Liquids: Your First Step towards Better Health

If you have ever wondered if there was a simple way to be more healthy, I have good news for you! One of the easiest and most effective strategies for improving your health is to just change the liquids you put into your body. For some, this alone can create dramatic changes in body composition and overall well-being. So put down the diet coke, pick up your water bottle, and let’s run through how to best tackle liquids.

Water:

Water plays a pivotal role in optimizing health. If you do nothing else, simply drink more water to improve your health. To determine your optimal water consumption, follow this formula: body weight (lbs)/2 = oz. of water. So, if you weigh 150 lbs., your goal will be 75 oz. PER DAY. This means that most (if not all) of your liquid should be coming from water. This may seem like a whole lot for some, but breaking it up throughout the day can make it much more manageable. 2 glasses when you wake up, 2 at 10:00 AM, 2 with lunch, 1 with snack, and 2 with dinner. Replacing your current beverages with water would be a great start.

If you want to truly be healthy, water is just about all you should be drinking. Unsweetened tea is a nice way to switch things up a bit, while still moving toward your goal for the day. Other than that, drop the sports drinks (did you really sweat out all of the sodium in your body?), energy drinks, juices, and Crystal Light. Drink plain old water with a squeeze of lemon and you will be good to go.

Coffee:

Depending on how you respond to caffeine, coffee may be your best friend or your worst enemy. For those of you who find that coffee really makes you feel better (and have actually made the effort to NOT drink coffee at some point for comparison purposes), here are a few guidelines for how to use it most effectively.

1) Enjoy up to two cups a day, but have them in the morning.

2) If you need to add something, go with whole whipping cream. This will actually increase the absorption of the caffeine, so you may find that you do not need to drink as much.

3) Avoid sugar, artificial sweeteners, and creamers. This is where many people get into trouble, so take this seriously.

Alcohol:

While alcohol is not the healthiest beverage, you will probably continue to have your wine/beer/tequila regardless of its consequences. So, instead of telling you to avoid all alcohol, here are some tips for limiting the damage.

1) The less, the better (If you usually have 2 glasses of wine each night, try having 1. Or keep the 2 glasses, but only drink 2-3 nights a week).

2) Drink before dinner instead of afterwards. The more time you have between your last drink and the time you go to sleep, the better. Plus, you will feel it more, so you will not need as much!

3) For liquor, add lime/lemon & club soda. This will help you to avoid added sugar while also utilizing the acidity in the lime/lemon to blunt the usual insulin response.

There are not many good reasons to consume other types of liquids than the ones mentioned, and if you decided that caffeine and alcohol are not for you, your body would very much appreciate your thoughtfulness. I also want to reiterate that “diet” drinks are not a healthy alternative, and should be limited as much as their full-sugar siblings.

Bottom line: stick to the water and start seeing and feeling the benefits today!