Most of us don’t drink enough water on a daily basis, so don’t feel like you are the only one.  What you need to know is why drinking more water will help you lose weight faster and for life.

To see what we are doing to our bodies by not drinking enough water, we need to bypass the dry skin, cracked lips, dull skin and hair and go inside down to our liver and kidneys.

Our liver is designed to convert stored fat into energy (also known as metabolism) and while the liver has many other functions, this would be one of its main jobs.

So if we are not drinking enough water our kidneys are unable to work 100% as they require water to flush them out.  This means that our liver needs to pick up the slack and function for the kidneys to flush all the toxins out, which means it has less time to work on converting stored fat into energy.

Our body requires roughly about 2L per day to flush out the toxins and for most of us, when we increase our water intake, we tend to need to come and go from the bathroom all day long.  However this only lasts for a couple of days, but for most of us the inconvenience of those toilet trips makes us stop at this point, when really what our body is doing at every toilet trip is flushing out all the toxins that we have been storing in our bodies from antibiotics, sugars, fats, caffeine etc.  You body is designed to get rid of any excess toxins that it doesn’t need to store.  This can also help to get rid of excess water or ‘water retention’ in ankles, hips, tummy and thighs. 

Water is our natural detox and when it has got rid of all the stored toxins our body starts to function normally (a new normal for most of us).

Water and Beauty
Water and beauty comes hand in hand as drinking plenty of water will flush out impurities in your skin, which will leave a clear and glowing complexion, it will look younger and water helps improve muscle tone so to get rid of sad saggy skin, just keep drinking water!

I know when I haven’t drunk enough water myself because I start having breakouts on my face and body and it is only when my body has completely detoxed (normally takes 2-3 days of 2L water or more) that my skin starts to look healthy again.
I have to drink how much?

It is suggested that we drink about 2L per day for the average adult, however if you are overweight you will need to add an extra 240ml for every 11.4kg of excess weight.  This number is taken from the weight you should be for your height (BMR).

You should also increase your water intake if you live in a hot climate or do intensive exercise.

The problem with needing 2L of water every day is that we panic towards the end of the day that we haven’t drunk enough and so we try to fit the 2L within the space of a few short hours…this can lead to bloating and a sloshy tummy.

We should be regularly sipping at water throughout the day, making sure that at break times breakfast/morning tea/lunch/afternoon tea/dinner we drink at least 1 full glass of water (about 250ml). 

DON’T GO THIRSTY – it’s too late by this stage; if you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated!

But I don’t like the taste of water

While water is not always the tastiest, you can try a couple of different options:

• Lemon or lime slices in a water jug with ice (some people find it easier to drink ice cold water than room temperature)
• Flavoured water – check your labels to make sure you are not ingesting sugars or other ingredients that are toxic to our bodies

Everyday Hydration hints:

 
• Look for light to clear coloured urine – this will show you how hydrated you are!
• If you are hungry when you shouldn’t be (like straight after a meal), try drinking a couple of glasses of water.  Sometimes we confuse thirst for hunger.  If you are still hungry 15 minutes later, try eating a piece of fruit to keep you going until your next meal.
• Eating fresh fruit and vegies are a great way to hydrate your body
• Keep a bottle of water handy at all times, also keep a bottle in your car but make sure it is refillable bottle not a disposable bottle as toxins are released when the bottles heat up.
• Make sure you have a drink of water first thing in the morning…8 hours is a long time to go without water.
• For every coffee/tea or alcoholic drink you need to drink a glass of water.  These can have diuretic effects and can make you lose more water from your body.

Hydration & Exercise hints:

 
• Drink one to two glasses of water at least an hour before you start exercising
• Drink another glass 20-30 minutes before exercising
• Drink 125ml – 250ml of fluid every 15 minutes or so during exercising
• Drink an additional 250ml of fluid within 30 minutes of exercising
• And ALWAYS bring your drink bottle to exercise class!!

While it is recommended that you drink a glass of water before going to bed (as 8 hours is a long time to go without water), if you are a night-time pee-er then keep a glass by your bed and take small sips during the night should you wake up a little thirsty.

So next time you look at your empty glass, fill it up and keep sipping and reap the rewards.

What are your tricks to keeping up your water intake?

Katrina

Would you like to know how you can make it healthy?

I used my slow cooker for the first time this week and decided to make a Thai Chicken Curry.  While the original recipe had chicken, curry paste and coconut milk there was not much else to the recipe…so I adjusted the recipe to suit what I had in the cupboard and fridge, and to my likings.

What an amazing dish it turned out to be and it has lasted me for 8-10 meals – not bad for a simple recipe.  This got me thinking about recipes and how it is possible to change a not so healthy recipe into a healthy one just by tweaking the recipe a bit.

With 12 years experience in the hospitality industry (including in kitchens) plus having a partner in the industry, I find adjustments to recipes easy to do but for most of us this does not come naturally. So today, I thought I would go through the process I used in turning a high calorie curry into a healthier, lighter meal.

Thai Red Chicken Curry

Curry Paste
2 shallots, coarsely chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and chopped
3 red chillies, seeded and chopped
1 piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tbs fish sauce (or soy sauce)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp paprika

For Curry Dish
1 tbs vegetable oil
6 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
500ml coconut milk (not light)
To make curry paste, put all ingredients in a food processor.  Process until you have a smooth paste.
In a large frying pan, heat the vegetable oil, add the chicken, and fry for a few minutes until the pieces are browned all over.  Lift out with a slotted spoon and transfer to the slow cooker.  Add the curry paste to the frying pan and fry for 2 minutes.  Slowly add the coconut milk, stirring continually and scraping the bottom of the frying pan to deglaze.  Transfer the sauce to the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Serve over rice.

Recipe from 50 slow-cooker dishes by Carol Beckerman, pg 121
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So how do you make this recipe a little healthier? 

Firstly you notice that the recipe uses a lot of coconut cream – 500ml totals about 945 calories to the recipe.

I would change the amount of coconut cream in the recipe and add 1 cup stock, plus 140ml coconut milk instead of the cream – you have just reduced the calorie intake to 239, which is 706 calories less in this dish!

With already a slight adjustment in this dish, you are still keeping flavour but losing those extra centimetres on your hips!  Now comes the easy bit – start adding your vegies.

Slow cooker recipes require sturdy vegetable to be added to dishes, so things like potatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, carrot and zucchini are great additions.  I also added some mushrooms as an extra towards the end of the cooking process.

This may require you to adjust the amount of liquid in the recipe; however it’s a better option to add chicken stock rather than the coconut milk.

By adding the vegies, I was able to take a recipe that served 4-6 to now cater for about 8-10 meals and it can be frozen so no need to eat curry for every meal!!

There you have it, a very simple way to adjust your favourite recipes to become a healthy alternative!

If you have any recipes you want to share with us or need some help adjusting, please post below and we will see what we can come up with.

Yours’ in women’s health and fitness,

Katrina