The Simple Secret to Controlling Your Weight

     Last night, as I was channel surfing, I came across a reality weight loss program. I don't have much time to watch a lot of television, and never reality programs, but this one really hit home. Probably, because once again, I had broken my diet after only one week!

I tuned in.

The program was about the struggles of an obese single mother, and her struggle with weight loss.

It had never occurred to me that losing weight involved physical pain. I thought it was all psychological. I became very involved and felt compassion for the young woman's predicament.

What amazed me was, she drank 40 litres of sugar ladened cola, each week. To stress the damage it was doing to her body, a healthy person drank 40 litres of cola over a week. It made the healthy person feel really ill.

One of the diet experts made the point that, many people put on weight not because they are hungry, but because they are dehydrated. Their bodies are screaming out for water not soft drinks. He made the point, if you feel hunger pains, first take a drink of water. That is probably what you body needs.

The star of the show was dehydrated. One of the things she committed to do was to exchange the soft drinks for water. Before she was able to do this, she had to withdraw from the cola. A very unpleasant experience!

There is a rise in obesity in all countries due to over eating processed food and drinking sugary drinks!

Water in liquid or frozen form covers about 72% of the earth's surface and as much as 90% of all plants. It is even found in minerals and of course in animals.

The body weight of humans is made up of two thirds water. The human brain is 95% water; blood is 82% and lungs 90%. A drop of 2% in the amount of water in your body affects your health.

Dehydration is serious.

Mild dehydration causes fatigue. It affects short term memory and the ability to concentrate. Children find it difficult to learn when even mildly dehydrated. When children were encouraged to bring their water bottles to sip in class, I noticed an increase in their ability to concentrate. They were also less restless. No fruit juices or soft drinks were allowed.

It is estimated that as many as 75% of adults could be suffering from some level of dehydration. Drinking coffee and tea is no substitute for water. All cells and organs in the body depend on water to function. Water also regulates the body temperature.

Having the body extract the water from drinks takes energy that could be better spent.

The introduction of bottled water has been very successful but I would be concerned about the type of plastic used to manufacture the bottles.

Folklore has it, that we need on average, eight eight-ounce glasses per day. But we are all individuals and that may not be enough. Factors such as climate, level of perspiration and type of activities we undertake, have to be considered.

Thirst is a poor indicator of dehydration. Thirst is a sign of dehydration. Most of us reach for coffee, tea or soft drinks when we feel thirsty and so do not deal with the dehydration that caused the symptoms in the first place.

A good rule of thumb is, if you are feeling tired, and your energy levels have dropped, and you have lost concentration and perhaps have a mild headache, it is time for a drink or two of water. Not a cup of coffee and a headache tablet!

When it comes to drinking water, quench your thirst by drinking one glass of water. You will feel better. Then drink anther glass. Sip water throughout the day. It is not necessary to overdo it, but do drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

Most of us are concerned in one way or another about our weight.

Drinking more water has a bonus…..it is the secret to weight control.

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