The Importance of Hydration
Water is not a macronutrient, but like a macronutrient, you still need a lot of it for a lot of reasons, besides just being hydrated.
Double your water, double your weight loss?
It’s not going to be ounce for ounce, but if you change nothing but focus on drinking more water you will get a health result. Every chemical reaction in the body, including the breakdown of body fat, requires water.
Water Function
Water does a lot more than just quench your thirst, your body is about 60% water and your muscle mass is about 80% water. Virtually every cell in your body needs this important nutrient. Every chemical reaction in your body requires water. Two important functions that require water is metabolizing fat and providing glycogen (muscle energy to the working muscles), so if you are dehydrated, this becomes very difficult.
How Much Do YOU Need?
The 3 Part Formula:
A good formula for calculating how much water YOUR body needs is:
- Divide your body weight in half and drink that much water daily in ounces.
Ex: 200 lbs. divided by 2 = 100 oz. - For every 25 lbs. overweight you are, add 8 oz. of water.
- Weigh yourself before and after your regular exercise or sporting event. Drink an additional 16 oz. for every lb. you lost while exercising.
Waste Removal
Water also helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body has a lot more waste to get rid of — all that metabolized fat had toxins stored in it that must be eliminated.
Without adequate water, waste products just stay in the system.
What About ‘Other’ Drinks?
Any drink that contains artificial chemicals, colors and sweeteners is not seen by the body as water. Unfortunately, the unrecognized chemicals get stored in your junk drawers (Fat stores).
For example: In order for your body to use the water in Crystal Light, is has to take the Crystal Light out of the water and store it in the ‘junk drawer’ of the body (fat stores) since it does not know what to do with it.
Better to squeeze some lemon or lime into your drink if you must flavor it as that is seen as a natural food by the body.
Performance Sports Drinks
Sports drinks are helpful for competitions or general exercise that require a higher amount of intensity or last longer than an hour. Those who compete or exercise in hot or humid weather and/or wear protective equipment that prevents sweat from evaporating (examples include football and hockey uniforms) would greatly benefit from a sports drink. If you are a heavy sweater or have very salty sweat (you can tell if you have salty sweat if you find your face is gritty with salt after a workout or you can see white salt powder on your hat or clothes after a workout) you need to consider a sports drinks.
Anything generally lasting for an hour or less you are good with just having water.
Complimentary HEALTH & FITNESS EVALUATION to Prospective Clients by Coach Chad
I’m available nationally AND internationally! I work with everyone from professional athletes to moms, to YOU giving nutritional education. Nutrition is 80% of your success. I offer a complimentary personal wellness evaluations where we do a typical daily diet analysis and set goals to help YOU get the results YOU want. I coach people to get the health, fitness, energy, weight loss, weight gain, or just a better wellness results that they want and I LOVE what I do. I also train/study every day as a health coach so I can take helping people to the next level. Lets get you started Today, let your goals be the past. Your Health Coach for Life. Join my Team!
