Water

Water, something we all need.  Something we can't survive without.  How much do we really need?  That my friends, is something we all try to figure out.  Over the course of the last 10 years as I went on and off diets I still tried to drink enough water.  The Institution of Medicine (IOM) says that 15 plus cups a day for men ( thats 125 oz ) and 11 a day for women ( thats 91 oz) is recommened.  This is total fluid intake from all food and beverages.

80% comes from drinking water and other beverages and 20% from food we eat.  If these percentages are accurate for us based on our food intake that would make 9 cups for women and 12.5 for men.   I know 20% to get from food seems like a lot, but there are more foods than you think that have a high percentage of water.   Look it up you can find a huge list.  Eating these foods can help you increase the "fullness" factor.  Some experts say when asked who much do I need that you can purely judge by the "follow your thirst theory".  I think thats fine if you want to make sure you stay hydrated.  If your trying to loose weight and you follow this guideline you won't get enough water.  I always drink more when I am dieting.

I'm one of those people who never leave home without my water bottle.  I can't stand to be thirsty and not be able to have some water on hand.  If I'm shopping and have finished my water in the car, I'm very willing to pay that buck fifty to not have to wait until I'm home to drink some water.  But am I really getting enough water?  How much do you think is enough?  Enough to quench your thirst?  Enough to loose weight?  I always have on my mind, "Drink some water" dieting or not.  Not drink "more" water.  

A few years back I heard somewhere that you take your body weight divided in half and that is the amount of water in ounces you should drink in a day.  For me that would be 69 oz's.   So that would be 8.625 cups of water.  That's not a lot.  The problem was I never took the time to see what 6-8 glasses of water meant.  Meaning, when they say a glass it equals 8 oz's and that equals a cup readers.  Stay with me, I'm getting to a point.

I mentioned in an earlier post about leaving one app and changing to another for my food diary and tracking my calories.    In doing this I connected with an individual that had a weight loss victory and offered me an opportunity to hear his story from his FB page.  I let him know that I was not on FB so he gave his website address.  I was able to watch some T.V. interviews regarding his successful weight loss story.  He has written a book on how he was successful in doing this.  "Losing Weight is Easy"  by Blake Slyvia.  Webb address is bdadiet.com.  You can check it out for your self but I will tell you what I took just from listening to his testimony.  bda=before/during/after  Drink your water before during and after.  It's not just important to drink it.  It matters when you drink it.  

We've always heard  that drinking a glass of water before eating helps you to feel full and eat less.  Honestly, I never do it.  I'm always sipping on that big bottle I carry around so I don't feel the need to.  I do drink lemon water with my meal 80% of the time.  I've read many articles and seen on health shows that your food digests better with water.  Even more so with the lemon.   I even heard to not drink during the meal but after.  I can't tell you what the reasoning, I don't remember.  Blake talks about drinking the water before you eat, with your meal, and after your meal.   I really put some thought into this and took time to make sure of what equaled that glass.  8oz's  Remember?  The cup.....I poured a cup of water into my favorite cup to see how much it was visually.  Then I drank it all.  All at one time.  It wasn't hard and not overwhelming like looking at my "big mug" of water.  When I see that, I realized it overwhelmed me and I didn't think I could possibly drink more.   

After finishing that cup I refilled it to drink with my breakfast.  As soon as I finished it I made my ONE cup of coffee I love.  That's how I usually get my morning water done.  I don't allow myself the pleasure of a cup of coffee without drinking water first.  I finish breakfast and I'm so full and thinking how am I possibly going to drink more water?  Already forgetting it's just a cup!  An 8oz cup of water.  Why do they say a glass?  That sounds like so much more.  Turns out it went right down and I felt full.  Not "stomach ache" full but "good" full. 

 I decided to try something.  I took out a sharpie and wrote on my cup.  111  As I drank more cups between breakfast and lunch I started to see that 9 cups of water is really easy.  Just using the bda method gives you 9.  Anything in between is lagniappe.  Every cup I drank I made my mark on my cup and before you know it I had 9.  It just seemed so easy.   I tried this yesterday and today and I can tell a difference in the way I feel.  Do I believe it is going to drop my weight faster?  I don't believe it will.  I do believe without a doubt that I'm not feeling hungry and having to battle staring at a big thing of water and convincing myself I need to finish it and more.  Before by in between snack I drank the same way.  bda  Soon  I was thinking I need to write about this on my blog.  Some of my readers may look at water the same way I did.  

I have not read Blake's book nor am I trying to promote it.  You can check out his FB page or website to decide for yourself if your interested.  Obviously there is way more to his book than when to drink your water.  He seems very committed to helping people who need support to get started on their weight loss journey.  

On occasion I watch Dr. Oz depending on the subject.  Chris Powell was on there today so I decided to watch.  He is a personal trainer and host of Extreme Weight Loss.  I've never watched the program but my husband has.  He's been pretty amazed by some of the stories.  
He said something today that I said found useful.  Calculate the number of calories you should be eating by taking your weight and multiply by 12.   Doing this to quickly check it out I discover my goal is 200 calories over.  My weight loss has been slow but it's working so I'm going to leave things along.  I'd like to see what changes may happen with my new way of drinking water first.  It will probably just take longer to achieve my goal.  If I were not able to exercise I'd definitely adjust the goal.  

I hope this post gives someone some useful information or possibly some hope that you too can set some goals and achieve them if you put your mind to it.  If you have a computer or a smartphone you have plenty of tools right there to help you.  Good luck and happy dieting.  Drink up....water that is!

Living with H.O.P.E. (hold on pain ends)
Theresa


In memory of Olivia Grace Caston; born June 7, 2013    In the words of her MiMi
"Now in heaven as an Angel August 23, 2013 (her original due date)"
May God touch her parents hearts and ease their pain of losing this precious gift that was theirs for just a short time.   So many people are praying for you and your family.  God Bless

****Mimi is a friend of mind.  Being a grandmother and also "expecting another"  my heart simply aches for her very deeply.