If you have difficulty discovering how to lose weight, you're not alone. Millions of people every day are looking for weight loss tips. But it might be simpler than you think! Toronto holistic nutritionist Evelina Hovich explains the relationship between water and weight loss, and how you might be sabotaging your own weight loss efforts! If you're looking for how to lose weight and keep it off, this article may be exactly what you're looking for.
Good Stuff Happens in 1:1 Meetings: Why you need them and how to do them well
How To Lose Weight With Water
1. How To Lose Weight With Water
Written by: Evelina Hovich on July 25th
2014
Losing weight with water? It’s true! Toronto holistic nutritionist Evelina Hovich explains.
Now, what would you do if I told you water was good for your
body?
You’d probably look at me incredulously, shake your head, and move on. After
all, everyone knows water is good for you! This is not a revelation which you
need a holistic nutritionist or some other health specialist to point out to you.
But not everyone knows exactly why. Sure, it’s refreshing to enjoy a cold glass of
water after a tennis match or a hot day in the Sun, but why is that? Why do we
drink water?
Benefits of Water
Water does a lot for you.
It plays a big role in your digestive system, helping to break down food in your
digestive tract and turn it into the nutrients your body needs to function. It also
keeps your digestive tract lubricated and moving, making sure everything
functions the way it should.
2. Once the nutrients are broken down into the components your body can use,
water helps you get your nutrients where it needs to go. Nutrients and oxygen
need to travel to your cells, but to do that they need a medium. And what better
medium is there than water? It’s abundant in your body, abundant on the Earth,
and easy to access for most people.
But that’s not all it carries. Your kidneys and liver use water to carry away the
waste you just don’t want to be hanging around in your body.
Water acts as a lubricant for your body as well, keeping your mouth and eyes
moist enough to work properly. Your lungs, too, don’t work when they’re all dried
out, and water helps with that. It keeps your joints flexing and moving properly,
and in general keeps you from shriveling up into a raisin.
It helps your body regulate its temperature, and helps maintain the shape and
volume of the cells in your body too, so they can work properly.
In short, you’d be in trouble without water. But there’s more to it than that.
Believe it or not, water plays an important role in weight management too! So if
you’re looking for weight loss tips, start with water.
How To Lose Weight With Water
Why are so many people overweight? There are many different reasons, but one
of the big ones is the fact that they just don’t know how to recognize when they’re
thirsty, and they don’t know the difference between water and fluids. After all, just
because you’re drinking fluid doesn’t mean you’re getting the water you need.
This common mistake is one of the main causes of a wide range of illnesses in
the human body, including excessive weight gain.
Do you know the difference between hunger and thirst? Sometimes it’s obvious.
If you’ve just run a 5k marathon, or you just biked across Toronto, you’re
probably going to reach for a glass of water before you do a steak dinner. But
most of the time, the sensation of thirst and hunger are so similar that it’s hard to
recognize when your brain wants one over another.
This often ends up with feeding our bodies when they really just need a tall glass
of water!
So the next time you feel hungry, try taking a drink first. If your hunger subsides
quickly, maybe you weren’t so hungry after all!
3. The Scientific Stuff
Your brain has two different mechanisms which it uses for energy: metabolism of
food and formation of sugars; and conversion of water into hydroelectric energy.
But studies have shown that the brain depends more heavily on the latter,
especially for its transport system in your nerves to different parts of the body.
Basically, your brain can’t run without water!
How Much Water Do I Need?
So now you know how important water is. But there’s more to it than just pouring
some of the clear stuff down the hatch!
A general rule of thumb is to drink 35ml of water for every kg of body weight you
have. The average Canadian woman weighs about 69kg, so that works out to
about 2.4 litres of water (or about five 500ml water bottles) daily. Canadian males
weigh an average of about 83kg, so they should drink about 2.9 litres (or about
six water bottles) daily.
Your Water Weight Loss Plan
Follow this strategy to make sure you’re getting enough water:
1. Drink two glasses of water as soon as you wake up. This helps kickstart
your metabolism and will give you a nice burst of energy in the morning.
2. Drink a glass of water before each meal. Several studies have shown that
those who drink a glass of water before a meal end up consuming fewer
calories (1) (2) (3).
3. Ditch the soft drink! Getting rid of high calorie soft drinks in your diet can
save you hundreds of calories per day.
4. Keep drinking water throughout the day. Don’t just slam a few glasses and
assume you’re set for the rest of the day. If you drink small sips of water at
regular intervals, your body will absorb it more readily.
5. Drink most of your water in the first 3/4 of the day. Not only will your body
absorb it more easily, you’ll also end up with a better night’s sleep since
you’ll be less likely to have to get up to go to the washroom.
4. What Type of Water Should I Drink?
There are types of water!?
Believe it or not, yes. There are many different types of water. It’s not as simple
as just turning on your tap and assuming everything is good.
I often see people who are getting enough water, but who are still dehydrated.
This could be due to an intolerance they have to the water they’re drinking. This
is where BIE therapy comes into play. BIE therapy can be useful to balance your
body so you no longer have a reaction to the water you’re drinking and you can
absorb it more easily.
I Challenge You!
I’m a big fan of 30 day challenges, so I challenge you! For the next 30 days,
consume at least 2 litres of water per day. If you miss a day, start over at day 1.
I guarantee at the end that you’ll experience some positive changes after this
challenge!
Thanks for reading! Yours in holistic health and wellness, this is
Toronto nutritionist Evelina Hovich.
Evelina Hovich is a certified holistic nutritionist and BIE practitioner in Toronto,
Canada. She has helped her clients optimize their health, and manage a variety of
health issues including digestive problems, weight loss, food and environmental
allergies, and more. To discover more about Evelina's services, read more of her
articles, and find out how she can help you, visit her online: Website | Facebook |
Twitter | Google Plus