Water

I really enjoy drinking water throughout the day.  I know this may not be the case for all people, but water is essential for our bodies to work properly.  Water helps to flush your kidneys, prevent constipation and keeps your body hydrated for starters.  The clear, tasteless fluid also prevents bladder and urinary tract infections.  Just by breathing you are excreting water from your body.  You must continually replace any water losses in your body to stay hydrated.  I try to drink between 80-100 oz of water a day.  You may count coffee, tea and other beverages besides actual water towards your daily goal.  I have noticed that when I do not drink my usual amount of water, I actually weigh a little bit more on the scale the next morning.  Water helps you flush extra water from your system.  The less water you drink, the more water your body holds onto to try to keep hydrated.   When I'm on the road, I try to bring a refillable water bottle with me.  Through watching my mom as I was growing up, I learned to fill the bottle up completely with ice and then the rest with water.  You won't be adding much water, but that's the whole point.  The ice melts slowly so you  end up drinking the melted ice.  Cold water is usually more appealing to drink than warm or even room temperature.  My teeth are sensitive to cold drinks, so I usually drink my water at room temperature.   I use a Brita pitcher to filter my tap water.  Store-bought bottled water is usually just filtered tap water!  I do love Ozarka spring bottled water, but using my Brita pitcher saves me money and the landfill some additional plastic.  The Brita filter refills are about $5 each, but I find them on sale frequently.  Each filter lasts about 2 months.  I'm really bad about remembering to change my filter.  I usually change it when I notice the water from the pitcher tasting like tap water.  Our coffeemaker has a water filter in it, but I found that replacing those filters were expensive, plus I never remembered to do it.  I took the filter out and just use my Brita pitcher to fill up the water reservoir.

As a nurse I learned that water can really make you feel better!  If a patient was dizzy or lightheaded, I would offer water to that person.  If you have a headache, increase your water intake.  If you are tired, drink some water!  When I was pregnant, I drank more water a day than ever before.  Julie Redfern, a registered dietitian, suggests drinking 64 oz of water (or other fluid) plus 8 oz per hour of light activity a day when pregnant.

So, drink, drink, drink and drink some more (water, that is)!!