Get Wet

You, my friend, are a bunch of water. A bunch. As a matter of fact, your body is PRIMARILY water. That's right - humans, when born, are about 73% water. That changes as we grow up, but we still remain primarily comprised of good ol' H2O (Women about 55% and men 60%). Also, keep in mind that blood is mostly water which means it plays a big roll in transporting oxygen to your organs, which as we know, is very important in enzyme biosythesis which plays an important roll in weight loss because of it's roll in metabolism. Water also makes up 75% of your brain. (Insert your own dehydrated joke here).

One of the important things that that means, when it come to weight loss, is that (being made of water) our organs and various bodily systems need water to function well. Being well hydrated, much like a machine being well lubricated, means our bodies will be able to operate at their top efficiency (all other things help constant).

Why does that matter to weight loss? A couple of reasons actually, but one primary reason. People who have been with the blog from the beginning won't be surprised to hear that it is related to...(wait for it, wait for it) metabolism! It's actually very straight forward logic here (none of that science\weight loss\geek stuff needed). Part of our metabolism is defined by how much energy our bodies are using. The more systems that are working away, the more energy you use. If you are dehydrated your systems will start working at a lower efficiency in relation to how much water is available. So, being well hydrated all the time means you are giving your body one of it's most important tools in working at maximum efficiency and thus keeping you metabolism running well also!

How much? Well, between one and seven liters a day! It actually varies between people depending on physical activity, humidity, etc. The good news is a good 20% of that comes just from the foods you eat. The other good news is that it is perfectly fine to get the rest of it from sources other than straight up water...with two exceptions: non-diet sodas and alcohol. Both of them have a lot of sugars (and calories) which is just going to get in the way of getting the aqua that you need. As a matter of fact, when it come to alcohol, for every drink you have it should be matched by an equal amount of water (and that's over and above the amount you would normally need for a healthy and happy system). For that matter, my tip about keeping a little caffeine in your system also means you need a little more water because caffeine (as I mentioned) is a natural diuretic.

You can go a week without food (bad idea – yes even on a diet – ok, ok more on that later), but not water. As a matter of fact, even a small deficiency (say 2%) will leave you feeling tired. Which means less activity (probably less exercise) and that means lower metabolism...well, it's not a good idea.

There are lots of other reasons to drink enough water including: muscles require more water, digestion works better with it, it tends to mask the body's huger response, and the list could go on. The bottom line is – DRINK UP. Just don't way over do it. In general your kidneys (if they are in good working condition) are going to take care of the extra, but you can have too much which can lead to water intoxication and hyponatremia. Google it if you'd like – you don't want to go there.

One last related note - DO NOT drink from plastic bottles that contain BPA. How do you know if it does? If it is #7 plastic (most Nalgene type bottles) it probably has it. One other related note – so do most canned foods. Some scientist believe BPA present heath risks.

I'm looking for weight loss topics you'd like to know about. So, let me hear from you.

Oh - and I finally lost that 4 lbs I had put on last week (probably from the muscles gain) and started back down hill - another pound lost!

Keep at it – you can do this!