JJ Virgin explains how even mild dehydration raises cortisol, increases belly fat storage, and lowers metabolism. Drink roughly half your body weight in ounces of water daily, plus extra for exercise. Add two servings of electrolytes a day to support hormone balance and metabolism.
Here's the reality with hydration, and it's wild. I learned this from Dr. Rick Johnson, who talked about that even being mildly dehydrated, like if you're mildly dehydrated, it can raise stress hormones. We have a lot of cortisol receptors around our gut, so it can make you store more belly fat, can lower metabolism. But turns out if you're dehydrated, it can actually cause your body to free up glycogen from the liver turn it back into glucose, turn it into fructose, and store it as fat. Being hydrated is really important, and is like— when you look at it in terms of health hacks, this is one of the most foundational things you can do, because if you're drinking a lot of fluids, you're not going to be as hungry. You're also going to help your body detox well. Now, on the flip side of that, you want to make sure you're also getting in some electrolytes. So while I look at and go— basically think about drinking half your weight in water each day. So I'm 140, so at least 70 ounces of water, and then having another half ounce to an ounce for every minute of actual exercise. And I say actual exercise because I might go to the gym for 40 minutes, but I'm not working out straight, I'm lifting. And then you've got to put in some electrolytes into that as well. So I do generally 2 servings of electrolytes a day. Depending on if I'm doing more sauna, I might go and do a little bit more than that.
