Diet and Exercise Evolution: Water: 65% of Your Body Cant be Wrong
The Liver
The function of your kidneys is to filter your blood (which is mostly water). And one of the functions of your liver is to metabolize fat. If you don’t consume enough water, your kidneys can’t function properly, so your liver starts to help perform kidney functions. So, if your liver is busy helping your ailing kidneys, you can’t burn as much fat. Let me repeat that: No matter how much you exercise, if you don’t drink enough water, your liver will not metabolize fat for you, because it is trying to help your kidneys.
Too Much Water?
Being hyper-hydrated (consuming too much water) is not in any way harmful , and actually helps your body metabolize fat. The greatest ill effect of excess water consumption is that you will visit the washroom more often. Consider it a chance to fit in a little more exercise into your daily routine.
There have been a few cases of long distance runners who have died from drinking water to toxic levels, but this is extremely rare, and their situation is very unique, so it is nothing for a normal person to worry about.
Retaining Water
You may have a medical condition that causes you to retain water, probably because of excess salt (sodium) in your system. The solution is simple: drink more water. Your body retains water for the same reason it retains fat: your body thinks that it’s hard to come by. If you teach your body that food is abundant, it will stop storing it. If you teach your body that water is abundant by drinking more of it, your body will stop storing it. For more information on how your body adapts to various stimuli, read my articles about adaptation on my website, they’re free.
Other Benefits
The more water you drink the healthier your skin becomes, because it has to be moisturized from the inside and out. It also contributes to joint lubrication, reducing the risk of injury in any activity. Water is the best cure for constipation, and should be your first choice, even before increasing fiber or taking laxatives.
When you are active, you should drink even more water, especially on hot days, to replace what you lose in sweat. Do not wait until you’re thirsty, because that is your body telling you that it is already under-hydrated. Try to keep yourself over-hydrated for best health. Here’s an extra tip: cold water is more easily absorbed into your system, plus it slightly lowers your body temperature, so you have to burn a few extra calories to bring your body temperature back up.
I Drink Plenty of Coffee, That’s Mostly Water, Right?
What counts as water? Some say “only water”, but some research has found that fruit juices that are mostly water can be counted towards your daily quota. However, you simply can’t drink as much juice as you can water. Juice will fill you up, and contains sugar which you should try to minimize in your diet. So, it’s really not a substitute for simple, clear water. And even though coffee is made with mostly water, it does not count since it is a diuretic and actually strips water from your system. Colas are also full of that diuretic caffeine, besides their ultra-high sugar content, so soft drinks should be the first item to stop consuming if you’re trying to lose weight. Replace those “alternatives” with a glass of water, and you’ll feel better and start losing pounds and inches.
It was recently found that even diet sodas do not help dieters, go to the “news” section of my site to read more about this research.
I hope it goes without saying that alcohol, even when mixed with water, is a diuretic and my advice is to minimize your consumption of alcoholic drinks.
Final Tip
You don’t have to drink a huge glass or two all at once, either. I have a large glass of water at my desk all day. As soon as it is empty, I refill it. I naturally sip it whenever I like, and I end up drinking more than my quota of water every day.
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David McCormick is the founder of Weightless Products. His Mr. Weightless site is dedicated to free weight loss articles and advice, primarily targeted to men. There are no banners, no pop-ups, and you will never be asked for your email address. Mr. Weightless: Wait Less for Weight Loss!
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Leaning Toward Lean: Clear Thinking For Better Health(Care)
Mindfulness is all about paying attention. It’s amazing what can be accomplished when mindfulness is applied to systems that need all the attention they can get. If there’s an industry that needs some CPR and TLC, it’s healthcare.
Cindy Jimmerson is a 30-year trauma nurse who is passionate about streamlining healthcare processes. Her consulting company, Lean HealthCare West, is blasting through always-done-it-that-way thinking to reduce waiting time for patients, eliminate staff errors, and save hospitals and patients millions of dollars.
She is the Queen of Lean in hospitals, and she’s on a mission to improve the health of our country’s largest industry–$1.76 trillion in 2002, and soon to explode as the baby-boomers hit their sixties.
When it comes to looking for powerful tools for transforming processes, we’re fortunate to have a proven model that continues to outperform peers around the world. The Toyota Production System was originally developed by an American, W. Edwards Deming, who couldn’t get anyone in the U.S. to pay attention to his approach. The Japanese listened and learned. Today, TPS continues to propel industries toward greater productivity, less waste, improved quality, and increased workplace appreciation.
Cindy’s firm takes TPS straight to the ER and beyond. Now, you might think that a model focusing on getting product moved through the assembly line more efficiently is completely inappropriate for handling human patients. You would be dead wrong.
TPS focuses on adding value to what matters most–in this case, caring for patients. In doing so, it takes a hard look at every step taken which results in less contact with those who need care. The customer is king, and in healthcare, the customer is the patient. Instead of developing ways to make hospitals more profitable by relegating the patient to widget status, TPS restores the patient as the primary focus. How refreshing!
There’s a common misconception that people do not like change. I happen to love rearranging rooms every season. However, I’d probably get a little cranky if I walked into my house and found that someone else had moved all the furniture.
The real story is that people do not like change that is imposed upon them, but they appreciate being part of the solution. Employees using TPS love having the opportunity to creatively explore options that allow them to perform their work with greater efficiency. And why not? It helps them reconnect to the best parts of their job.
Toyota walks its talk. It would be one thing if the company had a policy of being “open to suggestions” while rarely making any changes. But Toyota consistently acts on its employees’ recommendations. In fact, the most recent figures indicate that the company implemented 99% of its yearly total of over 700,000 employee ideas!
That same emphasis on valuing the knowledge and experience of employees and trusting them to develop better processes is the key to tackling healthcare’s estimated waste–a whopping 50%.
TPS is mindfulness in action–paying attention to extra steps, inconvenient sequences, and indirect communication. The best part? Anyone can do it.
Doctors, nurses and other hospital workers are hard-working, compassionate people who are committed to providing their patients with top-notch care. Broken systems get in the way. Mindful management can repair those systems, and in the process, everyone wins.
Mindfulness at work? It works.
Talk to your doctor about getting lean.
About The Author
Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse offering specialized mindfulness training to indiviuals and corporate groups in the Pacific Northwest. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, visit massageyourmind.com. To learn more about lean healthcare, visit http://leanhealthcarewest.com
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