August 6, 2005

• Water, Water Everywhere....but how much should I drink?       I am on a mission. A mission to get physically fit, lose weight, and just in general be HEALTHY.  I am eating healthier, am embarking on daily exercise, and making myself form healthier habits. Why is this happening you may ask?       Well, there are a variety of reasons. First off, I turned ::gulp:: 39 this year. Yep...just one...more ...year and I will be 40. Now, I don't care that I am turning 40...but I do care that I will be turning 40 and be the heaviest I have ever been in my life, I feel terrible most of the time, and I haven't reached some goals for my health by the time I turned 39, nevertheless 40. The idea of turning 40 and feeling like this, or worse, still wearing a ::gulp:: women's 22, or worse, just rocked me HUGELY. SOMETHING has to change...and now. So, it is.     I am entirely changing what, when, and how I eat. I am doing supplements even more religiously than I have in the past (and trust me, if you know me, I am a vitamin and supplement freak). I am doing protein shakes twice a day, sometimes three times, to grow muscle as I lose fat, and I am going to exercise a minimum of 4 times a week again.      I am also going to drink LOTS of water everyday. No more sugary sodas. They are OUT. Completely. Its hard...I am such a Pepsi junky. Oy. And Mountain Dew. But no more. They shall not pass these lips again. But water ....ahh.....   Water. It is all around us. For most of us in North America, it is as easy to access. A simple walk across the room and we have all the water we can easily drink. But, most of us don't do that. To drink water, it is bottled, iced, filtered, given fancy names like Evian, Aavante, Deer Park. I know personally, because we have an older home with iron pipes, I can't STAND the taste of our water. I want to put a filter on the kitchen faucet, and I have a good Amway one, but it needs a new filter insert which hasn't been in the budget. Gotta get that. But in the meanwhile, we buy bottled water. Deer Park is our current favorite.  Some brands taste like icky plastic...some are ridiculously expensive. Deer Park is median in price, readily available, and fits the bill in the taste department.   Water is sooo necessary to the body. Most of us get our liquid from food, sodas, teas, fruit drinks, etc. and set aside the idea of drinking just water with a shrug and pass it by. The thing is, anytime we drink something other than water, our bodies have to work hard to get the water out of what we drink. The kidneys have to work harder, fat isn't washed out of the system as efficiently, and the body just doesn't work as well as it should when it is denied water. Think of our bodies as an engine in which water is the oil that keeps all the systems cooled down and lubricated so they can do their jobs. Let's consider a few things: ~ water makes up as much as 60% of our body's weight ~every system in the body depends on water to function properly ~mild dehydration — as little as a 1 percent to 2 percent loss of your body weight — can sap your energy and lead to feeling dog tired   Mild dehydration can occur when the body is down on water by as little as 1 or 2 percent of its body weight. Which means, in essence, the more you weigh, the more water you should drink to maintain healthy body systems. Excessive thirst, fatigue, headache, dry mouth, infrequent urination, muscle weakness, dizziness, lightheadness....these are just a few of the symptoms of dehydration. By the time you have reached the point of experiencing one or more of these symptoms your body is already in distress and NEEDS WATER NOW. Next time you have a headache coming on, try water loading and wait on reaching for the pain meds.   Ok, so water is important, but how much is really necessary for good health? Well, it depends. lol Great answer hm?   The normal, healthy adult loses between 1.5 and 2 liters of water a day through perspiration, exhalation, urination, etc. Through food you usually get about 20% of what your body requires in water intake...so by drinking 8 cups, or 2 liters of water a day, you are doing good to your body.        If you exercise, drinking water before exercising will give you what your body needs for endurance: 1 to 2 cups of water depending on whether you are doing an endurance exercise or a short bout of exercise. During exercise you should drink to replace additional fluids replaced by perspiring, and if you work really hard a sports drink may be necessary to replace the sodium lost in hard exercise.    If it is extremely hot, you need to increase your water intake to replace what your body has lost through the natural process of, again, sweating! As good as that sweet, sugary drink is when you are thirsty, you are feeding your taste buds and not the rest of your body. Drinks loaded with caffeine and sugar, or caffeine and artificial sweeteners, or just artificial sweeteners, put a strain on the kidneys as they work to remove the things your body DOESN'T need from what you have drunk. Think water first: treat drinks second.   Hey I love sweet sugary drinks too....but water is the best!   Of course, if you are pregnant or breast feeding, you need to up your water intake. When someone else is dependent on your for their water and beverage, you need to up that water intake! The Institute of Medicine recommends pregnant women drink 2.3 liters of water a day (about 10 cups), and nursing women drink 3.1 liters (about 13 cups) of water a day. So let's go moms...drink drink drink! ;o)   So anywho... water.. what's the big deal? Well, basically, most of us want to be fit and/or lose weight...we don't want headaches...we want to feel good and have energy. If, as they say, most Americans walk around dehydrated, that could be WHY we don't feel that great. We are a nation of pill poppers, but not a nation of water drinkers. Water is cheaper than pills....its easier on the liver and brain, no side effects unless you drink some from Mexico, so why don't we DO it.   Ok...you don't like the taste of it, you say? So add a slice of lime, orange, lemon or grapefruit. Do it with LOTS of ice. Put it in the freezer til it has ice in it *my favorite method* and drink it down! Get in a minimum of 8 cups a day of just regular water...join me in my quest to FEEL better! How's this for a challenge... I will do a daily check in... keep an update on my water intake. I challenge YOU to get in your minimum of 8 cups of water a day. Cold...room temp...half frozen...over ice...whatever it takes. Drink one cup an hour...but drink that water! Here's to less headaches...better health...less pills...less muscle aches and MORE ENERGY! Do this with me for a month and see if you don't feel better.   Like the dude that sells the gazelles in the infomercials says "Comon...you can doooittttt!"                                                                                                         ~Kathie

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