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I recently purchased a hydracoach intelligent water bottle. I enter in my weight, and it tells me how much I need to drink. Then as the day goes on in calculates how much more I need to drink, and how many ounces I’m averaging an hour. It’s a great motivator.
I have an extra one, and I’m giving it away. Here is how you enter to win.
1. If you have a blog/website, write a quick blurb about the Logical Weight Loss podcast (and be sure to put a link back to the site). Then send me an email (dave “at” logicalloss.com – typed out to avoid spam) with a link to your post.
2. Tweet about the podcast using the hash tag #logicalloss and I will be able to search and see who has tweeted.
On May 15th, I put all the tweets and website posts into a hat and draw a winner.
We all hear “Drink more water.” When I went to find out “WHY” there was a ton of great advice. Here is some of it.
Studies have shown that a low consumption of water allows more fat to be deposited instead of being metabolized into energy. Water helps our kidneys to flush out toxins. The kidneys cannot perform their function properly without water, and this forces the liver to assist with water filtration. The result is interference in the liver’s primary function, which is to burn fat. So drink a sufficient amount of water!
Additional considerations for drinking an adequate amount of water include the following:
• Water assists in absorption, digestion and metabolism of food because our bodies’ proteins and enzymes work more efficiently in diluted solutions
• Drinking lots of water results in more muscle mass because our muscles are composed primarily of water
• Water gives you the energy and hydration needed for exercise
• When adequate amounts of water are not consumed, our bodies hold on to excess water for survival, causing bloating.
Every weight-loss program advocates drinking more water than most of us drink on a regular basis. Why? Many times we are not hungry, but thirsty. Our brain interprets thirst as hunger, and we start grazing for something to satisfy the body’s need. The Mayo Clinic website on the subject of how much water to drink says that we need to replace the fluids our body loses each day. The average output of urine is about 6.3 cups per day for an adult. In addition, other bodily processes such as breathing and sweating account for additional fluid loss. Fluid loss must be replaced on a daily basis. Eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day will cover your body’s need for fluid unless you are perspiring heavily due to exercise or hot weather.
There are some schools of thought that say you need to take your weight and divide it in half. That’s the amount of water (in ounces) that you should be drinking each day. Perhaps you are among those who say they don’t like to drink water. That’s because you have never tried it. Once you start drinking enough water, your body will crave it and will respond positively to being well hydrated.
There is a debate about whether other fluids such as soft drinks, fruit juice and iced teas should be counted as water intake. While they are liquid, anything with caffeine in it acts as a diuretic and further strips water from your system. Fruit juices and tea with sugar-natural or added sugar-are processed by the body as food. The best solution is to drink plain water and drink enough so that you rarely feel thirsty and your urine is only slightly yellow.
The body is 61.8 percent water. The brain is 70 percent water. We have to have water to survive.
Did you know that if you have a mere two-percent drop in the body’s water supply, it can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math and difficulty focusing on smaller print such as that on a computer screen? Mild dehydration is one of the most common causes of fatigue.
In the body, water works to transport nutrients and oxygen all through the body. It functions as a lubricant and a coolant. It is used for respiration, regulating the body’s temperature, increasing metabolism and is necessary for the removal of body wastes.
In addition, water maintains muscle tone, gives us clear and healthy skin and, of course, assists in weight loss. It helps prevent lower back pain, chronic fatigue, headaches and migraines, asthma, allergies, arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, cholesterol, muscle pain, neck pain, joint pain, constipation, ulcers, stomach pain, confusion and disorientation, and there is even some research that ties lack of water intake to Alzheimers’ Disease. More research with regard to the Alzheimers’ connection is needed, but it is something to watch.
Water is a great aid in losing weight because it is calorie-free, has no fat or cholesterol and is low in sodium. Water acts as an appetite suppressant, decreases fat deposits, increases muscle mass, keeps the kidneys functioning properly and minimizes water retention.
Healthy kidneys can filter more than 500 ounces of water a day, but the highest recommended daily allowance in moderate climates is 129 ounces a day. Remember that only about 20 percent of your recommended daily allowance of water comes from other beverages and foods.
Drinking a pint of water will increase metabolism for about a half-hour, causing the body to burn about 25 calories. Researchers believe that the increase in metabolism comes from warming the water in the stomach. That means that if you drink a pint of water before a meal, you will rev up your metabolism as well as make your stomach feel full. It will help you eat less and burn more when you do eat your meal.
A Few Facts About Hydration
Dehydration is easier to prevent than to treat.
Water and the Body: A Job Description
• Transports nutrients and oxygen to cells
• Ensures adequate blood volume
• Protects against heat exhaustion
• Acts as insulation in the cold
• Regulates body temperature
• Cushions joints
• Suppresses appetite
• Assists the body in metabolizing stored fat
• Relieves fluid retention problems
• Reduces sodium buildup in the body
• Helps to maintain proper muscle tone
• Rids the body of waste and toxins
• Relieves constipation
• Helps convert food into energy
• Maintains strength and endurance
• Protects organs
The National Research Council (NRC) uses a sliding scale of 1 milliliter of water for every calorie burned. The NRC says the average man — who burns about 2,900 calories daily — needs 2,900 milliliters, or about 12 cups, of water each day. The average woman — who burns 2,200 calories daily — needs about 2,200 milliliters, or about 9 cups, of water each day. For your own calculations: One measuring cup (8 ounces) of water equals 236 milliliters of water.
Mayo Clinic, Consumer Health Tips and Products, June 25,2002.
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends drinking about 17 ounces of liquid 2 hours before exercise and drinking early and at regular intervals during exercise (5-8 oz every 15-20 minutes).
“Exercise and Fluid Replacement,” ACSM, Vol.28, No.1, 1-1996.
Increasing dehydration, due to inadequate fluid consumption, directly impairs stroke volume, cardiac output, and skin blood flow, which results in larger increases in body core temperature, heart rate, and ratings of the difficulty of exercise.
Med Sci Sports Exerc 1992 Sep;24 (9 Suppl):S324-30.
The average American is chronically dehydrated and consumes only 4.6 servings of water per day.
Survey of 3003 Americans, Nutrition Information Center, New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center (April 14, 1998).
Recent studies have demonstrated that drinking water is, indeed, associated with a substantial physiological response. Drinking 500 ml of water increased metabolic rate by 30%. The increase occurred within 10 min and reached a maximum after 30–40 min. The total thermogenic response was about 100 kJ (which equals about 96 kcal per day or a loss of 5.5 lbs per year).
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 88(12):6015–6019, 03′
Dehydration is one of the ten most common causes for hospitalization among Medicare patients. In 1991, 6.7% (731,695) of Medicare hospitalizations had dehydration listed as a principal diagnosis, costing Medicare more than $446 million in hospital payments. Most importantly, the study revealed that about half of the people over age 65 who were hospitalized with illnesses accompanied by dehydration die within one year of admission.
Am J Public Health 1994 Aug;84(8)1265-9.
