Water, Water Everywhere! (and lots of drops to drink!)

Why yes, it's been another busy week here in the CityFamily/CountryFamily household. I've been working my usual jobs, working out, learning more and more for my new career as a nutritionist and selling clothing on e-bay which I'll blog about later this week and now it's time for another...

Healthy Living with
CityMomma/CountryMomma

post! I hit another milestone this week. 70! SEVENTY POUNDS! 70! 70! 70! Did I mention 70? It was very exciting, I lost another 2.4 pounds this week! I was thrilled. I haven't had a big loss for a couple of weeks, just half a pound here and there so this week I did watch my food very carefully, being especially mindful of processed foods and sodium intake. It truly makes a difference for me because of water retention. I also made extra sure that I got all of my water in. Ms Phyllis only asks us to get three 16 ounce bottles a day but since I exercise a lot, I need to make sure I get more. Evidently, the ideal amount is an additional 8 oz. for every 20 minutes of exercise. The more water the better of course. It's really not possible to drink too much. (Yes, I am aware of "water intoxication" but I'm not talking about going to extremes with water consumption or entering any water drinking contests so you don't have to fill me in on that.)

Anyway, I've always been a water drinker, it's just keeping in mind that I have to drink it and following through. I guess you could call it being mindful of my water consumption. I've come to learn that just by adding at least 48 ounces of water to your daily diet, you are able to increase your metabolism simply because you are not dehydrated and your liver can function properly to metabolize fat. With the people in our weight loss group, the first week we ask them to eat the way the normally would and to journal what they eat. We ask them to add at least 48 ounces of water per day and do nothing else different. Inevitably, almost everyone loses weight. Even two, three, four pounds, just from adding water! It's important to keep in mind that you cannot count coffee and tea as your water because even decaffeinated versions of these beverages contain trace amounts of caffeine which causes you to lose water. We don't ask people to give these things up, thank Goodness! I don't think I could function without my coffee in the morning and with my diet*, nothing is off limits. I love that! I should add that I don't drink soda, never did, never will, but I believe soda to be a big reason that many are overweight and have trouble losing weight, it's just so bad for you. That being said, there are people who are able to have an occasional soda and still lose weight. Again, nothing is off limits. So, if you're trying to lose weight, or even just to be healthier, add some water to your diet, you might be surprised at the results of this very simple trick.

I decided to leave you with a couple "during" and "before" shots of myself. I still have about 30 pounds to lose so that's why I call it a "during" and not an "after." In case you're interested, these jeans are Levi's in a size 12 and the top is from Express and is a large. I haven't shopped at Express in YEARS!

It's highly embarrassing to post this one because I really, really hate it but this is the photo I use with my weight loss group as my "before" shot. I have difficulty finding any pictures of me that don't have The Son strategically posted in front of me hiding as much of me as I can manage. Yikes.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone.

*I'm using the word "diet" here to mean my daily food intake, not the same thing as "being ON a diet." That doesn't work for a lifetime in my opinion... more on that tomorrow...