Yes I hear you; you probably think you know all about this water ‘thing’. People are always going on about how important it is and how we don’t drink enough of it.

But do you know how and why it’s the number 1 for those of us who need to lose weight Well I’ll give you a few of the facts, and then you can make your own mind up.

FACT. Drinking water may be the most important piece in the weight loss puzzle. Water contains no calories, fat, or cholesterol and is low in sodium. Perfect, but that’s not all.

FACT. It’s nature’s appetite suppressant; dinking a glass of water when you feel hungry really will take the edge off your appetite.

FACT. Water helps the body to metabolize fat. Current research shows that people who have a low water intake increase their fat deposits. On the other hand, people with a high water intake reduce the amount of fat deposits. You see, without enough water, the kidneys cannot function properly. As a result, some of their workload is pushed off onto the liver, in turn preventing the liver from operating at peak levels.

How does all this tie into weight loss Well…

FACT. Metabolizing (processing) fat is a primary function of the liver, and because the liver can’t function at peak levels when taking on the added workload from the kidneys, less body fat is metabolized and more is stored.

FACT. This leads to either weight gain or reaching a plateau. To increase your ability to metabolize fat and lose weight, you should drink plenty of clean water to improve your kidney and liver functions.

OK That’s the science so what do we do now

It’s recommended that you drink 8 glasses of water per day, although most people don’t often drink that much. Water provides a number of other benefits when we’re trying to lose weight.

Many times when you think you feel hungry, you’re actually thirsty. Drinking a glass of water takes the feeling away. So, when you think you are feeling hungry, your body may in fact be signaling to you that you are thirsty! If you’re not consuming enough water each day and you feel hunger pains chances are, your body really is crying out for water. In many instances people will find what they thought were hunger pangs were in fact, satisfied by water. Try it! You have nothing to lose, except some weight.

Drinking a large glass of water about half an hour before you meal helps to fill you up so that it’s easy to eat less, rather than cut things out

Water also helps to flush out toxins from your body.

As our bodies are made up of mostly water. We can survive longer without food than we can without water, as the body requires water to run efficiently. If you don’t drink enough water, you can get bloated. This is the body’s defence mechanism; it’s preserving its’ water content in order to carry on functioning. So although it sounds rather strange, to get rid of excess water you need to drink more water. In fact you can often lose a few pounds within the first week or two just from increasing your water intake, which helps release all the excess water your body has stored.

A small study says water may help you burn a few more calories each day. How many About 50 calories per litre or quart of water; about 25 calories per water bottle-full of water.

A further tip is that drinking ice-cold water actually burns more calories, as your body needs to heat it up to absorb it properly, In the male participants of the study, the calories came mostly from stored fat, in the women it came from stored carbohydrates. The paper was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, December, 2003. It was conducted by researchers in Berlin. So if you have an ice water dispenser at home or at the office, fill up a glass regularly and keep it handy.

Dangers of Too Much Water

Don’t start drinking an extra gallon of water a day - that can kill you, especially if you are fasting or eating very little. Water taken in must be in balance with body salt - electrolytes. The body needs to maintain salt balance or risk hyponatremia with heart attack and even death.

Drinking too much water dilutes the salt in your blood and tissues - and can kill you. Healthy athletes have died from drinking too much plain water and not replacing salt. Dieters should not plunge into drinking gallons of water a day in hopes of burning a few more calories. Drink an extra few glasses, yes. But a gallon is too much.

If I were asked,

“What is the most difficult thing many people find to do when they start a weight-loss program “

I would have to say right near the top of the list is this water issue. They just can’t easily fir drinking water into their daily routine.

So here are some of my tips for making sure we get enough.

Keep a 500ml bottle or jug of water in the fridge so it’s nice and cold. I think it’s so much easier to drink this way. Every time you go into the fridge just take a drink and fill up the bottle when it’s empty. Aim for 4 bottles each day. It’s amazing how much you can drink this way. Also it you’re peeking in the fridge looking for a snack, take the water first it’ll take your mind off the snack

Every time you put the kettle on to make tea or coffee, drink a glass of water while you’re waiting for it to boil. Just think how many cups of tea you drink every day.

When you’re at work keep a bottle of water on your desk and keep taking sips. Every time you go to the bathroom, fill it up. Drinking water will keep you more alert and focused so the boss will be happy too.

The aim is to drink water consistently. If you drink too much all at once or too fast, it will simply pass through you, with little or no benefit to your body.

A few changes will happen when you start drinking more water.

1. Obviously you may find that you need to ’spend a penny’ more often. Why Because you body isn’t used to being well hydrated.

2. You may notice your skin significantly improve and even tired muscles will thank you.

3. Many people find their energy is increased and constipation and headaches are reduced, as well as hunger pains.

4. Now here’s the really exciting part. . . many people notice a reduction in weight and centimeters, as their body’s water store becomes redundant and so decreases. If your eating habits have been such that they did not provide you with adequate water, your body will have developed a pattern of storing water. It’s part of the body’s in-built survival mechanism - to store up the essential nutrients in short supply; just in case they aren’t available in the future. So if you don’t drink enough water, you are ‘conditioning’ your body to store water. And water is bulk and unwanted centimeters.

5. It’s a proven fact that drinking water will help you to become more mentally alert and increase energy levels. Great for that feel good factor

So if you want to lose weight and feel great, the answers simple…drink water! 6-8 large glasses a day.

To your success; keep smiling.

Tina Richards

Ever wake up in the morning and want to sleep more? Many people deprive themselves of good quality sleep and end up like walking zombies. They easily fall victim to the caffeine fix by downing cups of coffee and reaching for chocolate, sweets and biscuits to perk themselves up. (Sounds like you?)

How does sleep impact on belly fat loss?

The quality and quantity of sleep is crucial for maintaining an optimal hormonal balance and regulating other body processes. Two specific hormones affected are leptin (controls satiety) and ghrelin (controls hunger). Lack of sleep lowers leptin levels and increases appetite. Sleep deprivation also increases ghrelin levels and stimulates appetite. The combined devastating effects of these 2 hormones are overeating, weight gain and an expanding waistline.

You may know that your body burns less calories when you are asleep. But does this mean you sleep less? No! If you sleep 3 hours less, then you have 3 hours extra to consume more calories. By sleeping the recommended 8 hours a night, you may experience belly fat loss as a result of consuming less calories.

How do you feel when you are sleep deprived? Tired, lethargic, groggy and inattentive? If you are not mentally and physically fit, you are likely to skip your workout and eat mostly sugary or carbohydrate foods. Fluctuations in blood sugar levels make you feel worse. You become more tired and cranky! Getting sufficient sleep helps you stick to your regular workout and healthy eating habits more easily.

Here are some tips on how to have a good night’s sleep.

1. Have your last caffeinated beverage by noon. Herbal teas are fine and some of them (chamomile and mint) have relaxing and calming effects.

2. Don’t watch TV before bedtime. Instead, read a book can help you relax and fall asleep easier.

3. Avoid intense exercise 3-4 hours prior to bedtime. Some people find it hard to fall asleep when their heart rate is still up and post workout metabolism is high. However, regular workout earlier in the day will tire you out so you have a good night’s sleep.

4. Clear and relax the mind before sleeping. Most people tend to think too much about work and daily stresses while in bed. These thoughts may manifest into dreams that disrupt sleep. Yoga, meditation, tai chi, massage, warm bath, walking and listening to soothing music are some of the ways to relax the mind, body and soul.

There are other ways to have a good night’s sleep but please take a natural approach. Don’t pollute your body with sleeping pills or drugs. If your nutrition and workout program are in order, sleep may just be the missing link in your effort to lose belly fat.

The best way to lose body fat may not be the method you think it is. In this article we will go through the steps that you can follow to lose weight fast.

When you think about losing weight you probably think of the good, old-fashioned low calorie diet. And why not? The food industry, television and magazines ram it down our throats as though it is the only safe and sensible way to lose weight.

In reality, a low calorie diet is no more safe than any of the other fad diets around. So, my advice is to stay away from it. If you use such a diet you are setting yourself up for failure, and here’s why. When you go on a low-cal diet you will see some initial weight loss (most of which is water). After this weight loss you will quickly start to plateau as your body adjusts to not receiving as many calories. Happy with your weight loss you start eating a bit more, and soon you’re putting weight on again. Your body can’t handle the extra calories you are eating again and stores them as fat.

To break this vicious cycle, and burn off that fat fast, there are a few things that you can do. Firstly, start eating a serve of protein with every meal. Protein has this wonderful ability to make your body work harder to burn food. As it works harder you end up burning more fat.

Next, don’t skip breakfast. When you skip breakfast your body never makes it out of night time starvation mode. Starve yourself for too long and more of your next meal gets stored as fat.

Finally, eat more regularly. Regular eating promotes a fast metabolism. A fast metabolism means more calories being burned. More calories being burned is the best way to lose body fat.