To Lose Weight – Drink More Water!

Now that the warm weather months are here many of us are outdoors enjoying recreational activities or just sipping iced tea or cold marguerites.

But summer heat, exercise, caffeinated beverages and alcohol all increase the risk of dehydration. And dehydration can not only increase the risk of life-threatening emergencies like heat exhaustion and heat stroke, it can also lead to a multitude of other problems – including weight gain!

How Water Affects Weight.

Water, as we all know, is essential for life. Water comprises almost 97% of the molecular weight of our bodies and is an involved in almost every one of its metabolic processes. As a result, any decrease in your body’s water content can affect how you feel and perform.

It can also thwart your weight loss efforts.

That’s because even a mild dehydration will slow your metabolic rate or the rate at which your body burns calories. Dehydration is also the number one cause of daytime fatigue. Fatigue, in turn, leads to reduce activity, once again hampering weight loss. And, since many people mistake the sensation of thirst for hunger, dehydration can also lead to overeating.

Fortunately you can reverse all this – and put yourself back on the weight loss track - simply by increasing your water intake. Studies have shown, for example, that drinking just one glass of water can satisfy late night hunger pangs and reduced night time snacking.

How Much Is Enough?

To avoid dehydration, experts advise that you drink half your body weight in pounds in ounces of water each day. So, for example, if you weigh 140 pounds you should be drinking 70 ounces or about nine cups of water a day. And you’ll need to drink even more in hot environments, with exercise and following alcohol and caffeine consumption since these things increase your body’s water loss.

While this may seem like mission impossible, particularly if you are one of the millions of Americans who rarely drink water, it’s not really as difficult as it sounds. The trick is to make a conscious effort to drink water throughout the day even when you do not feel thirsty. Here are a few tips to get you started.

•Make water your primary beverage. Drink it with all of your meals and snacks and in place of sodas and other beverages.

•Keep a water bottle as a constant companion. Carry it with you everywhere.

•For variety, use sparkling water and fruit-flavored waters or occasionally squeeze the juice of a lemon or lime into your regular water.

•Consider purchasing a water cooler/purification system for your home. If you don’t want to invest in an industrial–sized cooler, you may want to check out Cuisinart’s table-top model. It uses plain tap water, filters it and then dispenses it as either hot, cold or room temperature with the touch of a button.

Follow these steps and you’ll be well on your way to a healthier – and leaner -- body.

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