Drinking Water and Why It Matters for Fat Loss

RealFocusFitness: Scientists have discovered the perfect power-packed nutritional beverage that will really blast away fat and get us into the best shape of our lives.

The research behind this stuff is just flat-out crazy in how impressive this magic elixir has performed in testing.

So what is this super liquid?

Well … it’s been right under our noses all along. I’m talking about water. H20. That’s it. Pure and simple water is the stuff that dreams are made of and too many of us are ignoring the facts.

As many as 75% of people are actually not getting enough water on a daily basis and suffer from mild, chronic dehydration. This is a huge drawback to anyone on a fat loss plan.

For anyone giving me a big LOL right now about my plea to add more water to your daily diet, just hit the pause button for a minute and think about all of the good stuff that water does for our bodies:

• Water regulates the thermal condition of your body
• Water keeps our joints lubricated
• Water flushes toxins from the bloodstream
• Water keeps our skin looking clean, clear and glowing
• Water assists with digestion
• Water aides in disease prevention (consuming eight glasses of water everyday has been shown to reduce the risk of colon cancer by 45%)

Water does all that?

In a word … yep. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Nature’s simple concoction of two parts Hydrogen and one part Oxygen makes up more than ⅔ of our body. Given such a large percentage of our makeup, it should be fairly obvious as to how much water plays in our daily bodily functions, including the stuff that goes on behind the scenes without us really even knowing/thinking about it. Essentially, water is a close runner-up to the air we breathe as the most important thing we consume on regular basis.

On the flip side, dehydration is essentially playing with fire and carries some pretty hefty consequences:

• Without sufficient H20, the body will drop into “preserve” mode, hanging on to as much water as it can (i.e., bloating) and storing more fat in the process.
• Bodily functions (like those beneficial ones listed above) will slow and energy levels will decrease.
• Suffer from headaches? Dehydration can be the culprit as our brains are made up of almost 70% water. In fact, dehydration after a long night out with friends usually leads to headache … otherwise known as a hangover.

Okay … Okay … I get it: staying hydrated is good … dehydration is bad.

But what does this have to do with getting in great shape for the beach season?

Great question.

Check out any blog list of the “Top 5 Things You Can Right Now to Drop Weight” and drinking water will be on that list. For good reason. But, let’s really dive into why H20 is such a fat-burning superstar:

Water suppresses appetite

Who needs expensive, dangerous and unproven appetite suppressants? Keeping hydrated throughout the day will reduce your desire to snack. Filling up with a glass of water before meals will reduce hunger a bit and prevent overeating.

Water assists in the metabolizing of fat

A properly-hydrated body allows the kidneys to run at optimal levels, which in turn assists the liver in reaching its peak function. Our livers are machines. And when working at its best, the liver removes toxins and unwanted waste from our bloodstream. In addition, this aids in the metabolization of fat at higher rates.

Water beats high-calorie beverages every day

It’s time to step away from those frozen Crappuccinos and juices that look more like sugary sodas than healthy companions. Challenge yourself here. Start by removing one high-calorie beverage per day for a glass of water instead. Work up to more and more each day. This is the fastest way for most people to eliminate excess calories from their diets and start seeing immediate fat loss results.

We know why it’s important to drink water. We know why it stinks to be dehydrated. So let’s talk about how to get more water into our daily routine.

Our bodies are actually primed to deal with this whole hydration thing, but editors that need to sell magazines need flashy headlines that end up leading us to confusion. In fact, you’ve probably heard the following misleading nuggets about water and how much we should be drinking: “Your urine should be clear” OR “If you wait to drink when you are thirsty, it’s already too late and you are dehydrated”

Well, that’s not exactly true. Thankfully.

So, aim to get about half of your bodyweight in ounces of water (ex: if you weigh 150 pounds, you’d need roughly 75 ounces of water … or about 9 cups).

Here are a few strategies to do just that:

Strategy No. 1 – reduce the caffeinated beverages like coffee and soft drinks and some energy drinks. Caffeine actually forces your body to lose water. I love my morning cup of joe, so I’m not going to tell you to give up coffee altogether. But, practice replacing one caffeinated beverage per day with a glass of water every day. And when you do enjoy that pick-me-up, make sure to drink some water alongside of it.

Strategy No. 2 – does the taste of water “bore” you? Spice things up. Add a slice of lemon to your next glass. Get creative with it and toss in other fruits, like oranges or berries, to provide a little more zing.

Strategy No. 3 – invest in a BPA-free water bottle. Keep the bottle at your side throughout day as a reminder to stay hydrated. You’ll also save some cash from having to buy water if you always have your bottle at the ready.

Strategy No. 4 – be sure to hydrate before, during and after exercise. When we train, it increases the amount of H20 our bodies require throughout the day. Make mental notes to drink even more water on workout days and when the hot summer turns the temperature up.

Note: If you are training for long bouts of exercise (an hour or longer), be sure to include some sodium along with your water intake to avoid over-hydration.

Strategy No. 5 – kick things off with a large glass of water to start your day. Every morning, I have a glass of ice-cold water first thing in the morning to get my body hydrated and get my body primed and ready for some fat-burning awesomeness.

The REAL Focus here: Drink when you are thirsty. Your body is primed to handle the rest. But when you do drink, make sure it is mostly water.