I’m going to need you to go drink some water before you finish reading this.

Okay, welcome back.

Hydration is one of those things that sounds so basic that people either assume they’re already doing it fine, or they just kind of forget about it entirely. And then they wonder why they feel tired, why their workouts feel harder than they should, why they have a headache at 2pm that no amount of coffee is fixing. (Hi, it’s the water. It was always the water. OR it’s the food but let’s go one thing at a time.)

So how much water should you drink?

You might have heard the guideline of drinking 2/3 of your bodyweight in ounces per day. So if you weigh 150 pounds, that’s roughly 100 ounces. It’s a decent starting point, but here’s the thing: two people can weigh exactly the same and have totally different hydration needs based on how much they sweat, how active they are, what the weather’s like, and about a hundred other factors. So while the formula is a useful reference, it’s not the whole story.

The most practical way to actually gauge your hydration? Check your pee. (Stay with me here.)

Pale yellow is the goal. Not clear, that can actually mean you’re overdoing it. Not dark yellow or amber, that’s your body waving a little flag at you. Just a nice, light, pale yellow. It sounds silly but it’s genuinely one of the better real-time indicators of how hydrated you are, because it’s your body giving you direct feedback instead of you doing math.

The good news, and I know some of you needed this permission slip, is that water from other beverages counts toward your intake. Your morning coffee? Counts. Your tea? Counts. Sparkling water, juice, even the water in your food? All counts. The idea that coffee dehydrates you has been pretty thoroughly debunked at normal consumption levels. You don’t have to choose between your cold brew and your hydration goals. 

If you’re working out, it’s also worth knowing that when you sweat you lose electrolytes, specifically sodium, potassium, and magnesium, and those matter for how your muscles function. If you’re training hard or you’re someone who sweats a lot, adding electrolytes into the mix is worth it. Doesn’t have to be just Gatorade (shout out to light blue). Coconut water, an electrolyte packet, or even just a pinch of salt in your water bottle can do the job.

None of this has to be complicated. Get a water bottle you actually like, keep it somewhere visible, drink from it throughout the day, and let your pee tell you how you’re doing.