WATER: How 2 Litres a Day Can Keep The Fat Away!

Apart from significantly improving mental performance, enhancing energy and concentration, detoxifying the body, building new cells and lubricating joints, regulating body temperature and being a “Nutrient Transporter,”water is quite possibly the single most important catalyst in losing and maintaining healthy body fat levels when combined with intelligent and appropriate exercise. Although most of us take it for granted, water can be the only true “magic potion” for permanent body fat loss. What is the minimum amount of water you need to survive? Amazingly, the body can lose up to 50% of its protein, glucose and fat but only a 10% loss of water can cause severe body disorders, and a loss of 20% could mean death!

Water losses of one percent of your total body weight can impair functioning both mentally and physically. Losses of four percent can cause headaches, loss of energy, muscle weakness and irritability.

Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolise stored fat. Numerous studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water consumption can actually reduce fat deposits.

Here’s why: The kidneys can’t function properly without an adequate amount of water. When they don’t work to capacity, some of the workload is dumped onto the liver.

One of the liver’s primary functions is to metabolise stored fat into usable energy for the body. But, if the liver has to do some of the kidney’s work, it can’t operate to it’s maximum potential. As a result, it metabolises less fat thus more fat remains stored in the body and fat loss comes to a grinding halt.

When dietary and other factors cause an overly acidic condition in our bloodstream, our body will retain body fat to neutralise acid. This is why drinking an adequate amount of water is of prime importance. In other words, super hydrate. This will neutralise stored acid wastes and, if consumed every day in conjunction with a well balanced diet, gently remove them from the tissues.

Let’s see how this process takes place. Your system attempts to dispose of these acid wastes through channels such as the bowels, lungs or kidneys.

If the wastes cannot be eliminated, they’ll be deposited in various organs such as the liver, colon or heart, as well as connective tissue and joints. This bodily breakdown from the build up of acid waste is known as the aging process.

Therefore, in order to slow this process down, you must begin removing acid build-up by drinking adequate amounts of water, which in turn will then free up fat so it can be metabolised as your primary source of energy.

Drinking enough water is the best treatment for water retention. When the body receives less water, it perceives this as a threat to survival and begins to hold on to every drop. Water is stored in extracellular spaces (outside the cells). This can be seen as swollen feet, legs and hands.

Diuretics offer a temporary solution at best. They force out stored water along with some essential nutrients. Again, the body perceives a threat and will replace the lost water at the first opportunity. Thus the condition quickly returns.

The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give your body plenty of what it needs – water. Only then will stored water be released.

If you have a constant problem with water retention, excess salt may be the culprit. Your body will tolerate sodium only in a certain concentration. The more salt you consume, the more water your system retains to dilute it.

But eliminating unneeded salt is easy – just drink more water. As it’s forced through the kidney’s it takes away excess sodium.

An overweight person needs more water than a slimmer one. Larger people have larger metabolic loads. Since we know that water is the key to fat metabolism, it follows that the overweight person needs more water.

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration. It also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss. Shrinking cells are buoyed by water, which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and resilient.

Water helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body has a lot more waste to get rid of – all the metabolised fat must be eliminated. Again, adequate water helps flush out the waste and detoxify your system.

Water can help relieve constipation. When the body doesn’t receive adequate amounts of water, it siphons what it needs from internal sources. The colon is one primary source. Result? Constipation. But when a person drinks enough water, normal bowel function normally returns.

So far we have discovered some remarkable truths about water and weight loss:

•    The body cannot function properly without enough water and can’t metabolise stored fat efficiently.
•    Water retention shows up as excess weight.
•    To eliminate excess water you must drink more water.
•    Drinking adequate amounts of water is essential for weight loss.

How much water is enough? On average, a person should drink a minimum of 2 litres of water daily. For excellent mental performance and concentration, 3 litres daily and if you exercise every day or if the weather is hot and dry you should be looking at 3.5-4 litres daily.

Water should preferably be cold – it’s absorbed into the system at a faster rate than warm water. And some evidence suggests that drinking cold water can actually help you burn more calories.

Wishing you the Very Best of a Healthy Existence!

Mark Guilbert (M.Dip. PTST)