How much to drink a day, training included
The EFSA reference, plus your real sweat, measured by weighing yourself before and after a session.
Water from drinks and food, per day
3.8L
- Baseline (EFSA)
- 2.5 L
- For exercise
- 1.3 L
- Your sweat
- 1.3 L/h
- Lost during the session
- 1.1 %
EFSA counts water from food along with drinks, in temperate weather: in strong heat you need more. 1 kilo lost during exercise is about 1 litre of sweat.
By exercise time
With the sweat from your test.
| Daily exercise | For exercise | Water from drinks and food, per day |
|---|---|---|
| 0 min | 0 L | 2.5 L |
| 30 min | 0.7 L | 3.2 L |
| 60 min | 1.3 L | 3.8 L |
| 90 min | 2 L | 4.5 L |
| 120 min | 2.6 L | 5.1 L |
The limit not to cross
During exercise, don’t lose more than 2% of your weight, that is 1.5 kg (ACSM, 2007).
- The baseline: 2.0 L a day for women, 2.5 L for men, food included, in temperate weather (EFSA, 2010).
- Your sweat: weight lost during a session, plus what you drank, divided by the duration — the ACSM (2007) method.
- It is added in proportion to your daily exercise time.
Frequently asked questions
That rule is widely shared. Here, the baseline is the EFSA reference by sex, and exercise is measured on you rather than assumed.
Yes: EFSA counts the water in fruit, vegetables and meals. Part of your need is already on your plate.
Weigh yourself naked before a one-hour session, note what you drink, weigh yourself again dry afterwards. Repeat in hot weather: sweat changes.
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