The world is exploding with weight-loss products today and it seems like every time I turn around I hear about a new one! Now some of these products are excellent and some are filled with empty promises, but there is one weight-loss product that most people overlook even though it’s one of the least expensive and most effective! It’s water!

Yes, I said water!  One of the things I included in my weight-loss program when I recently lost 159 pounds in fourteen months was a focused plan to start hydrating myself properly.  In, my upcoming weight-loss book, No Salads Required! How I lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! which will be available in late summer or early fall of 2015,  I share some insights on this, much of which, I learned from Don, Colbert, M.D.

In his helpful and interesting book, The Seven Pillars of Health, Dr. Colbert states:

“New research also shows that being dehydrated can cause your body’s fat deposits to increase. Dehydration can contribute to an inefficient metabolism by affecting body temperature. When you are dehydrated, your body temperature drops slightly and causes your body to store fat as a way to maintain the temperature. Also, as some savvy dieters know, drinking water reduces your appetite by giving you a full feeling.[1]”

Obviously the remedy for dehydration is to drink more water, but the question is, “How much?” Fortunately, Dr. Colbert included this easy formula in his book:

“Take your weight in pounds and divide it by two. The result is how many ounces of water you should drink daily.[2]”

I believe so strongly in the above advice that I both lived by it while I was intensely working at losing weight and currently live by it as part of my maintenance program.  Of course, now that I weigh a lot less it’s easier to meet my daily water drinking goals. When I first began my weight-loss program I weighed 281 pounds and needed to drink 140.5 ounces of water per day! To make this more fun I did make some of that clean, filtered water into unsweetened caffeine-free tea. I used a water filter attached to my kitchen sink to make an endless supply of the water I needed.  This is what I said about that in Chapter 2 of No Salads Required!:

This is me prior to my weight-loss program. I weighed about 281 pounds at that time.
This is me prior to my weight-loss program. I weighed about 281 pounds at that time.

“The reason I decided to drink caffeine-free iced tea was that I was drinking quite a lot of it at times, and while both black tea and green tea with caffeine both do offer health benefits,[3] too much caffeine can keep you up at night when you really want to sleep.[4] Also, caffeine is a diuretic[5] and I did not want to drink it to excess and push all the water I had been drinking right back out of my body before I could enjoy the benefits of being properly hydrated.”

I also have completely given up sodas, both diet and regular, but with all the wonderful teas available I have not missed them.  In No Salads Required! I recommended  a number of my favorite, black, herbal and green teas that come in caffeine-free versions, but I don’t limit myself to just the favorite teas I mention in the book. Every time I visit the grocery store I enjoy walking down the tea aisle and searching for new flavors I have not tried yet. I find experimenting with new teas to be a fun and healthy hobby.

Now, I do  need to tell you that when you first start drinking a healthy amount of water that your body will initially respond by causing you to run to the bathroom a lot the first few days and that this can be somewhat inconvenient, but it’s all for a good cause. Dr. Colbert explains it this way:

“Take heart; it’s really your body’s way of getting rid of excess water and toxins. You are flushing out your system.[6]”

Dr. Colbert also mentioned in the same chapter that drinking enough water can do wonders to help your memory, reverse signs of aging, improve your joints and make your skin look beautiful. I particularly liked a statement from a TV interview he saw with singer Tina Turner, whose skin looked fabulous even though she was well into her sixties at the time. She explained it was because she drank two quarts of water every day! [7]

I hope to use “water therapy” to produce the same results in myself as I mature! I find it ironic that in the midst of a culture that is desperate to find the fountain of youth that few people know that is as close as their kitchen faucet or the bottled water at the grocery store! Give it a try!  You will be glad you did.

Book Information: As I mentioned above, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds Without Salads Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! will be available in late summer or early fall of 2015. You will be able to order it from Amazon.com and other stores in both paper and electronic formats. As soon as I have an exact release date I will be sure to include it in my blog posts.

[1] Don Colbert, MD. The Seven Pillars of Health. First ed. Lake Mary, Florida: Siloam, 2007, 13

[2] Colbert. The Seven Pillars of Health, 31

[3] Steven G. Pratt, MD, and Kathy Matthews. Superfoods Rx, Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life. Third ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2007, 181–185.

[4] Don Colbert, MD. The Seven Pillars of Health. First ed. Lake Mary, Florida: Siloam, 2007, 3142–43.

[5] Colbert. The Seven Pillars of Health, 32.

Chapter 3

[6] Colbert. The Seven Pillars of Health, 13

[7] Don Colbert, MD. The Seven Pillars of Health. First ed. Lake Mary, Florida: Siloam, 2007, 5,-14