WATER: LEARN TO LOVE IT

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If you read my transformation story, you'll know that I used to be a 3 liters of soda per day, 3 liters of water per YEAR type of guy.  I never met a can of Mountain Dew I didn't like, and I pretty much never drank water.  In fact, it didn't really even cross my mind how important hydration from good old H2O really was.  Well, I'm telling you right now that the difference between an optimally hydrated body and a dehydrated body is nothing short of dramatic.  

I'm going to keep it short and sweet today.  I'm just going to give you some really basic facts about why you should be drinking a lot more water than you are now.  I harp on my clients about it constantly.   They give me grief, right up until they start seeing better results and recovery times, then they realize I know what I'm talking about.  Anyway, here are some important benefits of keeping hydrated, in no particular order:

• You should be drinking half your weight in ounces of water daily.  No exceptions.  If you weigh 130 pounds, drink 65 ounces aka 8 glasses of water per day.  Sound familiar?  If you're 250 pounds like me, drink a gallon, or around 125 ounces.  
• Just being 2% dehydrated can lead to a sharp drop in athletic performance, body temperature regulation, and muscular function.  
• Soda (even diet), alcoholic beverages, coffee and tea should not be counted towards your total daily intake of water.  In fact, a case could be made for having to drink more water because you've had any of them.  Example: coffee and tea are diuretics.  They essentially steal water from your body.  
• Water can strengthen your immune system.  Constant lack of water can lead to Chronic Cellular Dehydration, which in turns lowers your body's ability to stave off infection and disease.
• Hunger is often just thirst in disguise.  If you've eaten recently yet are still hungry, drink a large glass of water.  9 times out of 10 the hunger will go away.  
• If you're properly hydrated, your liver will be able to metabolize stored body fat much better than if you're dehydrated.  It may not have any nutritional value per se, but water can be a powerful fat burner!
• Dehydration leads to dry skin.  If you're drinking the proper amount of water daily, odds are you're going to save quite a bit of money on moisturizers each year. 
• Joints hurting?  Drink more water.  Aside from some supplements and fish oil, water is one of the main lubricants of your joints.  Drink more water, hurt less often.  

I could continue on with water benefits for a very long time, but those are but a few key points.  If you don't drink water, start.  If you do drink water, it probably won't hurt to drink more.  Buy a gallon jug and refill it daily to help keep better track of your intake.  Every part of your body will thank you!