Tis’ the season! If you are like me, then the holiday season is the hardest time of year to stick to a healthy diet. However, the last thing we want is January 1st to roll around and to spot a few extra pounds following us around like a bad smell! The good news is that water can be your best friend in helping with fat loss by encouraging healthy maintenance of your bodily functions. Also, simply increasing your water intake can be beneficial to your overall health.
Let’s face it. It’s that time of year again for holiday festivities. Often times these festivities involve some yummy sugary foods, decadent chocolates, cakes, pies, baked cookies, you name it! Although I do recommend that you stay away from refined and processed white sugar and flour, that doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy desserts made with healthy whole food ingredients. After all, a little treat here and there can be good for the soul.
Let’s undress the joy of water:
Water has an amazing ability to support our body in metabolizing fat, which is why approximately 8 glasses of water per day never gets old!
How this works is water teams up with our kidneys and liver to make this happen. So, let me break it down: Kidneys rely on water to function properly because some of their work is to keep our blood clean from toxins, and help regulate water and electrolyte balance in our body. This prevents water retention. One of the main functions of our liver is to digest stored fat. When the body is not receiving enough water, it becomes dehydrated, and then the kidneys cannot work at their full capacity. As a result, the kidneys will pass on some of their workload to the liver. However, if the liver is doing some of the kidneys job of cleaning our blood and preventing water retention, then it is unable to focus on metabolizing fat. Bummer! For this reason, an average of 8 glasses (or more for extra pounds, since it comes with a larger metabolic load) of water is valuable to our health and helps ensure our kidneys and liver are happy and running smoothly.
Let’s also not forget the other significant health benefits of H2O. Water acts as an appetite suppressant by distending the stomach and creating satiety, which is the feeling of fullness. This can help maintain a healthy weight. Furthermore, it helps detoxify waste from the body, protects and moisturizes our joints, helps with constipation, transports nutrients and oxygen to our cells, helps with headaches and fatigue, and helps with metabolism and body temperature.
Impressive! Simple, refreshing and joyous water can do all that! The best part is, it’s the easiest beverage for us to get our hands on. Therefore, there is no reason why we can’t include more water into our diet. Also, a great way to enjoy water is by adding lemon. Not only does it add zest to our water, it has many beneficial nutrients like antioxidants. For more information on why lemon is so wonderful, check out the article on this site called ‘Waking up to Mr. Lemon’.
Finally, although water is one contributing factor in helping with fat loss and maintenance of our body, let me remind you that eating a healthy colourful diet and regular exercise is needed to ensure your optimal wellness. So drink away this holiday season with plenty of H2O. 🙂
Have a happy happy holiday and don’t forget to leave a comment below, I would love to hear your thoughts. Also, help me spread this message by sharing it on facebook and twitter.
Click here to help me share this message on twitter
Guest Writer: Irene Liu, CNP
Irene Liu is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist with a passion for nutritional education. She is a health and wellness writer as well as a personal nutrition coach. Her goal is to inspire others to live a happy and healthy life filled with delicious food.
