As you may know, the human body is about 70% water. Blood is 83% water, muscles are 75% water, the brain is 74% water, bone is 22% water. When roughly 80% of the population is dehydrated (according to nutritionist) you can see where and what can be seriously effected due to the lack of water. Without drinking water regularly you become more lethargic because your muscles are working harder to do the work they need to do and burn themselves out. (If your muscle is 75% water and you don’t drink water… what do you think is gonna happen?) If you’re dehydrated, your blood is literally thicker as well, and your body has to work much harder to cause it to circulate. As a result, the brain becomes less active, it’s hard to concentrate and your body feels fatigued. Although calcium is the major bone builder, without water in your diet bone will break down faster leading to early arthritis and problems with bone density. Water is the simplest and best fuel for your body. You can survive up to 3 weeks without food however you would be lucky to live 5 days without water.

Before you jump down my throat and say, “Hey, I haven’t drank water in ages and I’m still alive.” Well, duh… The water that you drink isn’t the only water you take in. Everything you eat or drink typically has some kind of water… as little as it may be. Regardless you need to keep drinking water! Water is necessary for your body to digest and absorb vitamins and nutrients. It also detoxifies the liver and kidneys, and carries away waste from the body. Water is also a major component in digestion. Fiber alone cannot aid proper digestive function. In fact, without water as its partner, good fiber goes bad, causing constipation and extreme discomfort.

Ideally a person should drink 8 glasses of water per day. Depending on a person’s weight and stature they should drink up to half of their weight (in ounces) in water per day! By simply drinking more water you can:

• Improve Your Energy
• Increase Your Mental and Physical Performance
• Remove Toxins & Waste Products from your body
• Keep Skin Healthy and Glowing
• Help You Lose Weight
• Reduce Headaches and Dizziness
• Allow for proper Digestion
An excerpt from Better Way Health; Drinking Water & Weight Loss states:

“Water is a natural appetite suppressant, so developing a good water drinking habit can be a long-term aid in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Doctor F. Batmanghelidj MD, author of “Your Body’s Many Cries For Water” says most times your “hunger” is your body asking for water – not food.It’s also important to remember that when the body is dehydrated, fat cells get “rubbery” and cannot be easily metabolized. This means that it’s harder to lose when you don’t drink your water.”

Now we can’t all drink water all day long, but at least adding a few bottles a day is a great start! Don’t think that since you are not thirsty that you cannot drink any water. Typically once you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Also keep an eye on your diuretics. Diuretics are chemicals that suck the water out of your body. Common diuretics are found in coffee, tea and caffeinated sodas.You should drink more water if you supplement your diet with coffee, tea and soda. So keep drinking that water, fill up a bottle a few time a day. Just do it!

After I proposed to Maria, we did a complete 180 in attitude towards exercise and healthy living and as a Christmas gift Maria gave us both a “Diet Log”. Our goal is to be ready for our “beachy” wedding in 2010 and giving us ample time to not have to rush to loose weight or do it “the wrong way”. There were two different books in front of me. Maria let me pick which one I wanted so I paged through them and picked one that I thought would be most beneficial to me and ended up with “The Ultimate Diet Log” by Suzanne Schlosberg & Cynthia Sass.

It’s a 26-week daily diary that includes a 5-day initial assessment, a 3-step plan to narrow the focus and set smart goals and charts to track your progress. There is a ton of information in this spiral bound book. The information is presented in a well organized and easy-to-read format. Days in the Daily Diary are 1 per page and make it easier to schedule meals and keep track of what you eat during those meals. You are encouraged to set reasonable goals and keep track of them throughout the diary.

Have a problem with eating at multiple times per day? ME TOO! One of my biggest woes was eating up to 5 times a day. I just couldnt fathom it though I understood why I needed to do it. One of the nicer perks of the book’s layout is that your day is broken down into 5 sections which make it incredibly simple to eat at specific times and actually eat 5 time a day! There is also a section for exercise, notes and every week has a weekly wrap-up where you can compare goals and examine any short comings you may have had during the week in order to better prepare for the next week.

With diet log in hand I go! Has anyone used this book before or have any good success stories?