Water: You've Heard It Before

I’m hoping I don’t lose you right away with today’s tidbit! I don’t want to bore you with a long tirade on how important it is to drink enough water, so here is the short and sweet version:

· Our bodies are primarily made up of water, and our muscles are made of 75% water (our brains are 85% water).

· Because our muscles are primarily water, water helps us maintain muscle tone.

· You need to drink at least 8 eight-ounce glasses of water each day.

· Water can help increase satiety (not feeling hungry).

There are plenty of other reasons why you need (and should) drink enough water throughout your day. And most of them we already know, but simply ignore.

As I was losing weight, I had to essentially re-teach myself how to read the signs my body was giving. At first, I couldn’t trust that hungry feeling—my hunger could have been an emotional response, a chemical need (we’ll talk more about this tomorrow), or just habit. I quickly realized that often when I was thirsty I was reading the sign as hunger. I think many of us misinterpret our thirst, denying our bodies a much needed component of our health.

So grab a water bottle and make it habit! Take it on the bus in the morning. Take it to lunch with you (to keep you from grabbing that soda). Take it to that afternoon meeting. Before you know it, drinking water will simply be part of your day!