BLACKSBURG, Va. – Athletes eat a lot of calories to keep their energy up. In fact, they consume more food and water a day than the average person needs.
But how much water do you really need?
10 News spoke with Department Head of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise Stella Volpe with Virginia Tech about how much water you should drink on a daily basis.
Volpe said you need eight glasses a day but you don’t have to drink just water.
She said you can eat fruits and vegetables that are high in water content, including tomatoes, watermelon and celery. Volpe said you can also eat ice cream and drink coffee, tea and milk as well.
The main thing she said is to make sure that you are hydrated. One way to do this is to pinch your skin and if your skin stays there that means you’re dehydrated.
“The other thing that you can do that’s a little more cumbersome is someone can weigh themselves in the morning and the evening to see if they lost weight or typically we tell people to do that before or after they exercise to see if they consumed enough fluids during exercise,” said Volpe.
Volpe also encourages you to look at your urine.
“If it is dark, you’re likely not getting enough fluids. If it is too light, you might be getting too much. So, it needs to be a pale yellow,” said Volpe.
When it comes to protein, she said we eat way too much.
She said to cut your body weight in half and that’s how much protein you should be eating. So, a 150-pound person should be eating 75 grams of protein. She suggested eating protein at every meal.
“It’s been found that if you have about 20 grams of protein per meal it will be absorbed better. Now, as people get older they need a little more than that per meal closer to 30 grams but it can be difficult to do,” said Volpe.
By the way, Volpe said we are not getting enough fruits and vegetables in our diets. So, she recommended incorporating them in water and even certain dishes like stews.