Shelley A. Sonnenberg

Author who has lost 159 pounds and written a book about it!

Tag: water

The Wonders of Drinking Water — June 18, 2016

The Wonders of Drinking Water

/Shelley A Sonnenberg/4 Comments

One of the greatest things you can do to keep yourself healthy, lose weight and improve your memory is to drink enough water! Yet it’s one thing that many adults neglect.[1] I am sure most of my readers know that the human body can only survive for a few days without water[2], but what many of you do not realize is how much water you need to keep every part of your body running at peak performance.

IMG_9053
This photo was taken before my weight loss. I weighed 281 pounds.

In my recently published book, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds WITHOUT Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups, or Surgery, and How YOU Can Too!  I quoted Don Colbert, MD, who recommends that everyone weigh themselves and divide the number of pounds they weigh by two and drink one ounce of water for every pound of half their weight. [3] For example, if you weigh 100 pounds you need to drink fifty ounces of water per day.   However, if you live in an area where the weather is hot or if you are doing a lot of exercise you can feel free to drink even more water than Dr. Colbert recommends. According the The   Complete Idiot’s Guide to Losing Weight, “It’s practically impossible to overdose on water.”[4]

It’s also important to understand that you need to drink the right amount of water whether you feel thirsty or not!  Doctor Colbert says: “As we age, our bodies signal for thirst tends to decrease, which may be the reason why some elderly people don’t drink as much water as they should. Their water reserves are typically lower, and their vulnerability to be more dehydrated tends to increase.” [5]

Fox News recently reported a story in the news about this very topic. Meatloaf, the famous rock singer and actor, who is 68, collapsed on stage due to “severe dehydration” during the end of his concert in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on June 17, 2016. The story went on to say that he was taken to the hospital and at the time the story was published was “responsive and recovering well”.[6]

You don’t have to be famous to suffer from dehydration either! A recent example of this problem recently arose in my family, when a senior citizen, who we love very much, was found unconscious on the floor in the middle of the night and ended up in the hospital.  She received excellent medical care from the hospital staff and after running every possible test on her to make sure her heart and other body organs were in good shape, her doctor concluded the reason she had fainted and fell on the floor was that she suffering from the same problem as Meatloaf. The irony was that she was attempting to fill a cup of water to give herself a drink when it happened!

I have talked to her since she came home from the hospital and she says that now she is drinking enough water every day she feels “much better”.  This should not be surprise considering that every part of the human body needs water to work properly.[7]

You will also be interested to know that proper hydration can help you reduce your weight.  Dr. Colbert says, “New research shows that being dehydrated may 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 help raise or maintain your body temperature. Also, as some savvy dieters know, drinking water reduces your appetite by giving you a full feeling. “[8]

I made it a point to hydrate myself while I was losing 159 pounds in fourteen months and I think it really did help me. I should mention though that I did not lose weight by drinking water alone. I also ate healthy foods, exercised every day, and took nutrition products.

Water can also help you to improve your memory! Colbert states that new research shows that even humans with damaged brains can grow new brain cells, providing they keep their bodies properly hydrated. “Your brain loves water,” he writes. [9]

Of course, there is one challenge many people face when they first start drinking enough water. Colbert says “During the first few days of drinking more water than your body is accustomed to you are running to the bathroom constantly. This can be very discouraging, and it certain can interfere with an otherwise normal daily routine. Take heart; it’s really your body’s way of getting rid of excess water and toxins. You are flushing out your system.”[10]

To sum it up, that old legend about “The Fountain of Youth” really has something to it. Drink water faithfully every day and you will find yourself feeling healthier and better no matter how old you are!

SPECIAL NOTE: Those of you who want to purchase my book, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds WITHOUT Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups, or Surgery and How YOU Can Too!  may order it from my website at www.howilost159pounds.com or from almost any bookstore. It is available in paperback, hardcover and e-book formats. Get your copy today!

[1] Don Colbert, MD. The Seven Pillars of Health. First Ed. Lake Mary, Florida:Siloam,2007,6

[2] Susan McQuillan, M.S., R.D. and Edward Saltman, M.D. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Losing Weight, New York, New York: Macmillan,1998, 132

[3] Colbert, MD. The Seven Pillars of Health,31

[4] McQuillan.The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Losing Weight, 133

[5] McQuillan. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Losing Weight, 133

[6] www.foxnews.com Accessed 6/17/2016

[7] McQuillan. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Losing Weight, 132

[8] Colbert. The Seven Pillars of Health, 12-13

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

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

Drinking Enough Water Can Help You Lose Weight and Improve Your Health — May 12, 2015

Drinking Enough Water Can Help You Lose Weight and Improve Your Health

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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