Water is one of the best ways to stay hydrated. And, staying hydrated is important to help your body work efficiently, to perform best in your workouts, and to help you lose weight. In fact, did you know that many times that you feel hungry you’re actually thirsty?
Many of us don't consistently get enough water each day. It's important for our bodies to be properly hydrated for many reasons. One of those reasons is that it helps our bodies to function well, helps our skin, and the biggest reason for us is that when we're dehydrated, our bodies hold on to the water it has, causing water retention, making the number on the scale higher. When we're properly hydrated, that excess water is flushed out of our systems. Proper hydration also helps prevent constipation--along with fibre.
So this challenge is to drink at least 1oz (29.5735ml) of water for every 2lbs of your weight.
For those of you doing metric, just round down to the nearest whole number. For example, if you weigh 200 lbs you divide it by 2, giving you 100.
100 X 29.5735= 2,957.35. So you'd drop off the .35 and drink 2,957ml of water per day.
Or, 1kg= 32.53ml of water.
1. Take your body weight
Example: 200 lbs
2. Divide it by 2
Example: 200 lbs/2 = 100
3. This is the quantity of fluid ounces to aim for = 100 Ounces
4. Drink this amount of water daily!
Your body is 60% water. All your bodily functions occur in water or use water to facilitate their occurrence. It is the most basic of all nutrients. If you ingest nothing at all, it is the lack of water that will lead to your demise most quickly.
We all know that water is important, but can it help you lose weight? It turns out that the answer is yes, but it may not be the big magic bullet that you're hoping for. Water facilitates weight loss in lots of little, common sense ways.
If you're drinking more water, chances are you're drinking fewer caloric beverages. Sugary drinks like sodas and juices are loaded with empty calories. When you're trying to lose weight, it's best to minimize the calories you get from drinking, so you can fill up on nutritious food instead. There is a recent study showing that drinking water with a meal instead of a beverage sweetened with sugar significantly decreases the total caloric intake of the meal.1
Drinking water acts as an appetite suppressant. If you drink a glass or two before meals, you will feel less hungry and require less food to feel full. In a clinical study, participants who drank 2 cups of water before meals lost 4.5 more pounds after 12 weeks than those who did not.2
Water keeps your body running smoothly. When you don't get enough, your body can respond by becoming tired and even achy. Increasing your water intake helps keep you hydrated, so you feel up to getting the physical activity you need to lose weight and keep it off.
There are also a couple of physiological ways that increased water intake can effect weight loss.
While you're losing weight, your liver processes and prepares to excrete waste created by the break down of fat cells. Your kidneys are busy cleaning out other toxins. When your kidneys don't get enough water, they can't perform their function efficiently and the liver needs to step in and help. If the liver is forced to help the kidneys, it can't efficiently metabolize fat. Increasing your water intake allows the kidneys to function properly, which in turn leaves the liver available to mobilize fat.3
When you don't take in enough water, your body holds onto (retains) what it has, not knowing when and if it will be replenished. When you increase your water intake and limit your salt consumption, your system returns to balance, lets go of the retained water, and you become less bloated.4
Beyond that, the subject of how water helps you lose weight gets a little controversial. There have been studies trying to determine whether or not water increases your metabolism, but the results so far are fairly inconclusive.
A study done in Germany found that drinking water increased resting metabolism by 30%. They attributed some of that increase to the energy it takes to warm the water to body temperature, while they hypothesized that the rest of the increase was due to increased metabolism of fats and carbohydrates.5 The same team later repeated their results in a subsequent study.6 But other studies, like this one done in Switzerland, found that water had no effect on metabolism other than the small amount of energy expenditure required to warm the water to body temperature.7
Both studies were small in scale, and therefore, neither is conclusive. It would appear that a larger study of the effects of water on metabolism is necessary in order for the scientific community to come to agreement on the truth of this matter.
There is no question that drinking water is healthy and an important part of any weight loss program. It keeps your bodily systems functioning effectively, it replaces high calorie drinks with a calorie-free option, and it keeps you hydrated to ward off headaches and fatigue. In short, while it may not be the miracle weight loss product you were hoping for, drinking more water, in combination with sensible eating habits and physical activity, will most certainly help you lose weight.
Here are 10 refreshing recipes to flavor your water.
1. Blackberry Mojito Water
Calories: 5
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
½ cup fresh blackberries
3 slices fresh lime
4 fresh mint leaves
1¼ cups cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in a tall glass. Set aside.
2. Combine blackberries, lime, and mint in a large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Add water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
2. Orange Vanilla-Cinnamon Water
Calories: 3
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
3 slices fresh orange
¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine orange, vanilla, and cinnamon stick in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
3. Blueberry Vanilla-Lime
Calories: 5
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
½ cup blueberries
3 slices fresh lime
¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine blueberries, lime, and vanilla in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
4. Minty Watermelon-Lime Water
Calories: 6
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
½ cup diced watermelon
3 slices fresh lime
4 fresh mint leaves
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine watermelon, lime, and mint in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
5. Honeydew-Basil Water
Calories: 8
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
½ cup diced honeydew melon
4 fresh basil leaves
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine honeydew melon and basil large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
6. Tropical Lime Water
Calories: 3
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
¼ cup diced pineapple
¼ cup diced fresh mango
3 slices fresh lime
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine pineapple, mango, and lime in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
7. Rosemary-Grapefruit Water
Calories: 2
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
3 slices fresh grapefruit
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine grapefruit and rosemary in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
8. Cucumber-Anise Water
Calories: 1
Ingredients:
1¼ cup water
1 Tbsp. anise seeds or 3 anise star pods
1 cup ice
4 slices fresh cucumber
Preparation:
1. Combine water and anise seeds in small saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and steep for 10 minutes. Cool completely in refrigerator.
2. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
3. Place anise mixture into cocktail shaker; add cucumbers.
4. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler; cover and shake.
5. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
9. Minty Citrus-Ginger Water
Calories: 3
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
2 slices fresh orange
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
4 fresh mint leaves
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine orange, ginger, and mint in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
10. Strawberry-Kiwi Water
Calories: 5
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
½ cup chopped fresh strawberries
1 medium kiwifruit, peeled, chopped
1¼ cups cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in a tall glass. Set aside.
2. Combine strawberries and kiwi in a large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Add water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
NB EDITED BY OMEGA ON 26/03/2017 AS THE CALCULATION WAS DANGEROUSLY WRONG PLUS GOOD ARTICLE ADDED
Many of us don't consistently get enough water each day. It's important for our bodies to be properly hydrated for many reasons. One of those reasons is that it helps our bodies to function well, helps our skin, and the biggest reason for us is that when we're dehydrated, our bodies hold on to the water it has, causing water retention, making the number on the scale higher. When we're properly hydrated, that excess water is flushed out of our systems. Proper hydration also helps prevent constipation--along with fibre.
So this challenge is to drink at least 1oz (29.5735ml) of water for every 2lbs of your weight.
For those of you doing metric, just round down to the nearest whole number. For example, if you weigh 200 lbs you divide it by 2, giving you 100.
100 X 29.5735= 2,957.35. So you'd drop off the .35 and drink 2,957ml of water per day.
Or, 1kg= 32.53ml of water.
1. Take your body weight
Example: 200 lbs
2. Divide it by 2
Example: 200 lbs/2 = 100
3. This is the quantity of fluid ounces to aim for = 100 Ounces
4. Drink this amount of water daily!
Your body is 60% water. All your bodily functions occur in water or use water to facilitate their occurrence. It is the most basic of all nutrients. If you ingest nothing at all, it is the lack of water that will lead to your demise most quickly.
We all know that water is important, but can it help you lose weight? It turns out that the answer is yes, but it may not be the big magic bullet that you're hoping for. Water facilitates weight loss in lots of little, common sense ways.
If you're drinking more water, chances are you're drinking fewer caloric beverages. Sugary drinks like sodas and juices are loaded with empty calories. When you're trying to lose weight, it's best to minimize the calories you get from drinking, so you can fill up on nutritious food instead. There is a recent study showing that drinking water with a meal instead of a beverage sweetened with sugar significantly decreases the total caloric intake of the meal.1
Drinking water acts as an appetite suppressant. If you drink a glass or two before meals, you will feel less hungry and require less food to feel full. In a clinical study, participants who drank 2 cups of water before meals lost 4.5 more pounds after 12 weeks than those who did not.2
Water keeps your body running smoothly. When you don't get enough, your body can respond by becoming tired and even achy. Increasing your water intake helps keep you hydrated, so you feel up to getting the physical activity you need to lose weight and keep it off.
There are also a couple of physiological ways that increased water intake can effect weight loss.
While you're losing weight, your liver processes and prepares to excrete waste created by the break down of fat cells. Your kidneys are busy cleaning out other toxins. When your kidneys don't get enough water, they can't perform their function efficiently and the liver needs to step in and help. If the liver is forced to help the kidneys, it can't efficiently metabolize fat. Increasing your water intake allows the kidneys to function properly, which in turn leaves the liver available to mobilize fat.3
When you don't take in enough water, your body holds onto (retains) what it has, not knowing when and if it will be replenished. When you increase your water intake and limit your salt consumption, your system returns to balance, lets go of the retained water, and you become less bloated.4
Beyond that, the subject of how water helps you lose weight gets a little controversial. There have been studies trying to determine whether or not water increases your metabolism, but the results so far are fairly inconclusive.
A study done in Germany found that drinking water increased resting metabolism by 30%. They attributed some of that increase to the energy it takes to warm the water to body temperature, while they hypothesized that the rest of the increase was due to increased metabolism of fats and carbohydrates.5 The same team later repeated their results in a subsequent study.6 But other studies, like this one done in Switzerland, found that water had no effect on metabolism other than the small amount of energy expenditure required to warm the water to body temperature.7
Both studies were small in scale, and therefore, neither is conclusive. It would appear that a larger study of the effects of water on metabolism is necessary in order for the scientific community to come to agreement on the truth of this matter.
There is no question that drinking water is healthy and an important part of any weight loss program. It keeps your bodily systems functioning effectively, it replaces high calorie drinks with a calorie-free option, and it keeps you hydrated to ward off headaches and fatigue. In short, while it may not be the miracle weight loss product you were hoping for, drinking more water, in combination with sensible eating habits and physical activity, will most certainly help you lose weight.
Here are 10 refreshing recipes to flavor your water.
1. Blackberry Mojito Water
Calories: 5
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
½ cup fresh blackberries
3 slices fresh lime
4 fresh mint leaves
1¼ cups cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in a tall glass. Set aside.
2. Combine blackberries, lime, and mint in a large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Add water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
2. Orange Vanilla-Cinnamon Water
Calories: 3
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
3 slices fresh orange
¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine orange, vanilla, and cinnamon stick in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
3. Blueberry Vanilla-Lime
Calories: 5
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
½ cup blueberries
3 slices fresh lime
¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine blueberries, lime, and vanilla in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
4. Minty Watermelon-Lime Water
Calories: 6
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
½ cup diced watermelon
3 slices fresh lime
4 fresh mint leaves
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine watermelon, lime, and mint in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
5. Honeydew-Basil Water
Calories: 8
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
½ cup diced honeydew melon
4 fresh basil leaves
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine honeydew melon and basil large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
6. Tropical Lime Water
Calories: 3
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
¼ cup diced pineapple
¼ cup diced fresh mango
3 slices fresh lime
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine pineapple, mango, and lime in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
7. Rosemary-Grapefruit Water
Calories: 2
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
3 slices fresh grapefruit
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine grapefruit and rosemary in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
8. Cucumber-Anise Water
Calories: 1
Ingredients:
1¼ cup water
1 Tbsp. anise seeds or 3 anise star pods
1 cup ice
4 slices fresh cucumber
Preparation:
1. Combine water and anise seeds in small saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and steep for 10 minutes. Cool completely in refrigerator.
2. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
3. Place anise mixture into cocktail shaker; add cucumbers.
4. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler; cover and shake.
5. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
9. Minty Citrus-Ginger Water
Calories: 3
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
2 slices fresh orange
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
4 fresh mint leaves
1¼ cup cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in tall glass; set aside.
2. Combine orange, ginger, and mint in large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Stir in water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
10. Strawberry-Kiwi Water
Calories: 5
Ingredients:
1 cup ice
½ cup chopped fresh strawberries
1 medium kiwifruit, peeled, chopped
1¼ cups cold water
Preparation:
1. Place ice in a tall glass. Set aside.
2. Combine strawberries and kiwi in a large cocktail shaker. Mash well with back of a wooden spoon or muddler.
3. Add water; cover and shake.
4. Strain into ice-filled glass and enjoy.
NB EDITED BY OMEGA ON 26/03/2017 AS THE CALCULATION WAS DANGEROUSLY WRONG PLUS GOOD ARTICLE ADDED
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