Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I spent all of Saturday at a metal show in Tampa. Lots of bands: Machine Head, Kingdom of Sorrow, The Athiarchists, and finishing up with Megadeth, Godsmack & Disturbed. Other bands there I wasn't interested in, but there were two outdoor stages and a main stage. Needless to say it was hot & humid as hell. I came prepared, however, with a large bag of jerky, trail mix, baked veg chips, dark chocolate, dried apples and water. I also discovered that sharing beef jerky is a great way to make new friends, especially with the security guards, lol.

I have never sweated so much in my life. Being surrounded by huge sweaty guys, no breeze and being next to the pit, the sweat was just dripping down my arms and stomach. Yet despite all of the water I drank that day (probably a gallon's worth--16oz bottle on the way there, 1.5L bottle, 2-20oz. bottles after I finished the 1.5L, and another 16oz when I got home), I only had to pee twice, and even then it wasn't so much of an urge as it was "better to go in between bands so I don't miss anything". And when I did go pee, the urine wasn't dark at all (which I know would indicate dehydration). I could probably have gone all day without going pee.

Has anyone ever experienced this? I would think I must have been doing something right by eating salty foods, and drinking lots of water to keep my electrolytes in balance. I didn't get any headaches or cramping, aside from wearing my heavy tactical boots in place of my usual Vibrams (never doing that again! god my feet were killing me!).

flag	asked Aug 14 2011 at 17:22 Nemesis 11.4k●1●9●40

I used to have that happen pretty often back when I worked full time outside in the summer as a gardener. I drank at least a gallon to 1 1/2 per day. I don't know what the long term effects would be, but I worked hard outside for 10 years. – Karen Aug 14 2011 at 17:51

Atkins-witha-loincloth · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-14 18:44:45Z UTC

It's common. The heat led to the sweating which greatly increased what is called your insensible water/fluid loss. It is not a problem at all, unless you are not drinking enough to cover your increased fluid needs. And over an extended time, you'd need to get some electrolytes in.

In healhcare, with critically ill patients, insensible water loss is estimated with various tools, or via descriptors, such as: 103 temp, shaking chills, profuse sweating, soaked bedding ( top and undersheet) x3 in 8 hour shift. Then measured intake and output is given. In this situation, the urine output might look quite alot less than the amount normally expected, but would be judged to be appropriate due to the great increase in insensible water loss.

You see this all the time in distance runners, for instance. They are being rehydrated along the way, and yet no one is stopping for a potty break.

I live in the deep south and do lots of yard/plant work. With the weather we've been having (heat indexes of 111-120!) I am drenched in no time flat. Sometimes I may work for 3 hours with short rest periods , pouring sweat and drinking HUGE amounts of water to cool off. I don't pee most of that water out - I sweat it out and when I do urinate later, given good intake, my urine is not concentrated. I salt my food adequately and take in enough potassium, so that is never a worry.

Look up "insensible fluid (or water) loss" for more info.

Profuse sweating in place of urinating on a hot day?

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