Drink more water. If you think you are drinking a lot of water, then good, drink some more! In addition to lack of energy and brain fog, mild dehydration can cause a sensation that may be mistaken for hunger. Also, water rids your body of toxins, and fat! Where does the fat go when you lose it? Most of it is rinsed from the body in your urine, your stools, and your sweat, but some of it is absorbed back into the body. SO, do you want to hang on to it for safe keeping, or would you rather flush it? I thought so! Bottoms up!
Limit Your Liquid Calories or you will pay the price on the scale and ultimately your health. Liquid calories such as juices and sodas don’t fill you up, and their rapid digestion causes insulin spikes. You would do well to pass on the sweetened drinks, and stick with sparkling or still water—you can flavor it with lemon, frozen berries or cucumber if you want, but don’t pack your drinks full of calories.
Aim to drink at least three-quarters of a gallon of water a day, or the rule of thumb is 1/2 oz. per pound of body weight, but an athlete needs much more. For weight correction, it is a good idea to drink a cup of water when you wake each morning to start your system and rehydrate your body. Drink a glass about 20 minutes before each meal to take the edge of your appetite.
So You Want to Stop… Drinking 
Your Calories
• “diet” sodas or “low-calorie” drinks
• sweetened teas or coffees
• flavored coffee creamers
• fruit drinks and juices
• rice and soy milks
• sweet coffee-bar drinks (Frappuccino/hot chocolate)
• sports drinks
• alcoholic beverages (I will address this in my next blog)
Every week I start new clients on a 7-week program to change their health habits. One of the habits we work on together is consuming fewer liquid calories. Many of my clients say the same thing, “I don’t drink that much soda.” or I only drink “diet” soda. There is nothing diet about diet soda!! This is another topic – because it would take way too much time. Bottom line is, drink diet soda and die, or at best stay overweight and add to your weight with every artificially sweetened sip!
In 2004, researchers looked at data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to see how many calories Americans drink. They specifically looked at “sugar-sweetened beverages”. What did they find? 63% of Americans had one or more of these beverages on any given day, and total calories per day from sweetened drinks has gone up in the last 20 years by 29% to over 200 calories per day. (That doesn’t include alcohol, which in the survey accounted for another 99 calories per day! More on alcohol later)
Most of these drinks have slipped into our daily routines because they have been marketed as “healthy.” Some of them are even “made with fruit”, yeah right, kind of like when I put a pickle on burger and say it’s “made with vegetables.” Liquid calories have a mindless aspect to them, meaning you consume without noticing is empty calories or the cumulative harmful chemicals in each sip. It’s time to learn how important water is to our bodies and why need to replace all the other empty liquids with more refreshing, nourishing WATER. If you wouldn’t shower in it, it is not cleansing your body! So, water, water, water your body! Limit your liquid calories! Love the results!
Follow Me