How to Re-hydrate After a Big Weekend
Monday, April 18, 2011 at 8:01AM You had Saturday and Sunday off, so you went out and logged a ton of time on the bike and run. It was sunny, windy, and warm, so you drank more water than usual. Come Sunday afternoon, you're starving and start pigging out. Sound typical?
A lot of that hunger is your body tricking you; It knows that food is mostly water, and it's going to get it that way instead of the usual path. The problem is that getting fluids through foods also means you're going to get a ton of extra calories you probably don't need (if you fueled right during your training.)
One reason your body starts craving water through food is because just plain water isn't enough. It's missing electrolytes and other goodies that you need to replenish after the weekend. This is such a problem, there are countless cases of endurance athletes suffering from hyponutremia - too much water and not enough electrolytes. Hyponutremia is especially nasty, even causing death.
I've studied this issue with my own training and found some great solutions. First off, I add in some extra sodium into my casual drinks during the weekend and even on Monday. This cures the hunger issue quickly. I sprinkle some sea salt into a carbonated water or a serving of Hornet Juice and I drink several of those over the time span. The sodium actually retains water in the body, letting it be available for your system to use instead of just peeing it out.
I also up my intake of electrolytes from natural sources. Celery, coconut juice, bananas, and many other natural foods are high in potassium, magnesium, and sodium. Choose to snack on those and you'll not be craving a giant burrito instead.
Give the above tips a try over your next big training weekend and post in the comments how it went!
