Water For Weight Loss
Complete a Water Challenge to Boost Health and Motivation
We all know the importance of drinking water for weight loss. Or so we say. There are so many benefits of drinking water, its amazing the world isn’t following this simple advice.
Let’s see. There’s a free substance with zero side effects that accomplishes all of the following:
• Cleanses the body
•Keeps skin clear and bright
•Gives energy
•Refreshes
•Reduces appetite
•Wards of disease
•Helps mental clarity
•Lubricates the joints
•Flushes toxins
•Helps circulation
•Etc.
Water is the very foundation of life. Drink more.
You know exactly what to do; it’s simply a matter of doing it.
How Much Water Should You Drink?
This is super easy. Just drink half your body weight in ounces, as a bare minimum. For example, if you weigh 150 lbs, drink at least 75 ounces of water a day. This is a great start, but this is really just a bare minimum figure. I recommend drinking double that. I personally drink a little over twice that amount. I weigh roughly 130 lbs. and drink between 5 and 6 quarts a day. That’s about 160 ounces a day. Easy peasy.
I hear the complaint all the time – “I can’t drink that much water,” or “I don’t know how you do it,” or “I don’t like water.” Bull. The easiest way to drink water is to drink nothing but water.
Soda, alcohol, juice, energy drinks, and milk really don’t have a place in a healthy diet. Perhaps occasionally, but not regularly. You know what’ll happen when you eliminate those things? You’ll be thirsty. Yep. Go figure.
It’s not hard to drink more water, really. Some tips I’ve learned for drinking more water are:
Have a bottle or glass of water with you at all times. In the car, as you work, when you exercise, when you run errands, and even when you go out at night. Every time the thought occurs to you, take a chug.
Never just take one sip. Take 3 or 4 huge chugs every time you take a drink.
When you’re really just not feeling super thirsty, add a squeeze of lemon or lime to your water to help it go down easier.
Make it a rule that you drink at least three cups surrounding every meal you eat: one before, one during, and one directly afterwards. If you’re eating 5 times a day, that’s 15 cups right there. Nearly a gallon, done!
Use rubber bands on your water bottle to remember how many cups you’ve drank. Move them up and down your bottle each time you finish one off.
Think about it. Every single weight loss program recommends drinking water for weight loss. Yet how many people do you know are actually doing it? Take a look at all the fit people in the gym. I bet you’ll notice them walking around with a gallon jug, or a half gallon at least.
So why not make a resolution to drink more water? A good figure to aim for is a gallon a day. If you’re currently addicted to other drinks, you can wean your way off of them if you’d like, although I’m more of the cold-turkey variety of folk. One way to wean, though, is to say to yourself, “Okay, I can have this [diet soda], right after I drink 2 cups of water.” Or, for every quart of water you drink, you can allow yourself a drink of choice.
Here’s a Water for Weight Loss 4 week chart that you can print out and keep on you wall. Each day, you can write down how many cups or ounces in each box you’ve drunk and tally it at the end of the month. Reward yourself with something at the end of it. You’ll feel so good after just the first couple of days. And, after a few weeks of this, it will just become a habit, and it won’t be a struggle anymore.
Good luck with your water for weight loss efforts, and happy chugging!
Here's the Water Challenge Chart, or you can go back to the Weight Loss Challenges page
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- Water for Weight Loss, Benefits of Water
- By Sunny
