Tag Archives: water filtration

Weight Loss is a Glass Away

weight loss

In today’s world of superfoods, fad diets and workout crazes, potential solutions for those struggling with weight issues are everywhere. The only problem is that most of these “solutions” are expensive and involve some weird-tasting drinks or awkward movements. How many infomercials have you seen touting a workout machine (that requires some ridiculously painful-looking contortion) for three easy payments of $59.99?

The truth is, many of these weight loss techniques are great, but only if you first focus on one much more important aspect of your health. The best part about this one aspect? It’s a lot easier than eating seaweed or doing a side bend.

So what is this utopian, so-easy-anyone-can-do-it cure-all for weight loss? Drink more water. Yes, it’s that simple.

How does drinking water help with weight issues?

Lauren Grant, CEO and Founder of The Hungry Heart – a highly-regarded emotional eating and weight loss counseling service in Southern California – explains that “Many times people end up overeating when they are actually dehydrated.”

Grant shares that many of us are simply mistaking our thirst for hunger. An empty stomach often indicates hunger, but in many cases, it’s actually asking for more water. Learning to recognize this can result in some immediate results.

“You may notice your food consumption goes down as you drink more water and eat water-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes or water-based healthy soups,” Grant said.

Simple, right? No need for a fancy DVD or a $300 weekly grocery bill. The first step to losing weight is much easier.

If it’s so easy, though, why don’t more people just drink water? Why don’t we see more commercials for water? There’s several reasons – one is obvious and the other is more subconscious.

The first is that drinking more water than usual results in more trips to the restroom than usual. This is a completely valid concern – no one likes running off to the restroom every half hour. Is it really that bad, however, considering the payoff? If it helps with pesky weight issues, wouldn’t you rather make a few extra trips to the john? If nothing else, at least it gives you some extra exercise (optimism is also important)!

There’s another reason more people don’t turn to water for their weight loss issues, but this one is a little less obvious. We buy into fad diets and buy exotic workout machines because they are different. Our minds are hard-wired to search for new solutions when it doesn’t seem like anything we’re currently doing is helping. Thus, the weirder and more exotic the solution, the more our mind is attracted to it.

Imagine your internal dialogue: “Why would water help me? I’ve always drank water. The key to weight loss is doing a crab walk to Brazilian dance music while eating a flaxseed celery cookie. I’ve never done that before, therefore that is the solution!”

Now that you’re convinced, let’s discuss how much water is enough. I’m sure you’ve heard the classic “eight 8-ounce glasses a day” rule. While following this memorable plan will certainly be better than drinking nothing, it is much too simplified.

Grant argues that the average person needs 80 ounces of water a day, without physical activity, perspiration or a variety of other factors. You actually need even more water if you’re active, on medication, or you drink coffee or alcohol. Bottoms up, folks.

For more information on effective routes to losing weight naturally and keeping it off, check out The Hungry Heart’s brand new Free Video Counseling series. Grant and her talented team have been helping men and women with their emotional eating and weight issues since 1996.

Before you increase your water intake significantly, though, you should be aware of the possible contaminants lurking in your home’s tap water.

3 Ways Water Gives You Radiant, Youthful Skin

beautiful skin water youthful hydrated

 

If you’ve ever flipped through a women’s magazine, you’re very familiar with advertisements touting an array of products to give you the perfect skin. While certain products can help give you healthy skin, there is no arguing that the number one factor in your skin’s health is water.

Here’s3 ways water gives you radiant, youthful skin.

1. Make sure you’re drinking ENOUGH water

Your skin is an organ. It’s actually your biggest organ (remember elementary school Science class?), and organs are made up of cells, which are made up of water. Simply put, if you don’t drink enough water, these cells will die, leaving you with dry, flaky skin which leads to wrinkles.

Also, your skin is the body’s last priority. When you drink water, your body sends water to the most important organs first. Since your skin is the least important (functionally… aesthetically, we know it’s important) organ, it is your body’s last priority. This makes it that much more important to stay hydrated at all times if you want to keep your skin looking and feeling good.

2. Make sure you’re drinking the RIGHT water

You understand that you’re supposed to drink water for healthy skin, so head to the tap and fill up, right? WRONG.

It’s crucial that you are drinking only healthy, filtered water with vital minerals.

Trust me on this one, your skin will thank you. Let me explain…

Your skin cells are full of toxins. Drinking water helps to flush your skin cells (and the rest of the cells in your body) of these toxins. The problem here is that the majority of tap water in the U.S. is full of pollutants and contaminants.

So you should just drink bottled water, right? No! A study by the National Resources Defense Council found that bottled water is often no more than just tap water with a fancy label.

Do your skin a favor and make it’s detoxifying job easier by drinking water from a filtration system.

3. Be careful what you put ON your skin

Your skin doesn’t only depend on the water you drink, it also reacts to the water in which you bathe. For the same reasons that water from the tap can be dangerous to drink, it can also be harmful to shower in.

You see, your local government adds chlorine and other chemicals to the water supply to disinfect it, but this creates byproducts that can dry out your skin. That’s not all though, it gets worse.

If you take hot showers (of course you do), you know that it creates steam. If you breathe during your hot showers (of course you do), you’re inhaling these chemical byproducts directly into your lungs. Also, your pores open up and absorb these toxins into your skin.

Whenever you’re done shuddering about that last paragraph, read on and I’ll tell you how to fix this issue. Consider a Whole-Home Water System to remove chemical byproducts and other nasty substances from entering your home.