Operation: Rehydration

I don't drink enough. This has been a well documented fact throughout my life. I'm renowned for leaving half finished drinks all over the place and rarely go the loo more than 3 times a day.

I was prone to water infections because of this but it had never really had a major impact on my health or life. It came more to the fore when I had my son as I physically couldn't make enough milk to breastfeed him because I didn't have enough fluid in me. I managed it for 14 weeks but had to stop as he wasn't putting on enough weight. At the time I didn't know what the problem was and it's only after researching I discovered what had happened and obviously I was very disappointed in myself as luckily it was the only problem we'd had.

As my diet has changed drastically over the last few months, I'm obviously not eating as much and therefore not getting as much of a fluid back up from my food. I only noticed the impact of this as the weather began to heat up as we headed into summer. For the last couple of weeks I've had a near permanent headache and been really lacking in energy. Then the other evening I was reaching for the salty snacks despite not actually feeling hungry.

After really listening to my body I realised it was the salt I was craving and started to research this a bit. It turns out it can mean an electrolyte imbalance due to being dehydrated as your body doesn't just need water to stay hydrated but salts and minerals as well. I also read the frequent water infections due to dehydration could lead to bladder cancer and electrolyte imbalance can lead to kidney issues!

Then the final straw came today when I had an opticians appointment. It turns out my eyes are also starting to get damaged due to being dehydrated. This is also linked to contact lense issues which we ironed out today but it made me realise I need to sort this issue out.

When I started this lifestyle change it was all about making healthier choices, mainly to lose weight, but also to have a generally healthier lifestyle. So this is now the next change I need to make to be healthier.

I've got myself some rehydration salts that you take after diarrhoea to help give me a boost and a litre water bottle I'm going to try and take everywhere with me to try and keep permanently drinking.

So wish me luck! This may well be the toughest challenge I've taken on so far as I find drinking more really hard and always have. But I'm determined to make a change so will update you how I'm getting on.