Wellness Wednesday - Drink your water!

Water is extremely important to your body and diet. Your body after all is 60% water and water helps to balance all your body systems. In fact, it's the most important nutrient your body needs. Water can help you regulate your temperature, remove toxins from the body, reduce cancer risks, increase your energy, lubricate your spinal system and eyes, and help us maintain a youthful appearance…SOLD… We can live several weeks without food but we can only survive 3 days without water!!

Did you know that your body can mistake thirst for hunger??? Yep it can! That means you can unintentionally be consuming hundreds of extra calories a day mistaking your thirst for hunger!!

That’s why I am challenging myself for 30 days to drink 8 glasses of water a day! Please join this challenge with me. I have included a helpful diagram below that will help us to keep on track!

Here are some ways I like to sneak in some extra water during my day:

• Use the diagram above to check off each glass of water you have during the day to ensure you are getting enough.

• Start the day and end the day with a glass of water. By starting with a glass of water in the morning instead of coffee you rehydrate yourself, get your metabolism going and flush out the toxins accumulated during the night. By having a glass of water at the end of the day before bed you rehydrate yourself and replace the fluids lost during the day.

• Other ways you can stay on track with increasing your water intake is to have a bottle of water with you at all times and take sips frequently. I like to have three 2-liter bottles of water filled at the beginning of the day, I keep one at work, one at home and one for on the go…. once these bottles are empty I know I have consumed enough water for the day.

• Before each meal, have a glass of water. Since your body can mistake thirst for hunger you might be able to consume less calories during your meal and it will help you stay full longer, while boosting your metabolism.

• If you like juice or pop, try replacing one beverage a day with water! Or drink flavored water or carbonated water beverages instead.

• Before and after exercise be sure to consume at least one full glass of water! It will help you avoid dehydration and rehydrate your muscles.

• If you drink coffee or occasionally have that glass of wine remember to follow up with a glass of water afterwards since these drinks can be dehydrating.

Without adequate water intake we can get headaches, get sick (because toxins build up in the body), get moody, your risk of stroke can go up, you lose energy and focus, your kidneys and heart won’t function optimally, your bowel movements and bladder function will decrease, your skin will look dry, dehydrated, wrinkled and older (not a great look ladies, now that I am in my forties anything I can do to avoid looking older is a must!).

We all know how important water is to your body but we may need a reminder from time to time.

A quick check you can do to make sure you are getting enough water in your day is to check your urine (not the most glamorous job). If you urine is almost clear with no foul odor then you are getting enough water. If it has a strong smell and is yellow or a bit cloudy, you are not getting enough water…..

So let’s all drink up…cheers.

Simply Truly Jenny...