December 5, 2024

Drink Your Water!

Get Fit Quick Tip:

Drink Water!

It’s no secret that drinking water yields numerous health benefits. So why is staying adequately hydrated a challenge for so many? Here are a few ideas to staying properly hydrated for your fitness, and your day:

 

Set your phone alarm. Set your alarm on your smart phone for every three hours as a reminder.

Pre-fill your water bottles for the day. Set the bottles on the counter, your desk or wherever you spend a lot of time, as a visual reminder.

Pair drinking water with other daily activities. Get up, drink a glass of water. Drink a glass of water before each meal. Drink water every time upon arriving home, Drink water before, during and after your workout.

Choose water first. Whenever out or at a friends house, order and drink one glass of water first.

 

Kids and Water by Maggie Ayre

How to Get Your Kids to Drink More Water

We all know our kids should drink plenty of water right?  After all our bodies are two thirds water, every cell in our body contains water and water is the second largest constituent of our brains. Research has shown that we should all be drinking at least 2 litres of water every day, which is approximately 8 glasses.  Research also tells us that many young people aren’t achieving this.

So, what can we do to encourage young people to drink more water? We must be a good role model and make sure we are drinking water every day ourselves, and secondly, we can work to make water as interesting as possible!

Very young children can refuse water because they prefer the taste of fruit juice and squash.  Limit these sugary drinks to special treats though as they have been closely linked to obesity and tooth decay.  Keep offering your child water, especially at meal times.  If you can help them build the habit of drinking regularly at this age they will find it far easier as they get older.

School age children should always go to school with a water bottle and this is actively encouraged at most schools.  There will be opportunities to drink at break times and lunch time, if your child’s water bottle comes home full every day talk to their teacher.
After school is an ideal time to get your child to eat a healthy snack, such as fruit, and have a glass of water as they are tired and hungry after a busy day.

Make sure you offer your child or teen a drink whenever you have one.  Let them see you regularly having a glass of water rather than a cup of coffee or sugary drink and they are more likely to follow your lead.

Make water more interesting by:
•    Keeping it in the fridge – many young people prefer the taste of ice cold water.
•    Adding fruit such as lemon juice, cucumber, strawberries, kiwi fruit or tangerine segments to a jug of water – if changes the flavour slightly and certainly looks more appealing!
•    Trying herbal teas if it’s a chilly day – you could even make your own hot drink by pouring boiling water over slices of lemon and fresh ginger – delicious.
•    Finding interesting water bottles – roll up bottles are ideal for older kids as they can be rolled up and stored in a pocket or bag when empty – younger kids love a water bottle with their favourite cartoon character or a reminder of a fun day out.

Maggie Ayre is the UKs leading Fitness Coach for Teen Girls. As well as one-to-one and small group nutrition and fitness work with teens she has developed the 3G Program designed to be run at schools as part of the PE curriculum. She also offers mentoring for PE departments on how to re-engage teen girls with PE and has recently published her third book; “Nutrition for Exam Success – A Parent’s Guide” which is now available as a Kindle and paperback at Amazon. For more information, www.maggieayre.com

Fire-Up Your Fat Burn with Water! By Lori Shemek, PhD

Did you know that water is a critical fat-burning tool? And that most people are walking around mildly dehydrated…and they do not even know it?  Most people are suffering from headaches, joint pain, fatigue, foggy thinking, weight gain and much more…all related to mild dehydration.

 

Every single process in the human body requires water.  Our bodies are over 70% water!  The intake of water is vital for optimal health and it is key for boosting your metabolism as well. By drinking even room temperature water, the body warms the water up to body temperature (98.6 Fahrenheit) and this thermogenic action can increase a person’s metabolic rates by 30 percent after drinking approximately 17 ounces of water. This metabolic increase is sustained for over an hour!

 

Mild dehydration is your first class ticket to weight gain, ill health and faster aging. Dehydrated cells do not function optimally and thus slow down. When your cells slow down, bodily function slows down…including  your metabolism and weight gain ensues. If you are dehydrated, you may be burning up to 2 percent fewer calories. This is why hydrating is an important key to weight loss and optimal health.

 

Do not rely upon thirst as an indicator to drink water. By the time you are thirsty, you are already 1-2% dehydrated. Fat deposits increase when water intake decreases. This is because the liver is forced to help the kidneys work which they cannot do properly when water intake is lacking. Your #1 fat burning organ? The Liver. The liver normally metabolizes fat and cannot do so properly when it is forced to focus on helping the kidneys. The result? More fat is being stored and thereby, weight increase. I recommend drinking half your body weight in ounces.  If you weigh 120 pounds, drink 60 ounces daily to increase your metabolic rate.

 

So drink up and remember :  Water is not only helping you to lose weight, you are creating optimal health as well.

This article is written by Lori L Shemek, PhD, CNC. America’s #1 Fat Loss Expert and Best-Selling Author of ‘Fire-Up Your Fat Burn!’  Find Lori’s book here:  http://www.amazon.com/FIRE-UP-YOUR-FAT-BURN-ebook/dp/B0083BW37G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337040876&sr=8-1