Keep Hydrated!

My husband's new food journey was so educational for me and very informative. He did so much research and started making so many positive dietary changes. I started to pay attention. The first change was to stop drinking any carbonated drinks. First of carbonation expands your stomach. It also can be counteractive to your weight-loss efforts as well as dehydrating. Carbonated drinks are also diuretics and remove water from your body so it may quench your thirst temporarily but water is the key element in staying hydrated. In order to burn calories you need to have an adequate amount of water to function efficiently. Water also helps maintain muscle tone by assisting your muscles in their ability to contract. Other very important benefits of drinking water:

• Get Healthy Skin
• Flush Toxins
• Reduce Your Risk Of Heart Attack
• Cushion And Lube Your Joints And Muscles
• Get Energized And Be Alert
• Stay Regular
• Reduce Your Risk Of Disease And Infection
• Regulate Your Body Temperature
• Burn More Fat And Build More Muscle

Okay so drink more water is what I kept hearing about and reading about. How was I supposed to know exactly how much water to drink? The best way to figure this out is if you take your weight and cut it in half and that is how many ounces of water you should drink a day. For example if you weigh 150 pounds you cut that in half and you should drink 75 ounces of water a day. I thought this was a nice easy trick.

I had tried many times before to drink more water and couldn't stand it. I felt like I was constantly running to the bathroom. I had to push through for a few days your while my body flushed itself of all of the water it has been storing for years of "survival mode". My body was getting rid of what it didn't need during this time. Eventually (a few days) I reached a "break-through point". I started to realize that water has amazing health benefits and this is a key element for beginning a much healthier life. It is something that has been a wonderful key to my health.

"Transformation is not five minutes from now; it's a present activity. In this moment you can make a different choice, and it's these small choices and successes that build up over time to help cultivate a healthy self-image and self esteem.".  ~Jillian Michaels