you fail?  How does your instructor teach you something new and unfamiliar?  And in all those instances, how much do you need to worry that your fragile places will get broadcast to the larger world?

The right friend, instructor, trainer can be transformative.  Take the time to find the right one to work with.

(One reason the first session with me is always free is so that my clients can figure out if I am the right trainer for them without the stress of spending money on it.)

We can do this.