Drink up; you seriously need it!

Drink more water.

Do it.

Our body is made of mostly water. But you knew that already, great. Have you thought about the role that water plays in keeping our body functioning? Without water, we wouldn't exist. I'd say that makes us water-creatures, wouldn't you? Sure, we don't live in water, but we can't venture far from it or else we wouldn't survive. All the functions of our body, from the creation of new cells (which by the way, are constantly dying and being replaced) to the transport of nutrients, to the function of our brain and flow of our blood. Everything that goes on in our body needs water to work the way it should.

Do you drink enough water? Probably not. Did you know that when your body is thirsty it doesn't even let you know? Your body doesn't really know how to tell you when it's thirsty, so even feelings of hunger are sometimes nothing more than signals that you need to drink some water. When you feel thirsty, your body has actually been thirsty for a long time. A great test is to drink a large cup of water every time you feel hungry. If you're still hungry after 3 - 5 minutes, go ahead and eat something. You'll be amazed how often the feeling of hunger passes after drinking some water. So if you're body doesn't tell you when you're thirsty, how are you supposed to know when to drink water? Well, you should be drinking water throughout the day. I always carry a bottle or two in my truck, keep a bottle in my office and refill it every few hours, and carry a small bottle in my bag. Make it a habit to drink some water every 20 - 30 minutes throughout the day. It will take a little while for your body to get used to the increased consumption of water. When I first started drinking a lot of water, I was running to the bathroom every 20 - 30 minutes! Now that my body has adjusted, it's every few hours.

Water is an awesome dieting tool. It's rarely thought of as something that actually helps you burn fat, but think about it: in addition to transporting nutrients, water is also used to flush out waste. When we burn fat, our body needs to get rid of the waste. If we're dehydrated, our body can't get rid of waste efficiently. Water is also great for suppressing hunger cravings. If you tend to binge on junk food, always drink a glass (or two!) of water beforehand. I like to drink a glass of water before I eat any meal. That way, I'll feel full faster. When I do get full, a good amount of it will be water, so digestion will be easier.

Now when I talk about water, many people assume if it's liquid, it's water. Wrong. Anything besides pure water requires extra work by our body. The liquid needs to be filtered, processed, and digested. All those things require our body to work harder, hence requiring more water! Certian liquids, such as coffee and alcohol, actually suck up the water from our body because of how much extra work they create for our body (coffee has a ton of caffeine, and caffeine speeds up the processes in our bodies, generating more work and using more water!). If you regularly drink coffee (it better be black!), you should be even more alert to how much water your drinking.

A well hydrated body functions better. It's really as simple as that. Think of water as oil for an engine. Without oil, the engine will very quickly overheat and break down. The more hydrated your body is, the better you'll feel and function, and the clearer your head will be. Water really does wonders for the human body. It's a shame it's so easily taken for granted by most people. In many third-world countries, water is more valuable than gold. Why? Because it's the deciding factor in your life. No water means no life. You die. I'm sure you won't die if you don't have any gold.

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  1. I just came back from running 1.5 miles, which improved 47 seconds in 2 weeks just from motivation to make myself close to puking at the end (master sarge says if you don’t feel like puking at the end, you didn’t give it your all), and I can’t be any happier to blog about water!

    Its such a miracle substance! Just 2 H’s and an O is all you need to drink. Aren’t we 80% water? Now that I’m trying to exercise 5 times a week, I look back and think “man, water is such a life changer”.

    Same thing happened to me when I started increasing my intake, from maybe 30oz to about 80oz. I had to go every 30 minutes. heh. But I’ve adapted. I basically need all those 80oz now, even if I clear it out often, which is a good thing I believe.

    The only think I dislike about water is how tricky it is. I learned the hard way that I gain about 5 pounds at the end of the day because of water. Then I lose it after its flushed out the body. Which makes me upset because I’m underweight and I need all the pounds I can get, lean mass I mean.

    But I agree. Water should not be taken for granted. I need it to make my weight gainer, NO-xplode drink, take my pills(all 14-17 of them each day =D), drink with my protein bar, eat with food, wash away toxins after workouts, etc etc etc.

    I’m psychoticly happy about water right now. Thanks for blogging about it at such a good timing. Next president should relay the importance of water or something. haha.

    Peace out Raam!