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There are many ideas floating around the nutrition and health world about the role and benefits of water in weight loss.  Some are true and some are false, but before we get to any of them its important to make this first point clear.  By weight loss in this article we mean body fat loss.  This is an important distinction when talking about water because water is heavy and it can account for some higher numbers on your scale, even if you are sticking to your healthy habits and improving your body composition.   When reading about the tips below keep in mind that drinking more water may make your weight temporarily go up, just like dehydrating yourself will make the weight temporarily go down.  These changes are not very reflective of your health though, so wait for a couple of weeks before determining whether dietary changes are having the impact you desire.

Daily needs for Water and Digestion

Every day your body needs on average 3.7 liters of water if you are male and 2.7 liters if you are female.  Let’s put this into perspective: bottled water is usually a half a liter, so a woman needs to drink almost 6 of these bottles each day.  For men this is 8 bottles per day- approximately a full gallon!  If you exercise regularly you need even more.  What is your body doing with all this water?  There are many ways water is used in the body but lets focus on the ones that pertain to weight loss.

It takes your body about 1 liter of water to digest each 1000 calories you eat.  Water travels with food, particularly with protein and carbohydrates.  Water also maintains the balance of salts and electrolytes in your body.  This means that when you eat more of these water-carrying nutrients you will carry more water naturally.  How does this impact your diet?  Read on!

The impact of water in your diet

Fullness

So you are out with your friends for dinner and you have a substantial meal.  How full are you?  Well you might think of your dinner as a sponge.  If you were drinking water with your meal and you feel full afterwards you have a pretty accurate impression of what you had to eat.  If you weren’t drinking water with your meal and you feel full, just you wait.  In addition to the fullness you’re experiencing you will get hit a second time once your meal absorbs many times its weight in water.  This can take some time, so eat slowly!

There are some that claim that fullness associated with drinking plenty of water is enough to stifle a food craving but the research for this is not conclusive.  Water doesn’t stick around the stomach very long, so the effect may be short-lived.   The best bet is to drink lots of water regularly, especially if you tend to drink too little, and especially with meals.

Cravings

On the topic of cravings, water can help when you are in the kitchen and aren’t sure what you’re after.  Having a unidentifiable craving and being in the kitchen can be a dangerous affair that often ends with you eating a lot of everything you own while standing in front of the open fridge.  This is the time to take a gamble: assume your craving is for water, drink down a glass, and wait 10 minutes.  If you aren’t paying very close attention to your body you may misinterpret a signal to drink water (say after eating a handful of salty snacks) for a signal to snack some more.  Water is always the safest bet in these cases because there is no penalty for being wrong!

Focus

As mentioned previously, water caries electrolytes in the body.  These electrolytes are important for brain function, which is partly why dehydration causes headaches.  What you may not realize is that having enough water, just like having enough food, can drastically alter your focus and memory.  This relates to weight loss in a strange but interesting way; when you are more tired, unfocused, and inattentive you are more likely to stray from your healthy habits for the first food-like item in your path.  Keeping your brain sharp by having a large glass of water first thing in the morning can set the course for your whole day!

Drink Replacement

An often unintended but incredibly beneficial side effect of water drinking is that it often decreases the amount of other beverages consumed.  What do I mean by other beverages?  I mean everything from juice to lattes to soda or alcohol.  All of these add calories to your diet and, being liquid, don’t contribute significantly to your sense of fullness.  It can be easy to forget about all of the calories you get from drinks but it’s a safe bet that replacing one of these beverages each day with a glass of water will go far towards achieving your health goals.

Goals

Finally, these goals you have set for yourself can be difficult to remember, especially when you are hungry and being tempted.  Much like Pavlov did with his dogs, you can condition yourself to keep these thoughts in your mind throughout the day by pairing them with something you do frequently throughout your day.  Might I suggest: drinking water?  Every time you fill up your glass it will be a tangible reminder of your promise to yourself.

Tips for improving water drinking throughout the day

• Have a full glass first thing in the morning
• Carry a reusable water bottle with you throughout the day
• Make an effort to drink water with meals
• Replace water for other beverages you commonly drink
• Go for water when you aren’t hungry but you get a craving
• For women: Try to get about 2.7 liters of water a day
• For men: Try to get about  3.7 liters of water a day

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Woman Experiencing Fat Loss

Time to return to a few minutes of theory. Fat loss is not a complicated science. However, you need to understand how fat loss occurs in order to optimize your weight loss strategy. There are principles that you need to abide to and practice on a regular basis if you really want to lose the weight and keep it off for good. So many people start a weight loss program only to fall off the wagon in spite of the hard efforts. The reason behind such failure stems out of a violation of the following fat burning principles.

Create A Calorie Deficit
In order to burn the right amounts of fat for proper weight loss, you need to create a massive calorie deficit, meaning you burn off more calories than you’re taking in. There is no way around it. See, to lose one pound, you need to burn off 3500 calories a minimum. Hence, if you plan to lose one pound of fat, you need to create a 3500 calorie deficit diet. It’s not that complicated at all.
To lose one pound per week, you need to create a daily calorie deficit of 500 or more. To do this, you need to combine proper diet with the right exercise. For instance, if you cut back on 250 calories per day (dropping the beer and sugary drinks can do the trick!) and you’re doing some form of exercise where you’re burning the equivalent of 250 calories or more, you’ll be on your way to losing one pound per week. Learn how to cut 500 calories a day and use this fat burning principle to lose weight.

Don’t Skip Meals
Skipping meals is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when it come to losing weight. In fact, doing so can backfire on your weight loss results and health. Not only that, you’ll be also setting yourself up for binge eating as you’ll be hungrier on your next meal, thus overeat. In addition, skipping on food slows down your metabolism levels (thus burn less calories per minute) and teaches your body to go to starvation mode, thus hold on to fat. Opting for this eating approach leads to weight gain, fatigue, health troubles and a loss of enthusiasm for the weight loss plan.

As a result, you need to keep your metabolism on the high throughout the day. To do that, you need to eat 5-6 small meals, every 3-4 hours. To achieve this try eating breakfast early. By doing this, your body will have a steady supply of energy which it can use to stay in the fat burning zone, perform at its best – both mentally and physically. Furthermore, this regular eating will help keep your body’s starvation mode at bay.

Aim for a healthy mix of protein, low glycemic carbs, vegetable with each meal. Of course, your diet choices depend on your weight loss and exercise goals. They tend to vary from person to the next. So you need to keep track, find what works best for you and stick with it.

Keep Your Blood Sugar Levels At Bay
Spiking your blood sugar levels has dire consequences. For starters, boosting your blood sugar level will trigger your body to store available carbs as fat instead of making it available as energy for the workouts and other daily tasks. Secondly, spiking your blood sugar level will make you more hungry and thus propel you to binge and eat more than your body really needs. Therefore, you’ll doubtless compromise you weight loss efforts, thus leading to more setbacks and frustration.

Therefore, make sure to avoid spiking your blood sugar levels by doing the following:
- Avoid eating too many carbs at once. Eating your carbs together with protein and fats slows their absorption.
- Use the glycemic index to plan for your meals. Opt for foods with lower ratings;
- Plan your carbs consumption around your workouts. Eat carbs during and after exercise.
- Eat your carbs early in the day as you’ll need for the exercise and performing your daily task. Don’t eat them in the evening.

These fat burning principles are no rocket science. You just need to start where you’re at and gradually advance toward making your weight loss vision a concrete reality. Nevertheless, knowledge is just potential power; you need to practice these principles on a regular basis. Otherwise no change will ever take place.

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I need more of these meals in my life!

Here’s a strange fact: We went to Fresh Market on Tuesday ,spent a good chunk of money, and I’m still finding it hard to figure out what to make. I swear we bought nothing but, juice (Josh bought five containers of fresh pressed pomegranate juice), fruit, lettuce, cereal and two pounds of bacon. I should never go to the store without a plan. I will end up buying elements of a meal that just don’t go together.

So now I need a plan, because I ate out Wednesday night with my girlfriends, which is fine. I out breakfast out yesterday morning, which is not fine. And I made egg noodles with butter and parmesan last night for dinner. Also, not good.

And I need to learn how to soak beans. I know, put them in water and let them soak. But, mine took so long to get soft, they got moldy. How does one not know how to properly soak beans?

I want to go to the store today and not go again (except for fresh produce) for about two weeks. The next two weeks are going to be busy and I want to be ready with fresh, prepared food and a plan.

Here’s what I want to make more of:

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Gaining muscle always seems to take the back seat to losing weight for women, but muscle can actually help in the quest for weight loss.  In fact, adding some pounds of muscle will improve your body composition- an important factor in determining your overall health.  While you are lifting weights your body is strengthening its bones, lowering your heart rate, and maximizing your lung capacity.  The popular belief is that protein powder is all that’s needed to get ripped, but this is inaccurate (and unpleasant).

Energy (Calories, Iron, and B-vitamins)

The first thing to understand is that strict weight lifting does not require you to fuel up the way you would for a run.  There are some weight lifters who make it into an intense feat- moving from machine to machine and working so hard that their heart is racing and sweat is pouring by the end of just a few minutes, but this represents only a few of the many people who lift weights.  Casual (and I mean not deathly exhausting) weight lifting only requires a modest increase in daily calories because the majority of the hurt you are feeling is you pushing past the load-bearing capacity of your muscles.  So don’t use weight lifting as an excuse to have an extra helping at dinner.

Weight lifting can help with weight loss, but not in quite the way people have always said.  Adding muscle does not increase your caloric requirements drastically, but it does do some great things to reduce fatigue during the day- making your goals that much more achievable.

So what do you need as a woman to power your workout?

Iron and B-vitamins are big-time nutrients for athletes.  Iron helps your blood deliver oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body.  Women have a higher requirement than men for iron (18mg vs. 8mg a day respectively) and are therefore more likely to be anemic.  Iron-deficiency anemia can cut your workout short by reducing the oxygen carried from your lungs to your muscles.  This means more pain, more fatigue, and a slower recovery.  B-vitamins also do their part by helping your body break down nutrients for energy.  Eating foods high in both of these nutrients can give your body the oxygen and energy it needs to push through your workout, even when things seem their worst.

Iron comes in two types: animal and plant source.  Animal source iron is far more compatible with our intestines than plant source iron is, meaning that you need far less of it.  For example: spinach is a plant high in iron, but the body can use only about 5% of the iron listed on the label.  Meats are the best iron source, but if you can’t or choose not to eat meat, you may consider supplementing your iron.  B-vitamins can be found in many meat, seafood, egg, and diary products as well as in whole-grains.  The absorption of many B-vitamins is negatively affected by alcohol however, so be sure not to drink for at least 48 hours prior to a workout.

Bone Health (Calcium, Phosphorous, and Vitamin D)

You may not think it, but weight lifting isn’t just a workout for your muscles, it’s a workout for you bones too!  For women, bone density and bone growth is mostly decided by the age of 25, long before anybody starts to worry about osteoporosis.  Fortunately, weight-bearing exercises like those that build muscle are a great way to trick the system and store more minerals in the bones while you can.  When you lift weights you will be putting strain on your bones as well as your muscles, and it is important to eat foods that will help to repair both.  For bone health calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin D are the three to look for.

Calcium and phosphorus are two minerals that aid in bone strength and vitamin D is the partner in crime that helps them get into the body.  Dairy products aside, high calcium foods include oranges, broccoli, almonds, beans, and dark leafy greens.  Phosphorus, like calcium, can be found in dairy products but is also common in beans and fish.  Vitamin D, as a fat-soluble vitamin, is found mainly in fish oil from fatty fish varieties.  An easier way to get your daily vitamin D is from the sun.  Fifteen minutes a day of exposure (without sunscreen) is just enough each day to get the Vitamin D you need.

Recovery (Protein, Vitamin C, and Zinc)

To understand muscle building it is important to understand how muscle is built.  During intense exercise we tear some of our muscle tissue.  During the repair, the body adds more muscle over top, making you larger and stronger than you were before.  When you plan for your muscle-building workout you should be planning for wound healing.  There are three big nutrients that are needed for this: protein, vitamin C, and zinc. 

You usually need somewhere between 80 and 120 grams protein per day just to maintain your body in a resting state.  Building muscle requires even more.  Eggs have protein and many other nutrients; and don’t forget to eat the yolks.  The stigma surrounding eggs, that they raise bad cholesterol, has been mostly disproven.  Besides, about half of the protein in an egg is in the yolk!  Meat is also great, but choose carefully.  Go for cold cuts, lean meat, or fish.  If you enjoy beef you should start including lean cuts such as round, loin, shoulder, and chuck.  Beef is high in iron and zinc as well as protein.  Just remember that a serving is 3 ounces, or about the size of a deck of cards.   Nuts, beans, and alternative grains like quinoa are also high in protein.

Vitamin C and zinc are nutrients that aid in wound healing.  Vitamin C helps to re-build connective tissues while zinc is important for growth and cell replication.  Eating foods high in vitamin C and zinc can help speed up the recovery time between workouts.  Vitamin C can be found mostly in fruits (oranges, grapefruits, and strawberries) and vegetables (bell peppers, broccoli, and Brussel’s sprouts). Zinc can be found in meat, seafood, and nuts- conveniently all high-protein foods!

10 awesome foods for women who want to build muscle!

So here is the rundown- 10 awesome foods for women who want to build muscle!

1. Oysters
2. Tuna
3. Lean Beef
4. Beans
5. Raisins
6. Leafy Greens
7. Oranges
8. Almonds
9. Broccoli
10. Eggs

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So imagine this, you just spent all day following a solid diet plan and you even got in some exercise. However, now its nighttime, you are bored, your families probably asleep and you are most likely watching TV. You grab a “harmless” bag of potato chips and before you know it they are halfway gone. I have bad news for you, there is a good chance you just ate more calories than you saved all day dieting and burnt off exercising.  This means to an extent you just wasted an entire day and did not move any closer to your goal of weight loss.

What a horrible thing to think about right? But you’re in luck, you were only IMAGINING remember, you don’t actually do that do you? Well the fact is we all have been there before, I have done it, you have done it, and everyone you know has done it.  It is a common problem facing many people every single night, people are more stressed than ever these days and this means they are staying up later , binge eating more and  thus continuing to sabotage their own plan to lose weight.

How to stop binge eating

However, you are probably wondering how you can avoid binge eating at night and save your own diet? There are actually a few simple steps that you can follow to avoid excess eating at nighttime.

Step 1: Go to bed earlier, sleep is very important in our day-to-day lives and you should be getting at least 8 hours of sleep every night to ensure a healthy lifestyle.

Step 2:  If you have to stay up late or find you cannot sleep one night, keep yourself entertained! Boredom is a primary reason people binge eat at night, they just have nothing else to do and find themselves hungry.

Step 3.: If  it is too late for you and you are up later and bored already and find yourself hungry , drink a cold  glass of water first . This may be all you need to feel full again and may even relax you enough so you can fall asleep.

Step 4:  If drinking the water does not ease your hunger at all and you still need to eat, at least make sure you choose a healthy snack.  Eat something such as raw vegetables, fruit, or 100-calorie snack packs.  Even sugarless gum works for many people as it keeps them chewing.

By following those simple steps hopefully, you will be on the road to breaking your unhealthy nighttime eating habit and keeping your weight loss goals on track.

Prevention is the best way to fight binge eating

However, if you find yourself still wanting to eat unhealthy at night consider taking all junk or unhealthy foods out of your household until you break your habit. Binge eating at night time is regarded by many Doctors and Fitness Experts to be as addictive as smoking , you just begin to do it every night and look forward to that last snack.  Pre packaged healthy snacks are also a great way to keep you on track. Pre package things like raw vegetables, fruits, low salted pretzels, baked chips ect in containers and place them in easy to grab locations so eating healthy is convenient for you.

Drinking water is important

Nevertheless,  I cannot stress enough  how important for you drinking water is for you in your weight loss , a common cause of extreme hunger at night is you are not consuming enough water on a daily basis.  The human body has been estimated to be made up of around 60% of water and you need to be drinking around 96 ounces a day to keep in peak health.  However, more importantly regarding this matter, water also can help suppress your appetite, if you are hungry and drink a glass of water and wait 10 minutes, you might find you are not hungry anymore. Your body has a tendency to make you feel hungry when all you really need is water.

In conclusion, with binge eating becoming so habitual for many people, the easiest way to stop it is either by going to bed earlier or if you can’t sleep, at least keep yourself busy. If those two tactics cannot keep your hunger at bay then follow the more direct methods I listed above for you.

I hope that with the knowledge you have gained from this article, you will find it easier to stick to your diet during the night and reach your weight loss goals faster.

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