'Losing weight' is one of the most common items a woman’s ‘To do’ list.
There are many reasons we can have it on our list: boosting our health, making us look better, giving more confidence, getting ready for a holiday, a desire to feel energised or to give greater self esteem. The view is that the good looking women are the women with the best figures, and these are the ones who have all the fun.
Unfortunately there are traps we can all fall into when trying to shift pounds.
One of the most common mistakes is to not drink enough fluid. Adequate water and proper hydration help our bodies to flush out toxins, to prevent headaches, to maintain energy levels, to keep their digestive systems working properly, and to maintain healthy skin.
But a litre of water weighs exactly a kilogram. So drinking less means the next time you step on the scales the reading looks better. It sounds like an easy win but in fact not drinking enough can cause a headache – literally and in terms of your efforts to loose weight.
Dehydration causes problems.
The scales may read slightly less in the very short term but you have not shifted any fat or excess weight. Instead you have made it harder to do so as your body is not going to be functioning as well as it should! You will have less energy. Your digestive system will not be working effectively - one part of being dehydrated is that your perception of hunger is messed up so you eat when you shouldn’t or more than is needed. Also your skin will not be looking good!
All-in-all for saving the odd pound you have done more harm than good to what the scales are going to say in the longer term, to how you look, to how you feel and to how healthy you are.
Getting it right
We should be aiming to drink approximately two litres of water each day.
But for a more accurate guide you should drink 30-35ml of water each day for each kilo you weigh. (So if you weigh 60kg that means 60 x 30-35ml = 1800 to 2100ml = 1.8 to 2.1 litres)
Adding extra
A sensible approach to weight loss is to include a manageable increase in exercise levels. This will increase the amount of water your body needs.
If you go to a gym you can spot the people who are switched on to keeping their bodies properly fuelled. As they are working out and making the effort to get fit women who reach for the water bottle are ensuring they are keeping their body hydrated. This enables them to sustain their exercise levels for longer. They are able to burn more calories, feel and look fresher as well as reaping all the other benefits of proper hydration that are going on beneath the surface. The fit women don’t go for the short cut and weigh in cheat of dehydration!
How much more should we drink while training? As we actually exercise we lose very little weight due to calorie burning – this benefit is spread over the hours rather than being crammed into the time we are training. Almost all the weight lost during a session is due to water loss. So we should aim to finish exercise weighing the same as we began. If your weight has gone down you should drink a half litre of water for each half kilogram your weight has dropped. The boost your metabolism has received will be burning the fat long after the session has ended.
So stay hydrated and help yourself shift the right kind of pounds – the fat not the water.
The weight loss prime time
Many of us want to shape up for the summer.
This is when the weather gets hot – ok, not always, but sometimes!
Summer outfits are the ones that require us to be in the best shape.
When it comes to the weather getting hot women who can wear the bikini and turn the men’s heads rather than their stomachs are to be envied. But with a good approach to weight control and good wardrobe choices we can all make the most of the warmer weather.
Be sure to stay hydrated. Warmer weather means you need more fluids. If you are upping the exercise levels for the summer this is all the more important. As the weather gets really hot women who make sure they up their fluid intake will be best able to sustain their exercise levels and get that summer bikini body.
The reason many of us struggle to exercise as the summer heats up is that we are not upping the fluid intake. This is especially a danger if we are in early stages of getting in shape, wanting to keep a bit covered up and therefore wearing more to exercise than otherwise we would. When doing outdoor exercise such as running for 30min or more try to take a hand held a water bottle with you.
If you feel flushed, weary or headachy it could well be due to dehydration. Increase your fluid intake and get the hot body for the hot summer.
If you are carrying a few extra pounds you can achieve these goals with sensible weight loss. There are effective strategies for reaching your goal:
