It cannot be overstated, staying hydrated it just as important as diet and exercise to help you lose weight. If you follow the Target100 weight loss program you'll know that we have given water its own pillar right along side food, exercise, movement, stress, and sleep - it is just as important for achieving long term weight loss success.
Role of water in the body
The human body is 60% water, we quite literally need water to survive. Hydration plays and important role in how our body regulates temperature, keeps joints lubricated, removes waste, and makes it easier on the heart to pump blood. Our bodies let us know when we're dehydrated often through symptoms like headache, thirst, constipation, lapses in concentration, and low energy. A good visual cue for how hydrated you are is the color of your pee - light straw color means you are hydrated where as the darker yellow hues mean you are dehydrated.
Water and weight loss
When we are dehydrated how our body functions and processes nutrients and energy changes, it slows down. Our body may even try to signal to us that it needs more water by increasing our hunger signals so that we eat more food and it ideally can extract water from the food. Often when we are dehydrated, we crave salty foods as our body tries to balance itself and drive us to drink more liquids. The cravings and other side effects of dehydration like lower energy and headaches, make it that much harder to be consistent with our weight loss plan.
"Trying to lose weight while dehydrated is physically and emotionally exhausting. You will be plagued by cravings and frustrated by feeling that you must exert heroic amounts of willpower for little progress. Can you image avoiding all of that drama with just a glass of water?"
~ Liz Josefsberg, founder and best-selling author of Target100
Hydrate100
This month, we are focusing on the water pillar in the Target100 community and providing tips, strategies, and support for each other as we strive to hit our water pillar target - 100 ounces of water daily. We're kicking off the Hydrate100 challenge to focus on building solid habits for the water pillar and march into spring and summer months well hydrated as we work on our health and weight loss goals.
Favorite smart water bottles
One of favorite way the Target100 coaches and I keep ourselves accountable in hitting the water pillar target each day is by using smart water bottles that make tracking that much easier.
This smart water bottle connects via Bluetooth to their app on your phone. It makes keeping track of how much water you drink throughout the day a cinch. Plus the app has funny reminders and nudges throughout the day so you don't get too far off track in drinking water. The stainless steel bottle is insulated so it keeps your water nice and cold for hours.
This insulated smart bottle glows as a visual reminder to drink more often throughout the day. The insulated bottle can hold both hot and cold liquid as a great year round option for hitting the Target100 water pillar goal of 100 ounces daily. The bottle also has a portable speaker on the bottom making it that much more fun to have with you for exercise, movement, or the classic kitchen dance party.
This insulated smart bottle connects to an app to track your water intake throughout the day. It has a rechargeable battery base that connects to the bottom of the bottle so you don't have to deal with hunting up batteries. Even better, the bottle and lid (with the battery base removed from the bottom) is dishwasher safe.
If you looking for a refreshing way to hydrate and refuel as temperatures heat up be sure to check out this raspberry protein smoothie recipe.