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Quick Fact: You should drink 20 ounces of water two to three hours before any activity that will last longer than an hour.
Dehydration is a very real problem to have when you work out. Yes, you will notice a dip in your performance levels. But what you may not notice right away is that your body is not functioning well at a cellular level. Therefore, your metabolism slows down. That is definitely not the way to go if you are trying to lose body fat and increase lean muscle mass.
If you are thirsty, you are already at a disadvantage. That means your body is dehydrated and in need of fluids. If you get to this point it could take up to 48 hours to get your body back to a state of equilibrium. This is precious time wasted when it comes to your metabolism so you never want to get thirsty.
Many people have heard this as well but tend to ignore the signs. If your urine is dark in color and you do not regularly take supplements, then you know you have to start drinking more. Sometimes supplements will change the color so you will know the difference. The more you sweat, the less you need to hit the rest room. The best time to take notice is first thing in the morning before you take a multi vitamin or any other nutrients. If your volume is low and your color is off, you need to get to work and hit the bottle.
The bottle is another thing you should look at. Many people tend to keep water bottles they buy at convenience stores for weeks at a time. This is a no-no because the plastic can keep germs and other nasty stuff. Keeping a bottle for a day or two is fine but anything longer than that and you really want to toss it for a new one.
A general rule of thumb is to drink six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day before taking into consideration workouts. Add another 6 ounces for every 15 minutes of exercise you perform. This may seem like a lot of water. But I think you will find that it gets easy to keep weight off, cravings at bay, and energy levels high, when your water levels are stable.