Get your hydration on!

Drinking water is vital to our survival, it's an important factor to weight loss, and feeling good in life.

• Sometimes when you think you're starving, you're actually really thirsty, especially if you've eaten not to long before hand. Give it a shot. If you feel like you're hungry sitting in front of the TV, or studying, get  glass or bottle of water and sip on it. You just might notice that the hunger feeling dissipates. 
• Another good reason to drink water, it keeps your kidneys healthy. If you've ever come across a kidney infection or UTI, drinking water is KEY to flushing out "germs." 
• Always get your hydration on. Staying hydrated keeps you in a good mood. Even when you are just a little bit dehydrated, you'll get cranky.

Do you know how soda affects your body?

In the early 1880's the first cola-flavored drink was introduced...That long ago? Amazing.
Different types of soda's have been popping up through out history. We've got Ginger Ale, which started in Ireland and we've got soda water, which pretty much started it all.

And, perhaps many of us remember growing up and soda being the main drink at birthday parties, classroom parties and anywhere you went to get food, or drink.

But, within the last few years, I've personally noticed a drastic change in the amount of people drinking soda. I'm not sure of the facts, but through speculation, more people seem to be straying away from the product.

There's this little diagram my mom sent me in an email, here are some things I found interesting.

1. A 12 oz. can of soda has 9 teaspoons of sugar, or corn syrup, sucrose. This leads to weight gain, belly fat, and type 2 diabetes.
2. The caramel, or brown coloring, the chemicals that produce this color have been linked to cancer (lung and liver) in lab rats and mice.
3. The amount of sugar and acid in the soda can lead to tooth decay.

It's fun to drink every now and then, but like we all know, the best choice is water. If you need a sugar fix, go for something else. Tea is always good, Tazo Tea, or a passion tea lemonade drink from Starbucks.

I know there's tons of information out there on soda how it affects your body, but I'll just list a few things that could happen as a result from consuming soda daily, or routinely.

There's other things to keep in mind, but these are a few simple facts to be aware of.

P.S. sorry for the lack of photos, I'll get more in here soon.

Effects of Alcohol on the body

So, I was going to do a post about the worst side dishes you can come across, but then my eyes landed on an article posted by Women's Health explaining the side effects of alcohol on the body. I am a frequent reader of Women's Health and subscriber, it's a great magazine and provides quick and simple work outs that are fat blasting and fun, not just monotonous. anyway.


Very interesting.

Effect's of alcohol:

1. Slower Recovery :(
Hard workouts definitely drain glycogen, or carbs stored in your liver and muscles, leaving them in repair mode. Drinking after a workout slows the recovery of your body; snack on a peanut butter on whole wheat crackers to get some carbs that repair your muscles in your body before hand.

2. Alcohol and fat: your body ends up having to focus on processing the alcohol. Alcohol also breaks down the amino acids and ends up storing them as fat. Then your body doesn't focus on burning those carbs and fat.

3. Sleep deprivation: (to put it lightly)
More so than in men, women's sleep is disrupted, especially in the second half of the night, according to WomensHealth.com. Women are more likely to wake up and get 30 minutes less sleep than if they didn't consume alcohol. It can stunt the human growth hormone output, which builds muscle up to as much as 70 percent.

4. Depletion of H2O and nutrients: 
ahh yes, stomach lining is irritated by alcohol. Your hangovers signal that your are severely dehydrated. That lining thats annoyed, it decreases the absorption of nutrients. not good. That's why your stomach hurts after you drink too much, plus it makes you use the bathroom, good bye nutrients.

Ah Sugar..sweet right?

Not quite. It's not the best for you and should be consumed in moderation.

Women have a greater risk in developing cardiovascular disease than men. Us women require less calories than men. Sugar sweetened beverages bring in factors of this disease like high triglycerides in individuals who don't gain weight, according to an article by the American Heart Association.

The reference to sugar-sweetened drinks would be sodas, and flavored waters. Funny because we see so many ads on TV and in magazines about flavored water and how it can quench your thirst.

In the article, those who drank two or more sugar-sweetened drinks a day were more likely to develop the high triglycerides and increase waist size. We definitely don't want to increase waist size if the high triglycerides factor doesn't do it for you.

Don't know what triglycerides are? --> Triglycerides: Lowering them

You, in moderation ladies..In moderation. Water is always best.

Are you dehydrated?

LOVE water right ? Yeah it doesn't taste like anything fruity or soda like, but it is SO good for your body.

timetospa.com explained that reports show 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated. wow. It is also the number one reason for being tired during the day. You know sometimes when you feel hungry, I was once told that you might actually be needing to drink water.

Drinking water is also a good way to nourish and keep your skin healthy. It's also a natural way to flush out toxins in your body.