Hydrate yourself (new daily podcast announcement)
“It changed my life” is what I said when I was trying to explain why I was carrying two waterbottles. “That has changed your life?” he replied, laughing. He’s a teammate and, as is often the case when I’m speaking French, I’m 60% acting like I speak the language and 40% actually speaking the language.
But it wasn’t a lie. I think drinking water with lemon and salt in it has changed my life.
I was lying in bed last night thinking about something to write about and I settled on this: how I discovered drinking lemon juice and salt during high-intensity sport, and how it’s changed my life. As I lay in bed I figured, I that good writing is good writing, no matter what the subject. Great writing transcends any topic, so it was settled.
Mostly, I want to tell you that I’m hosting a new daily podcast. Scroll to the bottom for that announcement. But if you do high impact sports, and you are not already drinking lemon and salt alongside a bottle of straight water, you should try it.
I play soccer several times per week. I used to bring along a litre of water. Sometimes, I’d drink a beer after the game and immediately regret it — I’d be too drunk after a can, indicating that not only was my body dying to be hydrated, but that I would feel like a pile of garbage the next morning. So I’ve stopped.
Playing in the summer heat always freaked me out, so last year, I started making what should not be, though is some times referred to as homemade gatorade. I squeeze half a lemon into a waterbottle nearly full of water and add salt. I drink a second bottle of water alongside it. I cycle through both and drink as needed based on feeling thirsty. I don’t always finish both bottles. And it feels great.
I don’t want to overstate the impacts doing this but I certainly sleep better and retain water more (so I’m not going to the bathroom several times per night after a game). I can play as late as midnight on a weeknight so being able to sleep is a big benefit. I also have fewer muscle pains and never feel like I’m dying for water when I come off the field.
So if you do high-intensity sports, try it. Maybe it’ll change your life too. Or maybe you’ll realize that it’s disgusting and you can’t stomach it. I’ve grown to liking it. And I dunno, maybe everyone already knows this. Maybe you’re reading and you’re like ‘geeze nora, no kidding. everyone knows this.” Well, thanks for indulging me. I do appreciate it.
Anyway, this is only relevant if you’ve ever found yourself staring at your waterbottle after the gym wondering why you feel hungover after your workouts. Try it!
Announcing a new daily news podcast
I’m often asked where I get my news from and I never have a sastisfying answer; I get it everywhere. But what I hear when people ask me this is not where but how. How do I develop my analysis?
That starts with reading the right news, not necessarily the right source. The right news can be located in pretty much any source.
So, this morning, I launched a daily news podcast as part of Sandy and Nora that, in ten minutes, gives people 4-5 stories that they should keep an eye on. On Twitter, I post links to each story for more information.
You can listen to today’s episode here: https://shows.acast.com/sandy-and-nora-talk-politics/episodes/daily-news-jan-9
Starting off the day with a short burst of stories to watch, I hope, gives people an idea of what is going on in the world and what to pay attention to.
Tune in, like, subscribe and share. You can do this through the usual Sandy and Nora feed. And — please let me know what you think.