Guidelines for healthy living – Part 5
January 18, 2011 
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Drinking water is the key to weight loss. I know, now is the right time to roll your eyes. Hold your horses, dear reader, for this statement holds truth. So much truth, that in fact, you will definitely load up on water by the article’s end. Am I serious? No, this is just a ploy to keep you reading on. But seriously, water makes up almost sixty percent of our total lean body mass. Say, if you weigh 80 kilograms, a whopping 48 kilograms of water is inside your body. That’s just lean body mass.
“So if my body is so full of water, wouldn’t it make better sense not to drink more?” Well, I would daresay this is what most people take for granted. Affluent lifestyle leads to much more consumption of carbonated drinks, sodas, beers and caffeine. People fail to realize that their bodies are literally screaming “I need water! Drink more water! I’m dehydrated!” because many would think that drinking soft drinks and such is equivalent to drinking water.
Water is the essence of life. When our bodies are dehydrated, our metabolic rate is lowered. What is metabolic rate anyway? Metabolic rate is the rate at which the body handles chemical substances, for example, fat, in the body. It is a little vague for an explanation, although this process holds much more importance than the average Joe could possibly know. The human body loses an average of 2.5 litres of water per day. When we are dehydrated and do nothing to correct the imbalances, our metabolism is among the first mechanism in the body to slow down. The body then thinks its being deprived of water and switches immediately to survival mode’. When this happens, the body stores any, ANY amount of water it is being supplied with. This condition is popularly known as water retention. Ever wondered why on earth you couldn’t lose that flabby belly even after dieting intensely? Perhaps you’re not drinking enough water.
When metabolic rate starts to slow down, your calorie usage also suffers. This means that any amount of unused food is not burnt for energy and is stored as fat instead. Lack of water also impairs digestion process because water is needed for breakdown of food. Ironically, even if you exercise, your body can’t take full advantage of it if you don’t drink enough water. Why? Let me guess. Water is needed to build muscles? Why, yes, absolutely. If you don’t drink enough water, your body’s life processes can take a hell of a beating. We all know the body could handle only so much.
Have I got your attention?
