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Wellness Wednesday: The Importance of Water

water
Image courtesy of suphakit73 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
    Do you drink enough water? Water is one of the most underestimated tools for weight loss around.

     Most people don’t drink enough water. I remember hearing somewhere that a good rule of thumb to know how much you should be drinking is to take your body weight, divide it in half, and drink that many ounces. Makes sense, right? More weight, more water?      I don’t know how many times I’ve read on lists of weight loss tips to drink an 8 ounce glass of water right before a meal. Why? Well, then your stomach is half full of water. And thus, you’ll eat less. Not to mention it’ll help you stay hydrated. I find myself snacking less when I actually drink enough water. Not that I’ve been too consistent about that lately. Like I said.
     What are some other benefits of water? Well, sufficient water intake helps with:
     1. Metabolism (another reason it’s a good weight loss tool!)
     2. Keeping your Ph levels balanced
     3. Decreases  chances of heart attack (and this can be counter-acted with non-water drinks–especially sugar laden ones!)
     4. Contributes to healthy, glowing skin
     5. More muscle elasticity (which helps your joints work better)
     6. Flushes out toxins (which are what make you sick!)
     7. Healthy kidney function. And believe me, if you get a UTI and it gets into your kidneys, it will make you sick! Drink water to help avoid this!
     8. Headaches. Dehydration can cause headaches. I guess that’s why when I say my head hurts, my husband’s response is “You need to drink more water.” He’s probably right.
     9. It restores energy.
     10. It help transport nutrients from one part of the body to another, and keeps your body functioning properly.
     11. Pregnancy. I can’t tell you how many times I was told while I was pregnant to drink water, drink water, drink water! Same goes for breastfeeding. Anytime liquid goes out, it needs to come back in.
     So, this post has ended up being longer than I thought it would. I actually was just looking to make sure the things I thought about water were true, and ended up finding a whole slew of benefits I didn’t even consider.
     So come on–drink to your health!

10 Comments

  1. Yes!! I am a huge water drinker!! I find that having a reuseable water bottle helps me get in lots of water during the day!! I love my infusion bottle as well!!

  2. I know I don’t drink enough water. Water has no taste to me and I want to drink something with taste. I do drink a lot of ice tea though.

  3. Hydration is so important! I am very careful to drink enough water every day. I have actually over-hydrated before. The symptoms are very similar to de-hydration, so that’s something to keep an eye out for.

  4. Love this. Thank you for letting people know the importance of water and all the benefits. Wonderful post!

  5. My nutritionist told me not to drink anything with a meal or for a half hour before because it dilutes your digestive juices. Also, it can deplete your electrolytes with too much straight water, so it’s helpful to add a slice of lemon or cucumber or even a small pinch of sea salt!

  6. I like this topic! I may not always be perfect with the foods I eat, but I am all about drinking pretty much only water. I never drink soda, and I drink water CONSTANTLY, especially right now because I am pregnant. The only danger of drinking a lot of water like I do is becoming a water addict! I have to have a water with me at all times because I don’t like feeling a bit thirsty. I even wake up a few times during the night with water, and that plus pregnancy equals many trips to the bathroom…

    1. You definitely need to drink plenty of water if you’re pregnant. It’s really hard to drink too much water, though it is possible.

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