What does EVERY single diet on earth have in common?
Keto …
Whole 30 …
Atkins …
Weight Watchers …
Paleo …
Intermittent Fasting …
Carb Cycling …
And literally any other diet that you can name …
The one thing they all have in common: WATER.
Water and the importance of proper hydration is a critical aspect to any style of eating and healthy living.
But why is that?
Well, let’s take a look!
For starters, your body is over 60% water and proper fluid intake is extremely important for just about every function that occurs within your body on a daily basis.
You can go multiple weeks without food … but you can’t even go multiple days without water.
That alone should help put the importance in perspective!
You probably know that you should stay hydrated … but what exactly does proper hydration do for you?
Well, water does a lot more than you may think …
Some of the main functions of water and proper hydration include:
Digestion – Starting with your saliva production … all the way down to your digestive tract, where water helps with food/nutrient breakdown and absorption. Water will also help prevent constipation and is used to help excrete all waste products from your body.
Lubrication – Water helps lubricate and protect your joints, brain and spinal cord.
Body Temperature – Water is used to create sweat, which helps cool your body down during exercise or when you're too hot.
Improve Physical Performance – Water will help improve your strength, endurance, power, energy, focus, mental clarity and alertness. All of which are necessary to perform at your peak on a daily basis. Water also hydrates your muscle cells, preventing injury and allowing muscle fibers to contract as smoothly as possible.
Fight of Illness – Water can help fight off health issues such as high blood pressure, kidney stones, and UTI’s.
Strengthen Skin – Proper hydration translates to smoother, brighter, stronger and healthier looking skin.
Weight Loss and Metabolism – Adequate water intake can help boost your metabolism up to 30%, aiding in a better ability to BURN FAT. Also, when properly hydrated, your appetite and cravings will be much more controlled.
Pretty easy to see the bottom line here … you should drink an abundance of water each day.
But that poses another question…
How much water should you actually be drinking?
Studies show that to maximize all of the benefits above, men should shoot for 125 oz per day and women should shoot for about 90 oz per day.
I like to keep it safe and tell everyone to shoot for 100-125oz per day.
So, roughly a gallon a day for most people.
That may seem like a lot of water to you ... so here's a few tips that will make getting your water in a little bit easier:
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Carry a Water Bottle – This will serve as a reminder to always be sipping some water throughout your day. You can even find some bottles that are marked to help you actually keep track of how much water you've drank.
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Keep Track of Your Intake – Use a marked bottle, write it down, set phone reminders, use apps … there's many different ways to keep track of your water.
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Pace Yourself – Don't feel like you need to chug a gallon upon waking or before bed, simply start little by little. Try to shoot for 16-20oz with each of your meals as a good starting point.
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Use Flavor if needed – Water can get a little boring ... or you maybe you just don't like the taste. You can find tons of flavoring options these days that have no calories, but add a little fun to you water. Supplements like electrolyte powders and amino acid products also come in delicious flavors ... and can make getting water down the hatch much easier as well. It's important to note ... all of the studies done on hydration use plain water only. That doesn't mean you can't use flavoring, but the science behind hydration is always referring to plain, unflavored water.
All in all, water and proper hydration are TOP PRIORITY when looking to lose fat, build muscle, and live a healthy life.
Water goes hand-in-hand with your nutrition, exercise, sleep and all of the other aspects that fall into fitness and healthy living.
Not only will water play a massive role in your health and fitness success, water is necessary for almost every bodily function you could name.
Don't neglect your fluid intake or your will always be lacking in results ... and not feel nearly as healthy as you should be.
Bottom line ... DRINK YOUR WATER!
*This post was written by Andrew Lynn, who has a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics. He is also a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and NASM Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist.
