How do you know how much fluid you have lost after a run,

or a ride, or after a long workout in the heat?

And why is this so important to know?
At the end of this video, you will know how to assess hydration status
and sweat rate, and what the consequences of dehydration are.
Let’s start with a few definitions.
Hydration is your body’s fluid status.
When you are well hydrated, this state is called euhydration.
A more-than-normal fluid state is called hyperhydration.
A Body water deficit of more than 2% of your body weight is defined as
hypohydration or dehydration – so a lower-than-normal fluid state.
Rehydration finally, is the process of regaining fluid,
back to the normal state.
Hydration status can be measured, by assessing for example the ‘concentration’,
or more precisely: the osmolarity or specific gravity - of your blood or urine.
High values, so concentrated blood or urine, are indications of dehydration,
and low values are indications of normal or even hyperhydration.
A more simple approach is looking at the colour of your urine.
Pale urine –straw like - reflects normal hydration or hyperhydration,
while a dark yellow or orange, amber colour is indicative of dehydration.
In this case the urine is very concentrated as the body tries to retain as much
fluid
as possible.
But always be aware of any food components which can affect
the colour of urine, like beetroot.
During exercise you lose body water mainly due to sweat loss,
as evaporating sweat is a very powerful mechanism to release the heat
which is produced during exercise.
But there is another way fluid is lost as vapor.
Do you know which?
It is via your respiration – which is in particular relevant in cold,
dry conditions at high altitude,
as in mountaineers or during tail running in the mountains.
They can lose a lot of fluid through respiration,
and easily become dehydrated.
Getting back to losing body water via sweating.
Do you know how much you sweat
– your sweat rate - and how you can calculate this?
This is highly variable as you can imagine.
Sweat rates can vary from close to zero to more than 2 litres per hour.
Depending on the environmental conditions: is it hot and/or humid?
Of course also depending on the duration and intensity of your exercise.
And personal characteristics, such as body weight,
gender and age also play a role in the sweat rate.
The bigger you are, the more work you can perform
and the more heat you have to release – the more you will sweat.
The lower sweat rate seen in women, and with an increasing age,
are related to differences in body weight and body composition.
But apart from that, women do sweat slightly less than men.
Knowing your own sweat rate, and how it differs depending on external conditions,
is crucial.
To calculate sweat loss during exercise,
you can simply measure changes in body weight.
Any gram body weight loss after exercise roughly means 1 millilitre of fluid
deficit.
And, if you correct this for fluid ingestion, you have a good estimation
of your sweat loss and rate.
So, just start measuring it!
Dehydration, as we have seen,
is expressed as a fraction of your body weight.
A loss of as little as 1 to 2 % below normal,
can already affect your performance.
More severe effects of dehydration, even impacting your health,
are seen with dehydration of 5% or more.
This – often in combination with hyperthermia –
can result in symptoms like fatigue, dizziness,
confusion and in extreme cases even shock and death.
Endurance exercise capacity is most affected,
while strength and performance is less.
This is due to the effects of dehydration on cardiovascular function.
Cardiovascular changes due to dehydration are
a lower maximal cardiac output, and a higher heart rate at a given workload
due to a lower stroke volume.
These changes are caused by the reduced circulating volume.
But also thermoregulation is affected; sweat rate will be lower
– with a higher risk of overheating.
This all together limits aerobic capacity.
When are you at risk of severe dehydration?
Of course, when you start your exercise dehydrated.
For example after incomplete rehydration from the last exercise session.
Or when you restricted your food and fluid intake
to quickly reach a target body weight.
And you are of course at risk of dehydration when doing long and intense
exercise, in particular in hot conditions with bright sunshine.
I have come to the end of this video.
Now you know what dehydration is; what its consequences are,
and how you can assess fluid status and measure sweat rate.
The next step is to design your hydration strategy.
But that is another topic.