Water is KING! (and Queen!)

Appetizer

Drink more water. Don't wait until you're thirsty - drink up before, during and after exercise to prevent symptoms.

Main Course

According to the Mayo Clinic, dehydration occurs when you lose more fluid than you take in and your body doesn't have enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions. If lost fluid remains unreplenished, you may suffer serious consequences.

Common causes of dehydration include intense bouts of diarrhea, vomiting, fever or excessive sweating. Inadequate intake of water during hot weather or exercise also may deplete your body's water stores. Anyone may become dehydrated, but young children, older adults and people with chronic illnesses are most at risk.

Mild dehydration can cause symptoms such as weakness, dizziness and fatigue. Severe dehydration is a life-threatening medical emergency.

You can usually reverse mild to moderate dehydration by increasing your intake of fluids, but severe cases need immediate medical treatment. The safest approach is not to become dehydrated in the first place. You can do that by monitoring your fluid loss during hot weather, illness or exercise, and drinking enough liquids to replace what you lose.

Dessert

As you know, I use this section to shine light on my own thoughts and experiences as it relates to the day's post. Unfortunately, this one hit closer to home than normal. As I right this, I'm laying in bed resting because I just returned home from the urgent care center a couple of hours ago.

Why was I there, you ask? I was there because I drank a couple of glasses of water with lunch yesterday, didn't drink anything else for the rest of the day, didn't eat or drink this morning, and went to teach a fitness boot camp in hot, humid weather without a water bottle.

The behavior from yesterday was abnormal - I was just really busy and drinking water slipped my mind. This morning's behavior was simply a case of forgetfulness. I didn't bring my water bottle and had no access to water. That combined with the outrageous heat, resulted in dehydration.

So there you have it. I spent this afternoon asleep in a medical facility getting an IV. Don't be me. Drink more water.