Water intake and dehydration is one of the least understood areas for both managing one’s health and weight. Here is a case in point. Recently a client of mine complained of feeling anxious, tired, nauseous, and her face was broken out. Despite her being an esthetician, it amazed me that she did no know the connection between her water intake and detoxification. I took one look at her skin and asked her how much water she drank to which she replied she did not know. She claimed she was never thirsty. I suggested she start increasing her water intake and monitor it. Within two months, all of her symptoms went away and she feels so much better.
70% of the body is made up of water. In addition to the role it plays in keeping everything working right, water is instrumental in ensuring proper digestion. Drinking too little water could trigger a hormone called aldosterone that causes the body to conserve every molecule of water. This can become a problem because you do not realize that you are thirsty.
Another way the signals get crossed is when people misread the signal for being thirsty with a desire for sugar. I think this happens if you eat a lot of sugar,you can mistake a craving for water as more sugar. You might want to try the following plan if you find yourself craving sugar and see what happens. Sugar cravings are also a good indicator of dehydration.
I recommend you keep a water intake diary to make sure you are drinking at least two glasses of water for two days. After that, you gradually increase it to three glasses of water per day. Finally you can increase it by one glass every other day until you reach what you feel is your saturation point. It’s important to do it gradually and you will feel so much better.
As a rule of thumb, a person who weighs 140 pounds should drink about 64 ounces of water a day (8 eight ounce glasses). That I’m sure seems like a huge amount, but if you want to make your weight loss easier and healthier, I recommend you take a look at your water intake. Water can also be a natural appetite suppressant, that also helps to eliminate toxins and therefore decrease fat storage.
As with any change, it is better to break it into small steps or small changes. Start with looking at how much water you drink. Replace other beverages such as soda, including diet soda with water. Add a slice of lemon or cucumber to enhance the water. When people go through my weight loss program, the often end up giving up coffee and alcohol. This is not required, it just happens naturally.
If you haven’t already signed up for my new E-Book, go to my website www.nirvanadiet.com to the sidebar and order The Keys to Successful Weight Loss. It’s loaded with great tips.
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