Do you drink enough water?
Do you drink water at all?
You may think that jumpstarting a healthy lifestyle is very complicated and requires a lot of research and shopping and … basically, work. But, as Jamie Oliver would say … “think again!”
There are a few very simple things you can do to improve your lifestyle. So simple you may even underestimate their impact quite a lot.
The first one is this very simple one:
DRINK WATER!
Yes, make water your drink of choice, drink water both at meal time and in between meals. Substitute juices and soft drinks. Save wine and other alcoholic beverages for special occasions.
Fill your glass with water and savor its pristine freshness as you would the finest champagne. This is not deprivation, this is the ultimate luxury: you’re enjoying water, a scarce resource on the planet and your privilege.
Benefits of drinking water
There are many health benefits associated with drinking water and proper hydration of the body. But for us here – for the purpose of feeling AMAZING every day – I would like to emphasize the following five:
1. Eliminate empty calories
When you choose water over any of the above mentioned drinks, you’re automatically reducing the amount of sugar in your daily diet.
And this is unnecessary sugar, not the fundamental type of carbs you need to function. Just sugar, usually a lot: I learnt from a Dr. Mark Hyman lecture that there are 15 teaspoons of sugar in a can of Coke. Would you knowingly add 15 teaspoons of sugar to any drink? I don’t think so…
So, not only you’ll end up loosing a few unwanted pounds but you’ll also avoid sugar highs and lows that wreak havoc with your body’s insulin production and resistance.
But how about freshly squeezed fruit juice?
I would say there is a time and place for a well thought and delicious freshly squeezed juice, preferably one that combines fruit and vegetables. However, the lack of fiber in them will always mean that the juice is a high glycemic load on your system. So, don’t make them your default drink.
2. Boost your body’s natural detox mechanisms
As you know, the human body has everything well thought out and detoxing is definitely one example.
Sweat, urine and stools are the byproducts of these processes and for us to be in peak health condition, it’s important to ease all of these as much as we can.
Adding water to your daily diet will help all of these: it will help your kidneys’ function, your gut’s health and general body waste elimination.
3. Beauty of the skin
Well, a well hydrated body will generally help with skin’s hydration too. And well hydrated skin is plump and glowing and less prone to premature wrinkling.
4. Boost your energy, your mood and brain function
According to this article on healthline.com, dehydration can affect your mood, generate feelings of anxiety, impair memory and brain function.
Also, as blood is 90% water, proper hydration is key to adequate oxygen delivery to your cells. Well, let’s say that an oxygen deprived body is not an energetic one for sure!
There is also some evidence of dehydration being the cause behind some cases of headaches and migraines. So, if you’re prone to these, you may want to increase your water intake and register whether you see improvements.
5. Boosts performance during exercise
While you exercise, your body temperature raises and you lose water via sweating… Drinking a few sips of water during exercise and replenishing your water loss afterwards will bring everything back to balance.
I also find, in my personal experience, that drinking a few sips of water between exercise sets helps me regulate my breath and thus bring down my heart rate – you have to be mindful of both your breath and sipping for this. As I walk to the water fountain in the gym, I also have additional steps for breathing deeply, and that helps even more 🙂
Drinking more water: tips and timings
I know that life can be busy and you may not remember to drink water often. So, here are my 50 cents on how you can improve your water intake, both in quantity and quality.
Have 1 glass of warm lemon water when you get up
You had to live under a stone not to have been impacted by the “warm lemon water in the morning” trend…
This is indeed an excellent habit to have, for many reasons, hydration being one. I also find the ritual to be very positive in terms of establishing a mood for self-care.
I find warm water is easier on us right out of bed, when body temperature is also be a bit warmer – or at least our perception of it is.
And adding lemon juice is said to have a multitude of benefits, the first for me being a digestion booster and bloat eliminator… This HERE is a very good article on the benefits of lemon water, if you want to read more about it.
HOWEVER, if you don’t like lemon water you can simply have a large glass of plain water and replenish your hydration. Cameron Diaz has said she needs her glass of water first thing in the morning, to stop feeling like a “dried prune”… (in The Body Book). I tend to feel the same 🙂
More suggestions on how to drink more water and boost your hydration:
- Get up from your work chair every hour and drink 5 large sips of water
- Have water with your meals instead of juices or soft drinks
- Have a glass of water every time you have a coffee
- Pour yourself a glass of water while you cook
- Build a “wardrobe” of herbal infusions and create mid-afternoon “moments”
- Have a couple of sips of water before bed
I really hope I able to persuade you: drinking water is a privilege to be enjoyed and you should start right NOW.
Do you agree?
I’d love to know… Comment below, let me know what you think about this 🙂
Read/see more:
8 best times to drink water, via everydayhealth.com
Dr. Mark Hyman on “weight loss miracle drink”, video HERE
Photo: Rawpixel via Unsplash
