{"id":421,"date":"2013-02-19T03:26:10","date_gmt":"2013-02-19T08:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondgorgeous\/?p=421"},"modified":"2012-12-13T09:30:44","modified_gmt":"2012-12-13T14:30:44","slug":"free-weight-loss-drink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondgorgeous\/2013\/02\/free-weight-loss-drink.html","title":{"rendered":"Free Weight Loss Drink"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve looked at a couple of reasons why your weight loss may have hit a plateau.\u00a0 Here\u2019s reason number three:\u00a0 Maybe you aren\u2019t drinking enough water.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take a look inside at what is happening to your body as you lose weight. \u00a0Click here to learn about your autopilot.<\/a>
\nThe first few pounds you lose — the easy ones — are made of fat and water.\u00a0 Mostly water.\u00a0 Now your body is running low on lubricant and if you don\u2019t replace it, your autopilot senses a crisis and takes action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in trouble, guys,\u201d he messages to the organs.\u00a0 \u201cWe are evidently traveling through a desert because we aren\u2019t getting enough fluid.\u00a0 We have to make our stores go a long way, so slow down and hang on to the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

The body complies and you notice some puffiness around your ankles and around your middle.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m working out faithfully,\u201d the conscious pilot mutters. \u201cWhy is my waistline not shrinking?\u201d<\/p>\n

The autopilot tries to signal the conscious pilot that the water stores are low, but most of us have lost our good connection with the demands of our bodies.\u00a0 We don\u2019t recognize the thirst signal, but we know we want something.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hungry,\u201d the conscious pilot says. \u201cAnd I\u2019m not losing weight anyway.\u00a0 Might as well eat those cookies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the autopilot is struggling to handle a second crisis.\u00a0 You emptied out some fat cells when you lost your first few pounds.\u00a0 When the fat stores came out, so did the toxins that were stored in the fat cells.\u00a0 They are now floating around your system.\u00a0 That\u2019s why dieters often start feeling on the crummy side after the first pounds disappear.\u00a0 You need water to flush out those poisons.<\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t getting the fluids you need, the autopilot has to send out emergency instructions again.\u00a0 \u201cPoison alert! Kidneys, you buckle down and try to get rid of these toxins.\u00a0 Liver you help the kidneys and filter that stuff out before it damages the body.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m busy!\u201d the Liver replies.\u00a0 \u201cI have my own job to do.\u00a0 We\u2019re going through a famine and I\u2019m having to process the fat that is coming out of storage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPut it on hold and stuff the fat in your store room,\u201d the autopilot barks out.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re in crisis mode.\u00a0 Work on those toxins.\u201d<\/p>\n

So the liver complies and quits metabolizing the fat. Instead it tries to deal with the toxin crisis without enough water to do it efficiently.<\/p>\n

The colon is complaining. \u201cI can\u2019t get this stuff out of here without some water to work with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, take a break,\u201d the autopilot signals back. \u201cSlow down elimination until we are past the crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

So the digestive tract quits working and you carry around the weight of \u00a0extra waste in your colon. Your conscious pilot feels even worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiets always make me constipated and I always feel lousy when I\u2019m dieting,\u201d the conscious pilot grumbles. “And I’m not even losing weight.”<\/p>\n

It’s true. Even though you are eating mostly from the green list and even though you are working faithfully on being more active, your weight loss screeches to a halt.<\/p>\n

So — easy fix. Drink lots of water.<\/p>\n

When the autopilot sees the fluid gauge return to normal he sighs in relief.<\/p>\n

\u201cCrisis is averted,\u201d he signals to the rest of the crew.\u00a0 \u201cWe are past the desert. Release the extra stores. We have plenty of fresh to replace it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The organs and tissues happily comply.\u00a0 The puffiness around your ankles disappears and your midsection is noticeably less fluffy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can take it from here,\u201d the kidneys say to the liver. \u201cAll this water is making my filtering job easy.\u00a0 We\u2019ll have the poisons out of here in no time.\u00a0 Here\u2019s another load ready for disposal already.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood deal,\u201d the liver replies. \u201cI can get back to all this fat that I have backlogged.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBack to work,\u201d the autopilot signals the digestive tract. And with enough water to do its job, the colon gets rid of the backed up waste.<\/p>\n

And your conscious pilot is happy to see a drop in the numbers on the scale. You feel better and more energetic.<\/p>\n

The trouble is that most of us don\u2019t normally drink enough of water and our bodies run in crisis mode much of the time.\u00a0 That may be one reason you have a problem with storing fat in the first place.\u00a0 Drinking more water might fix that slow metabolism that aggravates you so much.<\/p>\n

How much do you need?\u00a0 About half your body weight in ounces.\u00a0 That means if you weigh 150 lbs., you need 75 ounces of water every day.\u00a0 In hot weather you may need more.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an idea.\u00a0 Buy a 32-ounce insulated drinking mug and fill it with ice water at the start of the day.\u00a0 Instead of drinking iced tea and pop (poor quality fluids — but that\u2019s the subject of another post) carry your water with you and sip on it all day.\u00a0 Refill it throughout the day until you have downed the number of ounces you need.\u00a0 Tell yourself that you can have other liquids — AFTER your water is finished.\u00a0 (By then you probably won\u2019t be thirsty so this will really help you kick the diet pop addiction.)<\/p>\n

At first you might be slightly annoyed by having to run to the bathroom every few minutes, but that\u2019s just because you are coming out of crisis mode.\u00a0 It will settle down soon.\u00a0 However, if you normally don\u2019t drink enough water you probably will be taking more bathroom breaks when you step up the fluids.\u00a0 Get used to it!\u00a0 It\u2019s good for you and it\u2019s helping you lose those extra pounds.<\/p>\n

Not convinced yet?\u00a0 Here are some other advantages water gives you:<\/p>\n