New Years Diet Resolution Time - Drink Till You Slosh

It's time that annual struggle - goal setting for the new year. We all have that 'list' and of course 99.9% of us included diet and weight loss.  So while I was looking at new recipes to help me slim down in the new year, I found this article and thought I'd share it.  It's about water in your diet. 

The biggest change in my diet over the years is the amount of water I consume. While I was going through chemotherapy the nurses kept pushing water. They said I would feel better if I drank at least 8 cups of water each day and they were right. I have continued that habit even now and it really helps me feel better when I drink a lot of water. Although a common comment in our home is, when drinking water at 9pm at night, 'oh well at least I'll have something to do at 3am'.

I have an article that I have used for the resource for this blog - it's from 'Water, How 8 Glasses a Day Keep Fat Away' by Dr. Donald S. Robertson. He brings in some great points that I want to just quickly go over.

1. Water helps your body metabolize stored fats and is a natural appetite suppressant. This is really true for the appetite suppressant part. When I am really hungry I just drink a glass of water and it helps hold off the munchies, at least for a short time and has zero calories.


2. If you have problems with fluid retention - you need more water. I know that this sounds backwards but drink more water actually helps your body release fluid that it has stored and helps to wash away the salts.

3. Believe it or not an overweight person needs more water than a skinny one. It's needed for the metabolism.

4. Water helps maintain muscle tone. Think about how many times you get muscle cramps while working out it could be low potassium or it could be you have starved your body of enough water. It also helps your skin to stay clear and healthy.

5. Water helps rid the body of waste. This was especially true during my chemo. I needed it to get the used drugs out of my body as quickly as possible.

6. Water can help with constipation. Yea, growing old is no fun and bowel habits seem to be the topic of a lot of conversation at my age. But the water has made a huge difference in my not being 'intestinally challenged'. The trouble is when your body doesn't get enough fluid it robs it from the waste your body is trying to get rid of, result constipation.

So how much water does the good Doctor recommend - 8 cups a day. That's about 2 quarts. I know it sounds like a lot but if you start each day with water for breakfast 2 - 3 cups and then have water with lunch 2 - 3 cups and then have dinner with water too you will just about have what you need.

So Drink till you slosh :)

Enjoy!