Drinking plenty of water is essential for any weight loss regime, as it helps flush out toxins and keeps you feeling fuller for longer. And when it comes to drinking water to lose weight fast, you can do a few things to make sure you’re getting the most out of it.
If you are exercising and ensuring you incorporate cardio and strength training in your exercise regimen, you may need to look at how much water you are consuming daily. You may be fighting a losing battle if you aren’t getting enough water. Keep reading to discover how to drink water to lose weight fast!
1. Drink a glass of water before meals
This will help you feel fuller faster and prevent overeating. Instead of grabbing a soda, sugary juice, tea, or other sweetened juices, try drinking plain water. Most women don’t drink enough water every day anyway. Our bodies are mostly water, so depleted of water decreases the effectiveness of exercising.
2. Water lubricates joints
Water helps to keep the joints healthy by lubricating them. If one lubricates the brakes on the car or puts oil in the car to help the engine run, the joints will not perform accurately without being lubricated. Many people cause injuries to their bodies by not drinking enough water. Again using the car as an example, not drinking enough water causes extra pressure on the joints. The shocks on your car help your tires to remain inflated and decrease the wear and tear on tires.
3. Water and Oxygen
Drinking water to lose weight fast has other benefits, oxygen. Where does oxygen come from in the body? The blood. In our bodies, oxygen is absorbed by the blood. What percentage of the blood is water? 90%. What are we using a lot of when we breathe? Oxygen. What causes that oxygen to travel through the body? The blood. Decreasing your water while exercising will also impact decreased oxygenation in the body, which you need to breathe.
4. Drink water to lower your blood pressure
If you want optimum health, your blood pressure must be controlled. There are many natural ways to lower blood pressure. Exercising is one of them, but drinking water is also another alternative. The more water you drink, the more blood can flow freely. If you don’t get enough water, you will make your heart work harder, trying to disperse oxygen throughout the body.
5. Water regulates body temperature
Water helps to cool the body when you exercise in the heat. It also helps to decrease dehydration by causing the body to sweat. If you are not hydrated well beforehand, you can quickly become dehydrated.
6. Drink water before bed
This will help prevent waking up in the middle of the night and snacking. Drinking water before bed helps curb the urge to snack before sleep, leading to weight gain. Water also helps cleanse the body before you go to sleep.
7. Variety of Water
If plain water is too boring, try changing things up. Try adding lemon and lime to your water. It helps change the taste and can add vitamin C to your diet. You can also try fruit-infused water. Other options would be to add berries and a slice of an orange, and I’ve also seen people add cucumber to their water. These are healthy options and eliminate the urge to crave sugar.
8. Carry bottled water throughout the day
The key here is always to make water accessible. If it’s out of site, it won’t trigger to drink. Drinking water throughout the day helps you to burn more calories. How is this possible? Water prevents your muscles from cramping. Dehydration leads to muscle cramping. If you are exercising, you don’t want cramps. It keeps you hydrated throughout the day and during workouts.
9. Water helps to flush out waste from the body
The body has two major ways to eliminate toxins from the body, the colon, and the bladder. Water helps you to filter toxins through the urinary system. The more water you drink, the more toxins are flushed out with your urine. If your urine is foul-smelling, concentrated, and deep yellow, you must add more water to your diet. Water also helps the colon and bile move waste through the colon effectively. Constipation may result if there is insufficient water to assist in this process.
10. Ideas to get extra water in your diet
Some suggestion to get extra water in your diet is to keep water at your bedside at night. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night thirsty. I keep a cup or bottle of water at my bedside to drink and go back to sleep. Keep water with you at all times. Drink extra water on hot or humid days. Lastly, eat many fruit and veggies with high water content, such as watermelon, grapes, berries, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and melons.
How much weight can I lose in a month with increased water intake?
There is no definitive answer to this question, as weight loss will vary from person to person. However, drinking more water can help boost your weight loss efforts. Try drinking a glass of water before each meal and see how much weight you lose!
How do women improve their metabolism as they age? This post is the woman’s ultimate guide to help increase metabolism after age 40.
Something happens to a woman’s body after she turns 40. Everything slows down. Muscle Mass decreases, which leads to muscle weakness, and the body’s ability to burn energy decreases.
Women lose 3-8% of muscle mass after 30. So, if one is not careful, it is easy to put on unwanted pounds and fat. So, take preventive steps to keep this from happening. Metabolism is the biochemical way your body breaks down food and converts it to energy.
Aerobic Cardio Exercise
You probably don’t want to hear it, but cardio exercise is essential for boosting metabolism. Exercising is like starting your car. You burn energy and, as a result, burn fat. One of the best benefits of exercise is that you continue to burn energy or calories for a while after your workout.
Remember this, the more you move your body, the more fuel or calories your burn. The more energy you burn, the more muscle you build. The more muscle you make, the less fat is stored in the body.
Strength Training
Strength training is essential because it builds muscle. The more muscle power you build, the less fat you will have. The mistake some make is only doing cardio or only doing strength training. It would be best to do both to boost your metabolism and lose weight.
Try strength training using free weights or your body weight to exercise. Examples of weight-bearing exercises include pushups, pullups, planks, squats, and lunges.
Drink More Water
Most people drink less than the body’s daily requirement for water. Water helps the body to burn calories. So, instead of grabbing that warm or cold beverage, pick up a water bottle and drink that instead. Drinking water can increase your metabolism by 10 to 30 percent.
Dehydration slows metabolism and causes the body to conserve energy. Instead of burning fat, you hold on to and store it. But, staying hydrated and drinking water do the opposite. The more you drink water, the less you crave sugary, unhealthy drinks, and the more you increase your metabolism.
Increase Protein
Protein builds muscle
Protein increases a gut hormone that makes you feel full and satisfied.
Protein decreases muscle weakness from aging
Protein gives you energy
Protein burns calories. Protein requires more calories to digest. Proteins also make you feel satisfied for more extended periods, decreasing the urge to eat things that are not healthy. Healthy protein includes beans, nuts, seeds, tofu, and whole-grain foods.
Increase Whole Grains
Tufts University states that those who eat whole grains instead of refined foods burn an extra 100 calories per day! Fiber also takes up more space and has bulk. Whole grains can decrease your feelings of hunger. Entire grains include rice, wheat, barley, oats, buckwheat, bulger, Millett, whole grain bread, crackers, popcorn, and Quinoa.
Increase Fruits and Vegetables
For starters, fruits and vegetables are low in calories. Once you eat fruits and veggies, the body uses this food as fuel to burn, whereas sugary refined foods store in the body as fat. Fruits and veggies contain vitamin C, vitamin B, and Calcium. So, replace foods such as sweets, snacks, white bread, and crackers with these healthier choices.
Get Adequate Sleep
Get Some Sleep
Many negative things impact the body when you don’t get enough sleep. It’s somewhat of a domino effect. You wake up late, skip breakfast because you’re running late, and eat unhealthy options at lunch because you need something to satisfy your hunger because you skipped breakfast.
You’re too tired to cook when you get home and choose an unhealthy option. Then, you snack late at night because you haven’t eaten well all day. Oh yeah, forget about working out. You’re exhausted. Sound familiar?
Sleep is a restoration process for the body. Web MD says:
Too little sleep triggers a cortisol spike. This stress hormone signals your body to conserve energy to fuel your waking hours.
Translation: You’re more apt to hang on to fat.
Researchers found that when dieters cut back on sleep for 14 days, the amount of weight they lost from fat dropped by 55%, even though their calories stayed equal. They felt hungrier and less satisfied after meals, depleting their energy.
Eat Regularly (Don’t Skip Meals)
Food is fuel to the body. Our bodies cannot function properly without eating. Skipping meals has the opposite effect of what home people realize. Not eating regular meals causes you to conserve and hold on to fat. It’s the body’s way of preserving itself from starvation. Skipping meals does not do you any favors, but eating regular, well-balanced meals helps increase metabolism.
Eat Breakfast
If you are interested in boosting your metabolism but skipping breakfast, you are fighting a losing battle. Depriving your body of the fuel or energy it needs to burn fat is like driving a car without power. You will get nowhere. Breakfast jumpstarts your metabolism for the day. Breakfast burns more calories. Not eating breakfast slows metabolism down, and you are teaching your body to hold on to fat. Eat! Enough said.
Decrease Stress
Stress causes some to lose weight and causes others to gain. Some people who may lose weight while stressed also deal with stress by eating. What do most people eat for comfort foods? You got it, junk food. But, even if you aren’t eating junk foods but more foods over time, your body will put on pounds. Sleep increases your metabolism.
Decrease Sugar and added Sugar in Diet
Sugar is full of empty calories, so there is little or no nutritional value. If you are in the habit of adding Sugar to a lot of your food, stop this now. Secondly, these keep you craving for more. After all, they don’t fill you up because they’re lacking in fiber. So, put the breaks on things such as desserts, candy, lemonade, sports drinks, fast foods,
Eat Whole Foods
Earlier, we mentioned eating whole grains. Now let’s talk about eating whole foods. Eliminate refined foods and eat whole foods. Examples of whole foods include beans, lentils, vegetables, fruit, grains, nuts, and seeds,
Get Your Thyroid Levels Checked
The thyroid has hormones called T3 and T4 that help regulate the body’s metabolism. If the hormone level is too low, it can cause you to gain weight; if it is too high, you can lose weight rapidly. Thyroid hormone influences metabolism and body temperature and helps to regulate your appetite. If you are trying to lose weight, the thyroid level may be the key to increasing your metabolism after 40.
Watch What you Say: The Blame Game
Stop blaming weight gain on your slow metabolism, DNA, thick build, etc. In other words, stop blaming your weight on people, places, things, and situations. Blame puts the responsibility for your problem on someone else.
When you take responsibility, it is more about how your mental state affects your metabolism and weight. You are responsible for what happens to you. Turn your gaze from the distractions to what you need to do for yourself.
Get Up Hourly and Walk Around
If you are in the office or at home, get up hourly and walk instead of sitting all day. Go down the hall and come back, go downstairs, come back, go to the mailbox, and come back. Keep your body moving to boost your metabolism.
Stop Depending on Supplements to do Everything
We live in a society of quick fixes. We want everything fast. Fast food, fast weight loss, fast everything, and if there is a corner to cut to get where we want to go, we will cut corners. If you want to increase metabolism, don’t look for quick fixes.
Supplements cannot exercise for you nor magically produce all the nutrients you need in a day in one capsule or pill. Put in the work you need to live a healthier lifestyle. Invest in your health! Yes, you can increase your metabolism after 40.
Conclusion
We spend money on cars, homes, massages, manicures, pedicures, entertainment, and clothing. Isn’t it about time we spend money on our health?
Money and time invested in health will never go to waste. Decide to put your health at the top of your priority list and remove it from the bottom.
It was spring 2016 when I woke up at four in the morning with incredible pain in my abdomen. I tossed and turned a little bit, thinking it was just another crazy dream. About an hour later, as it progressively worsened, I slid out of my bunk bed and tried to stand up. Once my feet hit the ground, I doubled over: my upper right quadrant throbbing as though it was being stabbed.
Hobbling over to my bathroom, I studied myself in the mirror for a moment and was horrified to see a pale complexion decorated with beads of sweat. Closing, then sitting on the toilet seat, I mentally reviewed all the possibilities that could have contributed to this searing pain.
What’s wrong with me?
Food poisoning? I didn’t have any dinner. PMS? I just had my cycle. Gas? From what? Pulled muscle? Maybe. I grabbed a foam roller, applied the area of pain to it, and nearly screamed at the contact. Nope, it was not that.
Getting back in bed, I reasoned time would pass, and I would get up for class. Shortly after, I concluded that I would not make it in this condition. Doubled over, I immediately got out of bed and crawled to my parent’s room. Panicking, my mother prescribed some ibuprofen and the pain soon subsided.
Gallbladder Attack
I soon discovered that what I’d experienced was the first of many gallbladder attacks. So, to ensure it would never happen again, I began to monitor my diet carefully. Fat? No, it makes me sick. Dairy? No, it makes me sick. Soy? Nope, it makes me sick. Wheat/Gluten? Nope, it makes me sick. Rice? Same as others. Corn? Not.
For a while, it worked. I dropped weight at a rapid pace, and I stopped feeling pain, both of which I didn’t mind. But I couldn’t live like that forever. So, a week after my birthday, my gallbladder was removed.
The doctor told my mother he’d never seen a gallbladder that inflamed. I felt better, but I was still afraid of food. I was terrified. What scared me even more, was that I was putting my weight back on. So as soon as I got the okay from the doctor, I immediately resumed working out to try and combat it
Gluten Free Diet
By the end of the year, I was eating properly and incorporated many things into my diet, except for dairy and gluten/wheat. I had more energy, and my drive was returning, but nobody in my family had severe food allergies like me.
Family Reunions were full of foods packed with gluten, dairy, and an abundance of fat: everything I couldn’t have. I began to realize that potlucks were chock full of the favorites I couldn’t consume, so I just avoided them. I would find an empty room and sit there and fast while my family would get food and socialize.
Traveling
Traveling became a nightmare. Restaurants hardly have accommodations for vegans, let alone people with a gluten/wheat allergy. Professional dinners and banquets seldom have options for people with dietary restrictions; on top of that, I was rarely happy. Food is culture, in itself, a love language. Food is friends and socialization; activities are centered around food.
To reject the gesture is to deny the person. Individuals have picked on and mocked my lifestyle as though I chose this out of fun or to lose weight when that could not be further from the truth. Every summer, life gets one thousand times more frustrating, and although it has only been twenty-two months since I have adopted this lifestyle, here are five tips/ways to survive this summer, not only gluten-free but also vegan.
Meal Prep
Meal prepping has been such a lifesaver. So what? Options may be low, but because it is mostly from scratch, taking twenty minutes to an hour to plan and prepare meals for the week saves so much extra time. For example, Bob’s Red Mill has gluten-free instant oats that can be prepared in three minutes. Buying about five of them for the work week eliminates the worry of what to eat when rushing out the door.
Not interesting enough? Add dates, nuts, berries, and/or cinnamon to spice it up. Find Out What You Can Eat At an event? Don’t completely abandon the refreshments table or dodge the dinner. Walk down the line, do they have any options for people with food allergies?
If not, is the salad okay? What can be added to the salad that will be satiating? Ask the caterers or waiters questions about the food if need be. Never be embarrassed to inquire about the preparation of food. You might find out there is something that’s okay.
Don’t Be Afraid of Trying Alternatives
Love cake but haven’t had it in ages? Go to the store and find a box of cake mix or a prepared one. It just might suit your fancy (or it could be grotesque). Either way, you are one step closer to being reunited with a childhood favorite. These days, there are gluten-free versions of practically everything. Cookies, crackers, bread, cheesecake, French toast, waffles, pancakes, muffins, burritos, etc. Everything.
Discover and Enjoy Activities that aren’t centered around food
Everything does not have to be about food. My sister and I used to love cooking together, but after I stopped eating gluten, that quickly flew out the window. Instead, we started working out together. Spending quality time with family and friends is possible without fast food being the center.
Educate Others
Shopping for clothes/shoes, or going to a concert, for example, are great ways of hanging out without awkward moments or being unable to find “safe” foods. Educate Your Family and Friends Have an honest conversation with your loved ones.
Let them know about your allergies and the reactions you could get. Once they understand that you are not blatantly rejecting them, they will likely be supportive of you and the lifestyle. Give them recipes, or offer to bring side dishes to events. Just because you may be the only person with those problems does not mean you will automatically be the outcast.
My Life Today
So I got my life back. I am now the healthiest I have ever been, the strongest, and have gained a new level of maturity. I have not learned everything there is to know and learn, but I have come a long way. I eat only when I am hungry and have prepared dishes for my family that is vegan and gluten-free.
Traveling has gotten better. I found a pizza place that has gluten-free options. My family knows what to look for when shopping and the dos and don’ts of food preparation. Yes, food is still a love language, incorporated deep in culture, and how we socialize, but it is not emotional for me anymore. I eat to live, not live to eat.
j. grey is a Tumblr Influencer based out of Atlanta, GA. She enjoys learning American Sign Language, reading, traveling, and discovering new foods and recipes that are gluten-free. As a teenager, she aspires to become a bestselling author. You can find her on Tumblr @jgreyblog.
For more information on please check out the National Celiac Association at https://nationalceliac.org. They assist individuals with gluten sensitivities and celiac disease.
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Are women who prepare meals in advance healthier than those who don’t? This is an important question, and I can say yes from experience. When I don’t do meal prep and weight loss planning at the beginning of the week, I come home tired and exhausted and tend to eat whatever I can grab from the refrigerator, which is usually a sandwich and maybe a snack.
If something salty is nearby, like chips, I may grab that, along with some water. Next, I may drink a fruit smoothie previously purchased from the store but has a considerable amount of sugar to drink before bedtime. Fresh fruit would be better because there is not as much concentrated sugar.
However, when I prepare basic food at the beginning of the week, I tend to eat healthier. So, to have a healthy lifestyle, I must plan. This way, I can portion out my meals for the rest of the week, pick them up and go. You know the old saying, “Fail to plan, then plan to fail?” I think that applies in this situation. If this is an area that you are struggling with, I have some tips that may be helpful to you.
A Few Ideas
First, plan what you will eat for the week in advance. I started doing meal prep on Sunday. Sometimes I cook a few meals and portion them out in containers to take to work for the week, or I prepare veggies for soups and stews by cutting them and then bagging and storing them until needed. If I am going to steam them later in the week, I chop them and put them in bags in the refrigerator. Then, when I am ready, I add sauce, seasonings, or whatever I need to dress up and prepare the meal.
Potatoes and veggies can be roasted and saved until needed. They can then be added to stews, soups, wraps, or veggie bowls.
The Versatility of Beans
A large pot of beans can be used one day for chili, another day for burritos, added to rice or Quinoa, or added to soups and salads. If you are creative, you don’t have to spend hours in the kitchen trying to figure out what to make. The beans become the base for the week of other meals. I could go on and on with additional suggestions for beans. Did I mention that you can make bean dip, bean spread, and beans in sweets?
Lentils are the quickest and easiest bean to make if you have time constraints. They are full of protein and fiber and can be used as they are or with rice. I like them in Mexican soup, lentil and spinach soup, lentil tomato and spinach soup, or whatever combination you like. Canned beans with low sodium are another option for quick meals. Curried Lentils are also quite tasty!
Breakfast,the most Important Meal of the Day
I prepare 3 or 4 days’ worth of smoothies for breakfast, pour them into cups, and freeze them. In the morning, I take it out, let it start thawing, and it is ready to eat before I leave or when I get to work. My other option for smoothies is to freeze the fruit for individual smoothies in baggies, and in the morning, blend the fruit and go. This way, I have a variety for the week.
Another breakfast or dinner favorite is scrambled tofu with onion, garlic, peppers, mushrooms if I have them, and spinach or Kale. It’s an excellent way to get extra veggies in my diet. I sometimes also add spinach or Kale to my smoothies.
I make a batch of my healthy whole wheat waffle recipe and freeze them. The formula is easy, and waffles cook quickly. I like the waffle makers that make four waffles at a time. This waffle maker makes waffles on one side and pancakes on the other.I love it because it reminds me of the one my mother used when I was younger.
Invest in a rice cooker or use instant brown rice. I only use brown rice because it has more nutrients than white rice. I do believe it is the healthier option. I prefer Basmati or Jasmine rice because it is flavorful and has a pleasant aroma. Depending on where you shop, it may be harder to find in some stores. Rice cookers allow you to put the ingredients in the device and return when it’s ready.
A Few Secrets
One nutritious grain that I discovered a few years ago is Quinoa. This is an easy-to-cook grain that is loaded with protein. I will write a whole blog post about it in the future. It is so versatile and can be cooked in a variety of ways. This is an excellent grain for meal prep.
I keep a bag of Spinach and Kale at almost all times. I use spinach in salads, spinach or Kale on my sandwiches instead of lettuce; I put them in smoothies and scrambled tofu. I don’t eat eggs, but if you do, try adding them to your scrambled eggs.
Please keep it simple. I like the convenience, but I also want my food to be tasty and healthy. Many think that to eat healthily, one has to sacrifice taste, but that is not true.
I don’t like long hours in the kitchen. On meal prep day, I do what is easy. You don’t have to make your entire meals for the week up front, but there needs to be enough preparation, so you don’t feel like you are working a second job when you get off work.
If you take a little time each week for meal prep and weight loss, you will find that some of your bad eating habits will change. You will be more conscious of what you are putting into your body and feel better about yourself for better care of your body. Try it out next week and comment below, letting me know how things worked. Also, check out 16 Diet and Fitness Tips for Women!
