What's the deal with WATER?

When I first started this plan, I was dismayed (but not surprised) to learn that I ‘had’ to drink 64 ozs. of water a day.

I mean, this was nothing new…especially for someone who’d tried every diet under the sun, after all most of them called for lots of water…but …sheesh…how to get it all IN?

After all, I was a diet soda freak! I loved the stuff!  Diet coke was my best friend. I grew UP with diet soda. I started with TAB! 

But I did it…I concentrated on getting it in, and I did it…especially those first couple of weeks when I thought I was going to DIE of starvation (LOL). It helped, too…with the headaches getting into ketosis, etc.

But after awhile…well…you sort of get out of the habit. It’s easy to get lazy about our water. After all, there are so many more FUN things to drink!

Crystal Light, MIO, Sparkling Water, diet soda, etc.

Well…the diet soda I gave up finally (which isn’t absolutely necessary so I won’t lecture you about it if you just started this program…but I WILL ask you, ‘Does it make you hungrier?’ because it sure did for me! 

PLUS… all those chemicals…ugh…who needs ‘em?

So eventually I DID stop. It wasn’t easy, and I had to pour it all down the drain, I was VERY very addicted to the stuff. I tried just ‘cutting back’ but that never lasted for long. So I had to make it rule NEVER to bring it into my house!

But there are still plenty of non-pure water drinks I love….blueberry MIO, Strawberry Kiwi Sparkling water and Margarita Crystal Light, to name a few.

BUT … they aren’t pure WATER. And we still NEED pure water.

I looked it up….we all know how water can benefit us with hunger issues, but there are lots of other benefits!

Here’s what water can do for you!

- Water can help you lose MORE weight. Because your body needs it to flush out the fat!

- Water can help avoid headaches

- Water helps your elimination process (‘nuf said)

- Water helps your skin look better! It can make you look YOUNGER. Who doesn’t want that?  It also helps with acne problems…the more water the better).

- Water prevents kidney stones

- Water helps with ENERGY  (Really! It can help with those ‘afternoon blahs’ when you just want to lie down and take a NAP….try drinking more water at lunch)

Bottom line, it is ESSENTIAL to your success!

Now, let's cover a couple other issues that come up about water all the time.

First, there are people out there that get scared...."What about TOO MUCH water? I heard I could DIE!" 

Here's what Nutrition Support said about that...and I think it makes perfect sense:

"Technically there are situations where a person can drink "too much water." Over hydration occurs when the body takes in more water than it excretes and its normal sodium level is diluted. This can result in digestive problems, behavioral changes, brain damage, seizures, or coma. An adult whose heart, kidneys, and pituitary gland are functioning properly would have to drink more than two gallons of water, or 256 ounces, a day to develop water intoxication. Eating a salty food would negate the result. Drinking too much water rarely causes over hydration when the body's systems are working normally. People with heart, kidney, or liver disease are more likely to develop over hydration because their kidneys are unable to excrete water normally. It may be necessary for people with these disorders to limit the amount of water they drink and/or adjust the amount of salt in their diets. Water intoxication can be fatal, but this outcome is extremely rare.
Medifast recommends that you drink at least 64 ounces of water each day while on the 5 & 1 Plan and a greater quantity if you exercise frequently or live in a warm climate. I hope that helps to clarify without scaring you away from water. Water is vital to your success on the program.

So…bottom line, the next time someone tells you (usually a well-meaning friend or family member) that you're "drinking too much water"...(my mother follows this with "you will float away", which always cracks me up....yeah, RIGHT!)...tell them it's really really HARD to drink too much water.

256 ounces is a LOT of water. And again, if there is any sodium in your diet, guess what? It 'negates' that..meaning you'd need to drink even MORE.

Secondly, a lot of folks get hung up on the issue of "1/2 your body weight" versus "64 ozs."....because a lot of diets out there recommend 1/2 your body weight.

Again, per Nutrition Support? 64 ozs. is the MINIMUM. If you want to drink half your body weight go right ahead! You won't have to worry about exceeding the MAXIMUM of 256 ounce because you would have to weigh OVER 500 POUNDS to exceed that, at half your body weight.

I SWEAR by water now. In my opinion, God gave us water for a reason…it’s nature’s BEST drink for us, by far.

And I really did find that on weeks when I didn't get all my water in, my weight loss wasn't as good and I just wasn't feeling as well. I was also 'starving' all the time. I needed a nice full belly! And it didn't have to be full of food....water would do nicely!

Plus it's so easy to confuse 'hungry' with 'thirsty'. So whenever I got hungry I would check my water intake, and sure enough...I wasn't drinking enough water that day! Ooops...time to step it up!

How to get your water in?

OK, so it's important. We agree on that. But....HOW to do it?

First of all, it can be reassuring to realize that if you haven't been drinking it a whole lot...and if you don't like the taste, it WILL grow on you. Your brain starts to put 2+2 together, subconsciously, and realizes that you just ‘feel better’ and perform better when you’re fully hydrated.

Try filling a big container (preferably 64 ozs.) and fill it with cold, clear tap water every morning. And make it YOUR GOAL to finish that by the end of the day.  Have that container with you at all times. Take it to work...along with a couple of large plastic/paper cups (you can throw them away if they get dirty, and no harm done if you lose them). Keep refilling your paper cup from the jug and keep sipping it throughout the day.

If you like other OP drinks such as diet soda, Crystal Light, Sparkling Water, those kinds of things, ALLOW yourself them...but ONLY IF you're finished your PLAIN water first. Plain water really is the best for you. Do that first. THEN you can have the 'fun stuff'.

You can GET water anywhere. There's usually a bathroom....and where there's a bathroom, there's a sink, and where there's a sink, you can refill your water bottle. No problem.

For 'on the go' in the car, etc. buy yourself a bottle of Propel or other no-cal water, finish it, then refill it with cold pure tap water, and KEEP refilling it. Those propel bottles (to be honest, MOST water bottles nowadays) fit perfectly into the cup holders of most vehicles, so it's easy to take with you. My car has two cup holders...and I always have both of them occupied with my Propel bottles. One I'm working on, one's a 'spare' just in case. I also have about 3 MORE bottles of water on the floor behind my seat, filled up, again, just in case I run out.

GET USED TO going to the bathroom....everywhere. It comes with the territory. And listen...as you whine about this (LOL....)...because I whined, believe me...but bottom line, ask yourself,
"Would I rather be overweight, or running to the bathroom all the time?"
('nuf said, right?) LOL...

And GET USED TO getting up in the middle of the night...MULTIPLE times if necessary...to pee. Again, it's a question of priorities. For me, it's NO CONTEST. I don't care about getting up in the middle of the night....I've gotten used to it and it doesn't bother me. I can get to the bathroom and back to bed in less than 5 minutes, in total darkness (practice makes perfect LOL!) And you know what? It’s OK!

I'd rather do this than be a size 24W again. ANY day of the week!

When you sit down to dinner, ALWAYS always always have a glass of water with your meal. ANY meal...even breakfast...have a glass of water. You don't necessarily have to finish it (although it's a great idea to fill you up ahead of time...especially in restaurants....whenever that bread basket comes out? I grab my water glass and start drinking....and either have them REMOVE the bread if possible, or if I'm eating with someone who wants the bread, I push it (gently) in their direction! And I don't look at it!  (it's like, 'Don't look directly at the (sun) / bread, it will burn your eyes!' LOL)

KEEP UP YOUR WATER LOG. It's in the MF cellphone apps and in the food log for a reason. You aren't OP if you're not drinking all 8 glasses of it!  So if you have to work up, fine....but check off those boxes whenever you have a glass and work your way up. And give yourself a 'gold star' or a happy face on your calendar whenever you get it all in! You can do it! It may take awhile to work up, but I think you'll find that EVERYTHING gets better when you drink more water.

Whenever you're hungry? Check your water intake. Are you drinking enough? Chances are you missed a glass here and there.

Remember all the benefits of drinking water. Water is an essential nutrient. All chemical reactions in the body depend upon it.

You won’t be able to lose weight without water to flush out the by-products of fat breakdown.

So for me now?  I find that drinking ALL 64 ozs. of water (and even more sometimes!) makes me feel very healthy with a lot of energy to get through my day. Plus I always remember the doctor's advice whenever I get sick....the first thing they tell you to do? Is to 'push fluids'. This is so that your body flushes out the toxins and gets better quicker!

Hope this helps if you struggle with the water issue!  You CAN have the things like Crystal Light, MIO etc but just be careful with them. Remember, they are feeding your sweet tooth, right?

Whereas plain water is more 'back to nature', and much better for you. I'm not saying you can't drink those other things... because to be honest I use them ALL...it's not unusual for me to sit down to dinner with a full glass of water, a glass of Crystal Light, AND a cup of herb tea! The more liquids the better...it gives me something to do (while DH chomps away at his larger meal), it fills me up and it helps with weight loss.

What could be better?

Keep on keepin' on!

--
Linda

Linda Leiby
"You can DO this!"
Take Shape for Life Health Coach
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