I am Amanda, a Fitness and Dance Instructor and Personal Trainer. Day to day I teach 3-5 exercise or dance classes a day and work with clients on a one to one basis for dance, nutrition and personal training. I am always asked about vitamins and supplements, but the first thing I always tell my clients is to make sure they get enough water as it is important for ay fitness goal.
Water, Water, Everywhere
So it is nothing you have not heard before, we all need to drink more water, but most of the time we are not sure why?
The recommended amount of water we should drink if 1.5 litres but in my opinion we should all be drinking 2.0-2.5 litres of water and even more if we exercise or drink tea and coffee. This is because it keeps to body hydrated, allows for water lost through exercise, breathing and everyday activities.
So why is water so important?
Our bodies are actually made up of 60% water! It is easy to become dehydrated as we lose water through breathing, talking, sweat and (sorry!) urine.
What does water do for us?
Water regulates body temperature ensuring we do not over heat. It helps keep things moving in our bodies to aid digestion which also helps to transport nutrients from our food around the body.
That’s all great, but really you guys want to know what water does for the things you really care about such as weight loss and beauty right???
Weight Loss
Now, from personal trials, Water DOES help me lose weight. When I drink 2 litres or more of water per day, my tummy feels flatter, I am less bloated and seem to eat a lot less. It has been proven that people who drink the recommended amount of water, consume fewer calories as it helps them to feel fully and often people mistake thirst for hunger.
Tip: if you drink ice cold water, your body burns calories to bring the water up to body temperature! Win win!
Working out
So as mentioned, we lose water through sweat and breathing so we lose A LOT when exercising. If you become dehydrated, our muscles get tired so fatigue quicker meaning an ineffective workout. As a general rule, I recommend that you should drink 500ml per 45 minutes exercise – this is on top of my recommend 2 litre intake! This will ensure you stay hydrated during and after workout, making sure you replace any water lost through exercise. So make sure you grab that sports water bottle and get drinking!
Beauty
Now for me, when I drink enough water, I see fantastic beauty effects! My skin gets clear and radiant, my eyes seems brighter and the bags/dark circles under my eyes vanish! My hair feels less dry and loads shiner too! For me that’s a great reason to drink more water and it’s a low cost beauty product! Water helps to flush toxins out the body that helps prevent spots and keep the skin wrinkle free. Water also keeps skin hydrated which will smooth out lines and wrinkles keeping the skin supple and healthy.
Feeling tired?
Tiredness is a symptom of dehydration. When I am hydrated, I actually tend to sleep better too! Water helps me to stay alert and keeps me focused. When you dehydrate, concentration levels drop so keep sipping those glasses of water.
Tip: I drink my last glass of water around 7pm to help prevent me needing bathroom trips during the night.
What about coffee?
I advise all my clients to kick the caffeine habit! But that’s a whole other article! In short, caffeine dehydrates you, in theory, for every cup of tea/coffee you drink, you should drink an additional glass of water to counter act the dehydration! Caffeine is in everyday tea as well so this rule applies to tea and even green tea. Stick to herbal/fruit teas or drink that extra glass of water per cup to stay hydrated.
Keep things flowing
Nobody likes talking about digestion issues, but in short, water helps keep things flowing, prevents constipation and helps transport nutrients around the body.
So what do I think?
From my experience, when I drink 2 litres of water I feel AMAZING! I have this general sense of pride and well being knowing I am nourishing my body with something so simple! I tend to eat less and am more productive in my work too. As mentioned, I also sleep better and I am actually rubbish at sleeping! So with all that extra beauty sleep, hydration, eliminating toxins and getting those much needed nutrients around my body, I am pretty sold on the hydration hype.
Amanda Lewis
Health, Nutrition and Fitness Consultant