Why drink water? How much is enough? Learn the basics here.
Everyone says that if you want to be successful in your diet, you need to up your water consumption, but many dieters don’t understand the basics of water consumption: What are the benefits? How much should I be drinking? Is there such a thing as too much water?
There are numerous benefits to drinking more water, but a few stand out above the rest. First, often when we feel hungry we are instead thirsty. Whenever you feel hungry, try first drinking 8 oz of water. Wait about 20 min for the water to get into your stomach and begin absorption. If you still feel hungry, reach for a healthy snack.
Water can also help energize your muscles during a tough workout. If your muscle cells don’t maintain ideal levels of hydration and electrolytes, they begin to lose their shape and viscosity, causing your performance to suffer. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends drinking 17 oz of water in the two hours prior to a workout.
In the same way that lack of hydration can shrink the muscular cells, it can cause skin cells to wrinkle and dry out. Ensuring proper hydration to these cells will keep your skin looking plump and youthful for years to come.
So, how much water should you be drinking? Luckily, there is a simple formula to calculate the amount of water you should drink each day. This number should be treated as a jumping off point, adding more or less based on how you feel and your lifestyle. To calculate the amount of water you should drink each day, take your body weight in pounds and divide it by two. This number is the amount (in oz) of water that you should drink each day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, 150 ÷ 2 = 75, so you should drink 75 oz of water per day.