Step Up to the Calorie Counter: Warm Lemon Water

Lemon water, the latest water craze, is worth the buzz.

Squeezing fresh lemon into a glass of water puts natural lemon juice in pure water (including the pulp). No additives or preservatives.  Just vitamin C and citrus goodness.

But don't put it on ice, especially after a workout. Your body absorbs room-temperature or even warm (not hot) water better than cold water.

Fitness Friday: The Benefits of Water

Water: Drink it Up

Pour yourself a glass or cup of water and drink it. Now, ask yourself: what did you just do?

Probably one of the best things you can do for your body, second to sleep.

Yes, drinking water is all that. Want to lose weight? Feel less fatigued and cranky? Be more alert at work and school? Prevent disease? Water helps with all that.

Doctors agree. According to WebMD, the body is about 60 percent water, and drinking water helps regulate the balance of just about every organ. Avoid muscle cramps by staying hydrated, doctors suggest, and keep your skin looking and feeling fresh and moisturized. 

Sometimes fatigue or bad moods can be alleviated with a dose of water. The brain is about 75 percent water (by weight), so replenishing water in the brain can help you feel better.

Water consumption also helps us regulate the amount of empty calories consumed in sugary drinks: choose water and save a few hundred calories a day you might have wasted on soda, sweetened fruit drinks (or tea) and other beverages.

In fact, if you read the nutritional values on processed drinks (including tea and sports drinks), you might be surprised at how many calories you're adding to your diet. A soda can have about 100 calories for every cup, which translates to 250 calories for a "single serving" bottle. Even those not counting calories or trying to lose weight should be aware of their food and drink intake. 

The Discovery Health Channel reminds readers to pay attention to your body to make sure you know if you've had enough water. If you feel thirsty or your urine is darker than pale yellow, you may need to take a drink. The old adage of eight glasses of water a day is a good rule, but not iron-clad. Don't over-hydrate, which also is dangerous — but don't underestimate your water needs. 

(While you're at it, save the environment: choose refillable sports bottles or aluminum bottles, so less goes into the landfill or recycling bin, or use the old-fashioned glass or cup at home or the office.)

Can you drink other fluids to rehydrate? Sure, but plain water is plentiful, readily available and pours out of the tap and water fountain at no additional cost.  

How else do you think water benefits your body?

Don't Drink the Water

We all know how important it is to stay hydrated while we work out. We rely on water to carry A.T.P. and other nutrients to the working muscles during physical activity.

However, when I go the the water fountain, more times than not, the water is really cold. Although this feels refreshing, it's not necessarily the healthiest way to hydrate.

Cold water takes longer to get absorbed by the body than warm water. So, if you drink from the fountain then feel unwell during your workout, bring water from home that's room temperature. Your workouts will be more comfortable.

The True Effects of Exercise and Weight Loss

Today, two of my clients gave me an interesting article: "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin" by John Cloud (Time, August 9, 2009), in which the author states that weight loss usually does not occur when people exercise.

Needless to say, I take exception to this.

The author cited multiple medical studies in support of this conclusion. In a nutshell, the studies showed that weight loss was not typical for people in three different groups: sedentary people, fairly active people and those working with a personal trainer for an hour or more a day.

The author noted that, in many cases, people who regularly work out feel more hungry — which is true — and people who are hungry naturally eat. However, he concluded that if exercise makes you more hungry, you will eat more — and if you eat more, you won't lose weight.

This is not necessarily an accurate conclusion.

There are two important keys to weight loss the author did not seem to take into account:

• Calorie deficit — 3,500 calories equals a pound. You will gain one pound for every 3,500 calories you ingest above what you burn. Burn 3,500 calories more than you take in, you lose a pound.
• Raise your metabolism — eat five times a day, get enough sleep and drinking sufficient fluids.
  

I suspect the people in the studies were not monitored for sufficient sleep and fluid intake. They also probably ate three bigger meals, rather than five smaller meals. They might also have failed to eat light snacks after their workouts, which lowers the number of calories eaten at meals and cuts down on total daily calorie intake.

The author states that doctors recommended exercise to their patients for weight loss. With such dismal responses from the exercise study, why would doctors be so in favor of exercise for their patients? Drum roll please: because in addition to burning extra calories (remember that whole 3,500 calorie thing?), it's good for developing balance, building strength and improving overall daily living. In addition to recommending exercise to their patients, I am sure the doctors also discussed lifestyle changes and diet.

No doctor believes exercise alone is a prescription for weight loss. Even infomercials for exercise plans and fitness devices post disclaimers that include a nutrition plan and (subtly) remind viewers that the more fantastic results are not typical for most consumers.

In this Time article, the author correctly states that the people in the studies who filled out diet journals lost more weight than those who didn't keep a journal. Thinking about what you eat before you eat it definitely aids in cutting down on calories.

Trainers and doctors agree: exercise by itself is not the be-all and end-all to weight loss. (If it were, I am sure everyone would have gym memberships and personal trainers.) Without controlling calorie intake, getting enough sleep and drinking enough water, you most likely will not lose weight, no matter your exercise level.

Trainers assist you in this endeavor by providing more interesting and intense workouts than you would most likely provide yourself, which helps burn more calories and hopefully provides a calorie-deficit situation that allows for the possibility of weight loss. They also help you monitor your fluids and sleep, as well as other habits that might not be conducive to your goals.

In conclusion, the article was interesting, but misleading. Weight loss depends on multiple factors that need to all be considered for success.