Nothing tastes better than water--ice cold water when you are parched or a tall glass of water after an intense workout. Water is necessary for life making up 60% of our body weight.
Sometimes when we are hungry we feel thirsty, so drinking water can help us avoid unnecessary eating. On lower carbohydrate eating plans, when our insulin levels drop, our body responds by excreting sodium in the urine as well as water. This loss of extra water can also lead to constipation which is an unwelcome guest when we are trying to look and feel our best. Water also helps to cleanse the body, removing waste products at night. If you are still not convinced, let this next fact reassure you that water is good! Drinking cold water can increase your metabolism (Ok, sounds too good to be true). If you drink cold water, your body will have to burn calories to warm that water to body temperature. You can burn up to 100 extra calories doing this.
Many have heard to drink 8 glasses of water a day, but how much water do we really need? The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is:
About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men
About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women
These recommendations cover fluids from water, other beverages and food. About 20 percent of daily fluid intake usually comes from food and the rest from drinks. Factors that can affect water intake/need include--Gender, level of physical activity/exercise, geographic location, dealing with illness (fever, diarrhea, vomiting) pregnancy and breastfeeding.
If you're ready to take the next step, here are the pillarMD recommendations to get started:
Drink enough water (~3 liters for men, ~2 liters for women)
Add a lemon, drink sparkling water, or cut up some fruit for your water
Get yourself a cute water bottle, it will make you drink more!
Drink water right when you wake up
Drink 8oz of water before meals to help regulate your appetite
See our 1 week plan to increase water intake as well!