Water is such an important part of our lives and the role it plays in our body, every aspect of our body, is not to be underestimated. Because water is such a critical factor, wouldn’t it be safe to assume that the quality of that water is just as important? Water is life and without it we would dry up like prunes. I give out 3 weight loss tips each Friday which allow you the reader to get a 3 day jump on those who wait until Monday to start. I say take action, begin now. Here are 3 weight loss tips for today, continuing our theme of the importance of water in our life.
We can all agree that we need more water every day. Most people are dehydrated and it’s easy to see why they gain weight when they first switch to a whole food eating program. They body is better nourished, electrolytes get balanced and your body begins to absorb more life giving water. With that water absorption comes weight and it’s why I tell people “congratulations” when they tell me they’ve gained weight after beginning to eat better. Exercise depletes the body of both water and electrolyes through sweat. If you exercise, you should be sipping more water each and every set to replace it. If not, cramps can occur. I’d like to share with you 3 advantages to drinking more water to improve all areas of your life, health and weight loss.
Flush Toxins – Water helps remove toxins from the body, in particular from the digestive tract. Our kidney system is unique in its filtering capabilities and totally dependent upon water in order for it to work. Daily fluid intake is essential to its efficient operation, particularly because there is some decrease in function with age. Water helps get rid of excess nitrogen, urea, and ketones, so it is particularly important when following a high protein diet. You need even more water to help your kidneys do their work if you’re eating big to gain weight.
Burn More Fat – Increased water consumption can help you control weight by preventing you from confusing hunger with thirst. Water will also keep your body systems, including metabolism and digestion, working properly and give you the energy (and hydration) necessary for exercise.
Add a squeeze of lemon or lime to water – Warm water with the juice of 1 lemon taken in the morning on an empty stomach is a great liver detoxifier, and has been shown to aid in weight loss.
Here are tips on how to drink more water , part of an ongoing series due to it’s importance.
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I have been doing some research on the benefits of water and your article is spot on. Water helps your body in so many different ways it is amazing. However, I was having a hard time finding a rock solid answer for how much I should be consuming a day. Here is a helpful article I recently read on CNN that answered many of the questions I had about how much water one needs to consume.
How much water do you need?
Every day you lose water through your breath, perspiration, urine and bowel movements. For your body to function properly, you must replenish its water supply by consuming beverages and foods that contain water.
A couple of approaches attempt to approximate water needs for the average, healthy adult living in a temperate climate.
Replacement approach. The average urine output for adults is 1.5 liters a day. You lose close to an additional liter of water a day through breathing, sweating and bowel movements. Food usually accounts for 20 percent of your total fluid intake, so if you consume 2 liters of water or other beverages a day (a little more than 8 cups) along with your normal diet, you will typically replace the lost fluids.
Dietary recommendations. The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3.0 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.
Even apart from the above approaches, it is generally the case that if you drink enough fluid so that you rarely feel thirsty and produce between one and two liters of colorless or slightly yellow urine a day, your fluid intake is probably adequate.
Factors that influence water needs
You may need to modify your total fluid intake depending on how active you are, the climate you live in, your health status, and if you’re pregnant or breast-feeding.
Exercise. The more you exercise, the more fluid you’ll need to keep your body hydrated. An extra 1 or 2 cups of water should suffice for short bouts of exercise, but intense exercise lasting more than an hour (for example, running a marathon) requires additional fluid. How much additional fluid is needed depends on how much you sweat during the exercise, but 13 to26 ounces (or about 2 to 3 cups) an hour will generally be adequate, unless the weather is exceptionally warm.
During long bouts of intense exercise, it’s best to use a sports drink that contains sodium, as this will help replace sodium lost in sweat and reduce the chances of developing hyponatremia, which can be life-threatening. Fluid also should be replaced after exercise. Drinking 16 ounces of fluid per pound of body weight lost during exercise is recommended.
Environment. Hot or humid weather can make you sweat and requires additional intake of fluid. Heated indoor air also can cause your skin to lose moisture during wintertime. Further, altitudes greater than 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) may trigger increased urination and more rapid breathing, which use up more of your fluid reserves.
Illnesses or health conditions. Signs of illnesses, such as fever, vomiting and diarrhea, cause your body to lose additional fluids. In these cases you should drink more water and may even need oral rehydration solutions, such as Gatorade, Powerade or Ceralyte. Certain conditions, including bladder infections or urinary tract stones, also require increased water intake. On the other hand, certain conditions such as heart failure and some types of kidney, liver and adrenal diseases may impair excretion of water and even require that you limit your fluid intake.
Pregnancy or breast-feeding. Women who are expecting or breast-feeding need additional fluids to stay hydrated. Large amounts of fluid are lost especially when nursing. The Institute of Medicine recommends that pregnant women drink 2.4 liters (about 10 cups) of fluids daily and women who breast-feed consume 3.0 liters (about 12.5 cups) of fluids a day.
I went from drinking Brita filtered tap water to purchasing Reverse Osmosis water. I found I was always really thirsty on the Reverse Osmosis water…I would be drinking over 4L a day of the Reverse Osmosis water and still thirsty.
On the advice of another contributor of this blog, I have switched to Steam Distilled water (instead of Reverse Osmosis water) and my thirst has changed. It is hard to describe. I get a mild thirst but nothing like when I was drinking Reverse Osmosis water. And I require less Steam Distilled water during the day (maybe a little over 2L) to quench my thirst…I feel thirsty less often and I am drinking less Steam Distilled water than I was Reverse Osmosis.
I have found it quite interesting how my body reacts differently to different types of filtered water. I will be staying with Steam Distilled for a long time…
Michele, I just noticed the same thing since switching to distilled water. I’m drinking less as I’m not as thirsty anymore.
Distilled water has found a place in my daily program again
also, Freebee, I don’t allow keyword phrases as your name linking to the websites. Could you please leave another comment with your name and I’ll put your real name in there. This is a real blog, with real contributors creating a real community. I’ll be happy to link to you using your name, not a keyword phrase