Staying properly hydrated becomes very important after weight loss surgery for your overall health, and matters when you are trying to lose weight. Being dehydrated can actually slow down your weight loss progress, making it more difficult to reach your weight loss goals, even if you are putting in the dieting and exercise effort that you need. You may think that this is something that doesn’t affect you because you aren’t thirsty, but you could be totally wrong! The problem is that dehydration is actually way more common than you may originally think, and could be impacting your weight loss goals right now.

The more you exercise, the more likely you are to become dehydrated, and the more trouble you may have with losing weight.

Here are a few tips to help you keep hydrated as you focus on losing weight:

• Drink water all day long. Don’t just grab a water bottle as you are heading out the door to go to the gym. Keep that water with you all day long and take sips from it as often as you can. Keep it with you on your commute and on your desk at work. The more often you drink water throughout the day, the less likely you are to get dehydrated.
• Recognize the early signs of dehydration. There are a lot of other symptoms that accompany dehydration other than thirst. In fact, you may not even feel overly thirsty when you are just starting to become dehydrated. You will, however, likely experience several other common symptoms, such as a slight headache, clammy hands, or fatigue.
• Eat plenty of water-based fruits. In addition to drinking water throughout the day, you can help yourself stay hydrated by taking in as much fluid as possible in your diet. Eating water-based fruits like melons, grapes and berries can help you fight off hunger and help keep you hydrated as you are following a healthy diet for weight loss.

Losing weight takes a lot of work, and there is no reason to make it harder on yourself by not staying properly hydrated. While there are plenty of sports drinks out there that advertise themselves as the perfect tool to stop you from getting dehydrated, the reality is that these drinks are loaded with extra sugars that could also interfere with your weight loss efforts. The Atlanta area gets pretty warm, therefore the best thing to do is to drink as much water as possible, and if you have any concerns regarding other beverages to consult with your weight loss doctor.