By Pam Fung
Water, as many of us know is essential for survival, but exactly how much water should we be drinking? Doctors recommend 8-9 cup of water a day that is about half a gallon of water. However, if you’re performing strenuous physical activities 1 gallon of water is recommended ( that is eight 16oz water bottles , in case you didn’t want to lug around a gallon of water like I do ). But why so much?
Water is a very important component in your health and can be very beneficial for weight loss. It is critical to drink water when strength training. You lose a lot of water that needs to be replaced to prevent dehydration and increase muscle recovery.
Some Benefits of drinking water:
- clearer skin
- prevents bloating by washing out the sodium the holds onto water
- helps with dry skin and brittle hair by hydrating
- flushes out toxins
- controls appetite
Drinking the proper amount of water also helps control hunger. If you drink about 16oz. (one water bottle) of water with each meal you are less likely to overeat, because you become fuller quicker. Tip: The body can give you signals of it being hungry, when it is actually thirsty. So before you reach for the food drink some water and see if that satisfies you. J
***It is possible to drink too much water; this can lead to water intoxification, where your body dilutes its necessary nutrients. Too much water in a short period of time can cause an electrolyte imbalance, which leads to your body lacking sufficient sodium ion concentrations.
I know water may be a bit bland to some people, I had the similar problem, and in fact I never really drank water until about 3 years ago. There are many ways to make drinking water easier:
- Adding Crystal Light. They have a vast variety of flavors with very low or no calories at all
- Adding lemon, cucumber, watermelon, strawberries to your water
- Drinking more tea
- Making your own frozen lemonade
A Gallon a day keeps the hunger away 😉
EllaThought 