How Much Water to Drink in a Day?
Drinking enough water can affect everything from our energy levels and weight and digestive processes, to skin and muscle tone. Water has zero calories, it fills you up, raises your metabolism and even helps you burn excess body fat. So how much water to drink in a day to make sure you are not dehydrated?
The Why of Water: Digging Deeper Into an Overlooked Answer to Many Health Concerns
About a year ago, I went through a couple weeks where I was simply dragging. I didn’t feel sick, I wasn’t short on sleep, I was just dragging and abnormally sore for not having done any dramatic workouts. I should have figured it out sooner – the weather had been chilly and my routine was off because of a large project at work. Then it hit me – Water! I had been so distracted with changes and work that my bare minimum gallon a day was far from being achieved. Within a day, I felt better than great! It was a dramatic portrayal for me of how water is the ‘life blood’ of our existence. At a basic level, our body is composed largely of water and needs to maintain that, but at a molecular level, it expels toxins and even builds muscles! This is what inspired me to write this post.
The Power of Water
Water is one of the most important components of a successful diet and can help you lose weight naturally and effectively. It is a natural appetite suppressant, it metabolizes stored fat and it has no calories, fat cholesterol and is low in sodium. Furthermore, low water intake increases the body’s fat deposits, while a high water intake reduces fat deposits. Without water, the body will start to store it leading to water retention, which adds extra weight. Migraines and constipation are also linked to a lack of water.
Despite water’s dietary powers, studies show that more than 75% of the population is dehydrated. Only drinking water when you are thirsty is dangerous since thirst is an early warning sign of dehydration.
How much water should I drink according to my weight?
Doctors recommend that people drink half their body weight in ounces of water every day – which translates to roughly 8 cups of water each day. Don’t be fooled, coffee and tea may have a water base, but are actually diuretics and suck the body’s water supply dry. For each cup of coffee, tea or soda consumed, it is necessary to add an extra glass of water to daily intake in order to make up the difference. It’s hard to be water conscious all the time, especially when balancing work, a family, etc. I have complied some tips on how to increase water uptake without the hassle. According to many studies increasing water intake improvise diet plans; water is a great diet tool.
Tips to Getting your Daily Dose of Water
Use a water tracker, which helps you keep track of how much water drink during the day. By using a water tracker you can set water goals for yourself and see for yourself just how water affects your workouts.
Drink water throughout the day. Carry a reusable water bottle with you so you can refill it periodically throughout the day. To motivate yourself, get a bottle with ounce markers and set goals for how much you will finish an hour. Or set a water drinking routine. Set times to drink water, with meals, while you make dinner, before you brush your teeth. When you plug water into your routine, you will become accustomed to drinking water daily. Chugging water isn’t effective, as only a small bit is absorbed and the runs through your system. Drink water in sips throughout the entire day maximizes absorption.
Add flavor to your water. There are many ways to make your water more interesting. Add low or non-caloric flavoring to water to help satisfy your sweet tooth. Or, create your own flavored water by adding fruit slices such as lime, lemon or orange. If you are hosting a dinner, try freezing chunks of fresh fruit in ice cubes that you can then use to flavor your water pitcher.
Water is a crucial part of maintaining any diet. It has many diet benefits and also can improve the way you feel every day. By adding water to your everyday routine you can lose weight more effectively and improve your health.