Water, water and MORE water

It's recommended that you drink 8 glasses of water a day. They also say that the first 5 pounds of weight that you lose is "water weight". Can someone explain that to me please? How can you lose 5 pounds of water when you're drinking a gallon of water a day?! When you do the math... let's say you lose 1-2 pounds a week, so losing 5 pounds is going to take roughly 3 weeks. 3 weeks, 7 days per week, a gallon of water a day... that's 21 gallons of water! Holy cow, how can anyone get any work done when they drink that much water in a single day? I'm still nursing my third glass of water and I've already gone pee 7 times this morning! (sorry TMI) But seriously - How?

Epiphany! You lose the weight because you're too busy drinking water and going to the bathroom that you don't have time to eat! Brilliant! But, how are you going to get out of a speeding ticket on your way home from work after drinking that much water in a day?

But I digress...

I did a little more research on this "water" theory. Experts say to have a glass of water before each meal, and after each meal as 1) it'll help suppress your appetite so that you don't eat as much, and 2) drinking a glass of water after a meal helps you burn those calories faster. I also read that by drinking 8 glasses of water a day, it'll reduce your caloric intake by 20%... which makes sense now since if you have a glass of water before each meal, you eat less. It's interesting that they say to drink cold water, as that helps burn more calories as your body has to work to warm the water up. I also read that if you currently don't drink enough water now, then you body is storing water (thus the water retention). By drinking more water a day, not only are you releasing toxins out of your body, but you're also telling your body that it doesn't have to store it like a camel.

I also found that eating more water-rich foods will also help you lose 33% more weight. Doctors always tell us to eat more fruits and vegetables, but they never told us why. Or if they did tell us why, I wasn't paying attention or have since forgotten since 3rd grade. The fruits and veggies are just as, if not more, filling and have less calories. So you're eating less, feeling more full, less calories and getting more water all at once. Talk about multi-tasking!

My journey is still going strong. Still watching my caloric in-take, working out either by going to the gym, or with football practice and trying my hardest to stay away from the sweet stuff.