12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 3

Zero Alcohol. Drink More Water

This week the challenge is to drink zero alcohol...that's right zero (zip, none, not a drop) and replace it by drinking more water. 

So why are we saying no to the Alcohol this week?

Well were you aware that a glass of wine, beer or spirits adds more kilojoules and undoes more diets than any other beverage! Sure it’s great to sip at the end of a hectic day but one glass leads to another and, before you know it, there’s three glasses! Not to mention the nibbles with the wine: Cheese and biscuits, olive, dips, corn chips, nuts, pretzels and other salty snacks. 

The other danger with alcohol is that the combination of alcohol with fat is a deadly one, as alcohol seems to suppress the oxidation (“burning off”) of body fat, encouraging fat accumulation. So Alcohol combined with the high fat snacks and hang over foods are not going to help us with weight loss.

Ultimately alcohol stimulates the appetite and undermines your resolve. 
Whereas at the other end of the spectrum we have water, which is without doubt, our most important nutrient. In fact, seventy-five percent of you water. 

Your body can do without a lot of things for a long time but it can’t survive without H2O for long. More often than not, hydration is the most misunderstood and mis-managed component of our overall health-management plan. Despite the fact that keeping our body well hydrated is a relatively easy process, many of us fail to do so, thereby putting our health at significant risk.

So, if you need some convincing, here are 12 reasons why we should drink more water: 

1. Dehydrated people often have stinky breath. Therefore, nobody wants to kiss them!
2. Drinking cold water increases our metabolic rate. Which helps with fat-loss.
3. Being well-hydrated helps curb our appetite and cravings. Which helps us avoid over-eating.
4. Because our blood is mostly water, being dehydrated increases the viscosity (thickness) of our blood. Which means our cardiovascular system has to work much harder. Which means we’re more likely to have a stroke or heart attack.  
5. Because we have less blood volume (when we’re dehydrated), our heart needs to beat faster in order to deliver adequate oxygen around the body and our blood pressure will be elevated.
6. From an exercising point of view, our dehydrated body will fatigue quicker. Our muscles will be weaker (they’re 75% water too).
7. We will also be less coordinated. Which means decreased exercise and sports performance.
8. Dehydration also leads to constipation. Which, ironically, makes us feel like crap (because our body is storing, not eliminating, all those toxins).
9. It also causes headaches, lethargy and muscle cramps. Those middle-of-the-night calf cramps suck.
10. It causes vagueness and an inability to concentrate (because our brain is 90% water). This mental vagueness can affect a myriad of things: communication, driving skills, work productivity, judgment and mood.
11. Dehydration also leads to dry skin and potentially, a range of skin conditions (our skin is our largest organ and requires plenty of H2O). Dehydrated skin looks old before its time. We don't want that! 
12. Because we’re mostly water, a chronically dehydrated body will be more susceptible to serious disease. Dehydrated organs are unhealthy organs.

More water anyone?

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Fact 1: You need approx 2 litres of water daily

Fact 2: Softdrinks, Tea & Coffee and fruit drinks can take water out of your body. Both caffeine and high sugar contents create an environment whereby water is leeched from your body.

Fact 3: Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase!

Healthy Eating Tip: Use your Step into Life Water bottle as a measure of how much water you drink in a day. Aim to drink 2 1⁄2 bottles of water a day.

Motivational Tip: Monitor your thoughts. Self-talk can change your experience on a daily basis. How many negative thoughts do you have? Try placing a paperclip into your pocket everytime you have a negative thought – how many do you have at the end of the day.


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