Drinking water is one of the easiest things we can do to help our fitness and weight loss goals. Staying sufficiently hydrated not only aids in our weight loss goals but also helps muscle function, digestion, and so much more.
How does this work?
As we sit reading this blog, we are about 60% water. From our brain, lungs, heart, systems, fluids, and skin we are basically full of water. Our bodies like a sense of comfort or homeostasis, so its important to keep our water levels at a good level to help all our systems function as they should. If we do not keep an even level it can affect how we rebuild muscle or lose fat.
So how much water should I drink?
There are a few good general guidelines of how much water we should intake. We should at a minimum strive for eight glasses of at least eight ounces of water each day. It’s important to also account for exercising or being in the heat as this will also cause fluid loss. When we workout we can lose up to ten percent of our body weight. Luckily, we have a natural system for regulating how much we drink. Thirst! Make sure to strive for at least eight glasses and listen to your bodies cues when were thirsty.
How does all this water help me?
Metabolism: Water consumption plays a role to increase our metabolism. Metabolism is the rate at which we turn food into energy. As we ingest water, it signals our systems to process the water, this increases the rate at which we burn energy. This also aids in speeding up all of our bodies systems as we are 60% water anyway!
Calories: Its easy to drink our calories with all the soda, coffee, and other beverages that we have available to us through the day. Calorie intake is important with weight loss or athletic performance. Drinking water instead of these calorie filled beverages helps to save calories and helps to keep us satiated throughout the day. We can use these saved drink calories for a healthy snack later in the day or add some more protein to our portion.
Healthy Body: Water is crucial to every part of our bodies. It helps to regulate body temperature, aids in digestion, carries nutrients and oxygen to cells, lubricates joints, flushes out our waste products and helps to dissolve nutrients to make them accessible to your body. If we ingest enough water our body can perform as it should either in the gym for that big PR or that weight loss goal.
The bottom line is water is crucial for everything that we do. Hitting our daily recommended intake can improve our overall health and performance. So, make sure you fill up that water bottle this week!