There are many things you can do to improve your health and accelerate fat loss. None of them are simple or more important than this one thing: Drink more water. Now, I know what you are thinking, you drink plenty of water and can drinking more water really improve my health? Well as you may know the human body is made up of 60% water. Water is an essential nutrient and all chemical reactions in the body depend on it. So how does this translate to fat loss and improved health? Let me break this down for you.
-Water flushes out the by-products of fat breakdown and toxins from the body. When we become dehydrated the kidneys don’t work at their full potential and then the liver doesn’t function optimally, thus fat loss is hindered. Basically, your organs function properly when hydrated so the body functions better!
-Metabolic rate is boosted when well hydrated.
-Our blood is mostly water and serves to process and transport nutrients. We all work hard to get proper nutrients and not only fat loss, but muscle building requires nutrients.
-Our muscles are approximately 80% water. If we are dehydrated our performance declines drastically. Our muscles can also cramp and spasm.
-Hunger is often misinterpreted cravings for water. Drinking water also is a great appetite suppressant.
Now that I have broken down reasons drinking water and being hydrated is crucial to your body functioning properly and maximizing fat loss, let’s look at how it can improve your health:
-Drinking water hydrates the skin and keeps you looking younger. It also flushes those toxins out.
-The brain is 85% water and even being slightly dehydrated causes it not to function properly. Obviously our brain is responsible for all our bodily functions. It is said being hydrated can help prevent depression, sleep disorders, lack of energy, and attention deficit disorder.
-Being hydrated can help provide healthy organs, eyes, skin, and digestion.
-Proper hydration can help prevent low back pain and painful joints.
The bottom line is proper hydration is crucial to our bodies functioning at 100%. If we are dehydrated we cannot function at our full capacity. If we aren’t functioning at our full capacity then it doesn’t matter how hard we train, how well we eat, or what supplements we put into our bodies. So how much water should you be drinking? There is no exact number, but there are some general guidelines. 1/2oz water per lb. of body weight for the average person and 2/3oz water per lb. body weight for an active person. That equals 100oz to 133oz. for a 200lb person. You may think that sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t that hard to do. If you break it down into a 12oz glass of water every hour you will be on your way to making sure you are hydrated and that your body is happy and functioning at its best.
