You can drink water for weight loss & wellbeing, yes, just water, all by itself! The first change you need to make to your diet and lifestyle before anything else, is to drink your two litres of water a day. Not only will this make you feel better in yourself and optimise your health, it will also help you to lose weight forever! It is really easy to mistake hunger for thirst so making sure your body is always properly hydrated, is the first step to cutting down the calories. Drinking a glass of water before a meal is the ideal time for the body to rehydrate as the stomach is empty and can absorb it quickly and easily. Once hydrated, you might find that you aren’t as hungry as you thought and opt for a smaller portion. Drinking water for weight loss is truly the cheapest, easiest change you can make to your diet and it doesn’t just have to be water!

It all starts with drinking water!

I know that you’ve heard it all before and you’ve tried to drink your two litres a day. You force it down on top of your usual teas, coffees and juices and end up rushing to the loo all afternoon! Is all this extra fluid really necessary, when your body just seems to reject it? Well, actually no, you don’t just have to drink plain old water after all. Some small studies (checked out by the NHS) have shown that tea and coffee are just as hydrating as water, allowing them to count towards your total. Just be aware that caffeine in both tea and coffee can have effects on the body that water alone does not. If you are adding sugar to these drinks, remember that you are adding extra calories too, but we’ll talk about sugar another time! 

Water’s boring. Are there other healthy alternatives?

Rather than flavouring water with sugary concentrates, there are many healthy, sugar free options. Try pimping your water with a squeeze of fruit juice like lemon, lime or orange and even add fresh mint for a refreshing twist. This fab but simple recipe using pomegranate, lime and ginger, is made with sparking water. If you are a fan of fizzy, this is definitely the one for you! It’s also a great way to encourage the kids to drink more without ladling in the sugar! 

It doesn’t just have to be water in drinks.

Most foods also have a high water content so if you haven’t quite managed two litres of fluid, its likely that your meals will make up the shortfall. Fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy all contain water so providing you aren’t living on a diet of cream-crackers, your food counts!

When ONLY WATER will do!

All that said, there is one time of day where only plain water will do and by making just this one small change, you’ll feel a big difference. Before breakfast, before anything else passes your lips, drink 1-2 glasses of water (1/2 – 1 pint). You can build up to this amount. Think of this as washing your insides! Just like you wash your face and brush your teeth, give your insides a rinse through. First thing in the morning is the perfect time to cleanse your system and allow your body to rehydrate. Drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake will kick start your digestive system, waking up your body to begin burning energy. The sooner this starts the better and more awake you will feel and the more calories you will be burning just doing your normal routine. Get your insides awake and working!

Water for weight loss.

Get into the habit of drinking a glass of water (flavoured or plain) around 30 minutes before eating. This will help reduce appetite and increase your metabolism, making you burn more energy while doing what you usually do.

Drink cold water (flavoured or plain) whenever possible. The body has to work harder to bring the water up to body temperature, burning energy to do so.

Green tea has been proven to help burn fat by boosting our natural fat-burning hormones and can even increase metabolism (this article goes into more depth). This has an even greater effect during exercise! Make your workout more efficient by replacing that energy drink (full of sugar) with a nice cup of tea! As well as helping you lose body fat, green tea is full of antioxidants with lots of other potential health benefits. It’s definitely worth trying to add it into your daily diet.

 

Water for health and wellbeing.

I’ve always been aware of the ‘2l a day’ rule but have only recently started to put it into practice regularly. A few years ago, I started to suffer with UTIs (urinary tract infections) and believe me when I say that having a UTI once, was enough! Having discussed the various causes of UTIs, I realised that it was quite likely that dehydration was causing mine. I now religiously drink my pint of water, first thing in the morning, every day and have reduced the frequency of these infection dramatically. For a super healthy morning ‘pick-me-up’, add 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric (full of amazing health benefits), a few slices of root ginger and a slice of lemon to warm water and allow to cool (overnight in the fridge if possible). Serve with ice for a refreshing drink, full of antioxidants.

Having changed my habits, I’ve also experienced some other noticeable side-effects! Generally, I feel more alert and can get myself going more easily in the morning. I suffer less with the ‘afternoon slump’ even after a bad nights sleep. I rarely suffer with headaches (even following a few glasses of wine!) despite having a very noisy family!

Drinking your two litres a day will also reduce the risk of constipation and kidney stones. It may even reduce the risk of some cancers.

Drinking water to lose weight forever

If you are following my ‘How to lose weight forever’ plan, it’s time to start putting this into practice! Remember, this is a lifestyle change for a healthier, happier you so share it with the whole family!

Understand it– Make sure you get it! Understanding why you are making a change means you are far more likely to stick to it!

Look back through the post and see if you can identify with any benefits of drinking more water. Click on some links for more in-depth information. Contact me or leave a comment below if you have a question.

Optimise and adapt it– No one can implement every dietary change to the letter. Work out what will work for you and suit your lifestyle. Make a small change now and revisit in a few weeks. Small steps are the key to losing weight forever.

I would highly recommend drinking a glass of water before anything else, in the morning. This one change has made such a huge difference for me!

Master it– Once you have decided how this change can work for you, do it! Change takes time so you need to stick at it to see results. To help you master changes, don’t do it alone……….

If you need support feel free to contact me through any of my social media channels.

Teach and share it– Making any change alone is hard. If everyone is doing it and understanding it, you are all in it together. Introduce ideas to your family and friends. Educate your children and get them into great habits. Share the love!

Remember to explain the reasons why when introducing a change to young children (or anyone for that matter). The best moments are hearing your child explaining it to someone else or better still, telling you off for not following your own rule!!

 

Are you always on a different diet? Always trying to lose weight? Stop with the quick fixes and start with the ‘forever’ plan. Join me and my family and lose weight forever!