As I am getting older staying out of the hospital for any reason is a general goal. What is shocking to me is to see friends have surgeries for a number of reasons. Recently, our family came back from a lovely 8 day cruise where we did lots of signtseeing and touring and I got in an average of 14,000 steps per day, and that was just walking back and forth on the cruise ship. The energy it took to manage that was much more of a challenge then it has been in the past and for that I am concerned. When I got home it took me at least a week to get my energy back. I may have picked up a virus, too, as there were crowded ships, airports and planes we passed through and there is a summer Covid strain to be aware of, as well as summer allergies.
I also don't drink enough water. I usually make fun of the friends and family who carry large water bottles all day, but to be honest, I forget to drink enough water, and as I age, that may be more of a liability than I am willing to admit. It would be best if it were plain water but other sources such as fruits and vegetables contain some liquid, as well. The scary part is that you don't even know you are dehydrated until things start going downhill.
Symptoms to look for are feeling tired, nauseated, dizzy or confused. Check the color of your urine. The darker it is the more dehydrated you are and light or no colored urine indicates positive hydration. If it is cooler outside you may not notice feeling sweaty. The current recommended amount of water per day is 15.5 cups for a male adult and 11.5 cups for women. That would be equal to about five 16 oz. bottles of water per day for women and seven bottles for men, on average. I even took out an old Yeti bottle and measured how much water it contains. Three cups of water per fill up for those of you interested. That would mean you would have to drink four or five fill up Yeti bottles per day. Does that happen?
It is interesting to me how our society behavior has changed since I was in college. I joined a running group at Ohio State and learned to run the entire campus when I was 19 years old. I dropped weight and met others who also enjoyed this activity. After I had kids I started running again in my mid thirties and when the kids got into high school we ran 5 K's every month. It was fun and good for all our health. I have written a few times about the Blossom Run which just happened this Memorial Day and I am sorry to say that I don't run 5.5 miles within the average race time of 30 minutes to over and hour like my kids and the younger generation can. This time I pushed the grandchildren in strollers and did the 1 mile walk. It was fun and allowed me to participate rather than be a bystander. We walked the 1 mile in 25 minutes. I used to do a 5K in about that time. Rather than feel sorry for myself I am going to keep exercising as I can and eat healthy and stay out of the hospital.
