Water... Is 8 ounces a day enough??

Depending on an individuals size, the human body is made up of 55% - 78%.  It is important to keep ourselves hydrated, as water supports many of our bodily functions including: removing toxins and waste from the body along with transporting oxygen, nutrients and other elements through the blood.  In addition, there are many benefits from drinking the right amount of water each day.  To name a couple, it increases the availability of oxygen for our cells, increases the absorption of nutrients and helps to detoxify the body.

The one question I get a lot is, "Well what about coffee?".  Even though coffee is mostly water, coffee is a diuretic, which causes our bodies to lose water.  Don't worry, I'm not saying you can never have coffee again, but you shouldn't be drinking 3 cups a day to "wake your self up".  You would be surprised at how much more "awake" you feel when your body is properly hydrated.  Also, I wouldn't recommend drinking coffee after lunch time, but that is for another post.  So now that we see how important water is for our bodies the magic question becomes, "How much should I be drinking to stay properly hydrated?".

I am a big fan of Paul Chek of the C.H.E.K Institute and I have found that his formula for how much water someone should be drinking per day is very accurate.  It is very simple... take your weight and divide it by 2.  Take that number and that is how many ounces of water you should be drinking daily.  So take me for example, I currently weight 190 lbs... 190 / 2 = 95, therefore, I should be consuming 95 ounces of water per day.  Once I started doing this I noticed a world of difference.  I felt less tired, less hungry throughout the day, I had better skin and I started losing weight (in a good way).  A good way to track how much you are drinking is to purchase a water bottle and figure out how many bottles you have to drink each day.  I prefer a 24 oz to 27 oz bottle (glass is best, but if you get a plastic one make sure it is BPA free).

Getting Healthy Isn't Hard!

Today there are more sick and unhealthy people than ever in history.  In addition, we have more “health professionals” than ever in history, but how healthy are they?  The average doctor dies 10 years before his average patient.  We can’t be taking health advice from unhealthy people.  Most people think it is such a chore to get healthy, but it’s really not.  People want results right away, but there is no quick fix or magic pill that will transform us to become healthy.  It is a lifestyle change that should be done little by little.  This is why people stop their “diets” after 1-2 months because they try to change too much too quick.  I tell people to relax and be patient, it will happen.   A few things you can start doing are drinking more water (half your body weight in ounces per day), set up a regular exercise routine.  If you sit at a desk all day – park further away from your building and take the stairs.  Remember, don't rush it - small changes + good food + exercise = health