If I were asked, "what is the most difficult thing many people find to do when they start a weight-loss program?", I would have to say right near the top of the list is this - they don't drink enough water!

Few people realise at first just how essential water is to the success of their weight-loss program. In fact, the essential place of water in our diet extends to everyone - whether they want to lose weight, gain weight or stay the same weight! We all know we can't live without water, but just why is it so important? Well there are many reasons. Read on and discover why water can help your loss weight and why it is your essential life-force.

Apart from 60-70% of your body being composed of water, water has an extensive range of functions essential to life.

Assists digestion, absorption and assimilation of food. If you don't drink enough water you can't get the full benefit of nutrients in the food you eat.

Assists excretion of waste from bowel and kidneys. If you don't drink enough water you get constipated and put your kidneys under stress.

Regulates body temperature. If you don't drink enough water you compromise the evaporation process you skin uses to keep you cool.

Your blood is 92% water. This is your body's transport system distributing nutrients around the body.

Body secretions and digestive juices are almost entirely water.

Why should you drink water when you want to lose weight?

Water is a natural appetite suppressant . Do NOT underestimate the power of this statement. Lack of water can lead to over eating. You brain does not differentiate between hunger and thirst. So, when you think you are feeling hungry, your body may in fact be signalling to you that you are thirsty! If you are not consuming enough water each day and you feel hunger pains, chances are, your body really is crying out for water. In many instances people will find what they thought were hunger pangs were in fact, satisfied by water. Try it! You have nothing to lose, except some weight.

How do you know whether you are drinking enough water each day? Well the answer is not difficult. The average person needs around 6-8 large glasses every day.

Well then, how should you drink the 6-8 glasses per day? The aim is to drink water consistently. If you drink too much all at once or too fast, it will simply pass through you, with little or no benefit to your body.

If you are someone who enjoys the 'taste' of water, then perhaps you could fill a 1 litre empty soft drink container with water the drink through it twice during the day. Room temperature or cold water, even warm as some people like - whatever you prefer. Place it on the desk at work in front of you as a constant reminder to sip continuously throughout the day.

Other people find they need a water 'diet' to help them keep on track. So for you, here is a program easily followed to ensure you are well hydrated every single day.

When you wake up you will often be thirsty because your body loses water while you are sleeping through breathing and perspiration. Drink a large glass of water with a slice of lemon for zing.

Drink another glass of water with breakfast or a cup of herbal tea before setting off the day.

Mid morning - snack on a piece of juicy fruit such as orange, rockmelon, watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew. Have a glass of water and perhaps try a dash of herbal aloe juice which is wonderfully soothing to the digestive system.

Lunch - think of soup or have a glass of water before your meal, or perhaps a herbal tea.

Mid afternoon - While you are preparing your evening meal, drink a glass of water and snack on some crunchy fresh vegetables.

Evening - Sip a glass of water before your meal with a dash of your favourite fruit juice for flavour.

After dinner - before bedtime drink your final glass of water and sleep well!
A few changes will happen when you start out with your water program. Obviously you may find that you need to 'spend a penny' more often. Why? Because you body isn't used to being well hydrated.

There is absolutely is no doubt about it. When you start drinking enough water regularly, there are great benefits. You may notice your skin significantly improve and even tired muscles will thank you. Many people find their energy is increased and constipation and headaches are reduced, as well as hunger pains.

Now here's the really exciting part - many people notice a reduction in weight and centimetres, as their body's water store become redundant and so decrease. If your diet has been one that did not provide you with adequate water, your body will have developed a pattern of storing water. It's part of the body's in-built survival mechanism - to store up the essential nutrients in short supply - just in case they aren't available in the future. So if you don't drink enough water, you are 'conditioning' your body to store water. And water is bulk and unwanted centimetres.

It's so simple...drink water! 6-8 large glasses a day.

How do you know if you are not getting enough water each day? This is a really important question because so many of us have deprived ourselves of water for years that we have become accustomed to doing without the full amount of water our body requires and we don't recognise the symptoms of thirst.

The most common symptom is headaches. A major function of water is to flush toxins from the body. Your brain is 75% water, so even being slightly dehydrated can cause headaches.

Poor concentration/fatigue. If you body can't get rid of the toxins it will struggle and you will feel less energetic as your body diverts energy to deal with the toxins.

Constipation. Your body will divert water to more essential functions and as a result your stools will be harder and more difficult to expel.

Reduced urine output or dark urine. Did you know that up to 200 litres of water is passed through your kidneys daily? Without a fresh supply of water for the kidneys to filter waste products out of the blood, your urine will become darker.

Furry tongue or bad breath. If you don't have enough water passing through the mouth to wash away food particles, bacteria can proliferate and result in that 'furry' feeling or bad breath.

Skin. Your skin should feel elastic. When you pinch the skin on the back of your hand it should snap back instantly.
Final thoughts

Caffeinated drinks cause the body to lose water. They are what's known as diuretics as they cause your body to dehydrate. You will do your body an enormous favour by cutting back. For every cup of coffee you drink you will need to drink another TWO glasses of water to counter the diuretic effect. Explore the world of herbal teas instead, you may be pleasantly surprised!

如果有人问我:"你认为大多数正在进行减肥计划的人，什么是他们最难做到的事情"，我不得不说首当其冲的是他们没有喝足够的水。

几乎没有人能够在一开始就意识到水对于他们的减肥计划来说是多么的重要。事实上，水在每个人的日常饮食中的都占有重要地位--无论是他们想减肥，增肥亦或者保持原来的体重！我们都知道我们不能离开水，但是为什么它如此重要呢？这其中有很多原因。继续往下读吧，你将会发现为什么水可以帮助你减肥和为什么它对于保持你的生命力很重要。

我们的身体里有60％－70％的水，它对于我们的生活有广泛的作用。

帮助消化吸收食物。如果你没有喝足够的水，你就不能完全吸收所吃食物的营养。

帮助排出大肠和肾的产生的废物。如果你没有喝足够的水，就会便秘和使肾的负担增加。

调节体温。如果你没有喝足量的水，可以使你皮肤凉爽的蒸发过程就会受到损害。

你的血液有92％是水。这是你体内把营养运送到全身的运输系统。

身体分泌物和消化液几乎都是水。

为什么如果想减肥你就必须喝水？

水是天然的食物遏抑剂。千万不要低估了这句话。缺水会导致饮食过量。你的大脑不能辩别饥饿和口渴。所以，当你以为你很饿时，你的身体实际上是传给你口渴的信号。如果你每天没有喝足够的水并且感到饥痛，那么正是你的身体迫切需要水的时候。很多时候人们认为的饥痛实际上是对水的需求。试一试吧！你不会有什么损失的，除了你的体重。

你该怎么知道每天该喝多少水才够呢？答案很简单。平均每人每天需要大概6－8大玻璃杯的水。

那么，该怎么喝这6－8大玻璃杯的水呢？重要是要持之以恒地喝水。如果你一次喝太多的水或者太快，它仅仅是从你身体流过，而对你的健康只有一点点或者根本没有作用。

如果你喜欢慢慢品尝水，那么你可以每天喝两瓶用一升大的饮料罐装着的水。室温水或者冷水，甚至是热水，你可以选择任何你喜欢的。把它放在你面前工作的台面上，可以不断地提醒你在一天里时不时喝一两口。

其他需要有一个菜单来保持这种状态的人，这里有一个计划可以保证你每天都能有很好的水养。

当你起床的时候常常会感到口渴，那是因为你睡觉的时候呼吸和出汗丧失了水分。喝一大杯有柠檬薄片的水吧。

早餐的时候再喝一杯水，或者在你出门前喝一杯凉茶。

上午--小斟一点果汁，像橙汁，甜瓜汁，西瓜汁，哈密瓜汁或者蜂蜜。喝一杯水或者一点点可以顺畅消化系统的芦荟汁。

中午--考虑在吃饭前喝汤或者一杯水，亦或者一杯凉茶。

下午--在你准备晚饭的时候，喝一杯水，吃一点脆脆的新鲜蔬菜。

晚餐--在你开餐前，抿一小口加入你最喜欢的果汁的水。

晚餐后--在睡觉前喝最后一杯水，然后舒舒服服地睡去。

你刚开始计划的时候就会有一些小改变。很明显你会发现你比以前花钱的机会多了。因为你的身体不是很习惯饱含水分。

这是完完全全毫无疑问的，当你很有规律地喝足够水的时候，很多效果就凸现出来了。你会感觉到你的皮肤有了大大的改善，甚至连疲惫的肌肉都要感谢你。很多人发现他们充满能量，便秘和头痛也减轻了，饥痛也是如此。

现在，最激动人心的时刻到了--人们会感觉到他们的体重在下降，因为他们体内的结合水减少了。如果你的日常饮食没有提供给你足够的水，那么你的身体就会开始储存水。这是你身体运作的一部分--储存重要的营养物质以备不时之需--免得它们将来会不够用。所以如果你没有喝足够的水，你就会通知你的身体开始储存水。因此水就会变得越来越多。

其实很简单......喝水！！每天6－8大杯的水。

那么你怎么知道每天是否补充了足够的水呢？这是个很重要的问题，因为我们中很多人已经剥夺了自己的水很久啦！以至于我们开始习惯没有足量水供应的身体，也意识不到渴的征兆。

最普遍的征兆是头痛。水的重要功能之一就是排除体内的毒素。大脑有75％是水，所以即使轻微的缺水也能导致头痛。

体力不支/疲惫不堪。如果你的身体不能顺利排出毒素，那么你会感觉缺乏能量因为你的身体把能量用来对付毒素。

便秘。你的身体会让水发挥更为重要的作用，导致你的大便变硬，并且更难排出。

排尿减少或者赤尿。你知不知道每天有多达200升的水通过你的肾形矿脉？没有新鲜足够水供给肾形矿脉排出血液里的废物，你的尿液颜色就会变深。

厚舌头或者口臭。如果你没有足够的水通过口腔去冲洗食物残渣，微生物大量繁殖，最终导致舌苔或者口臭。

皮肤。你的皮肤会富满弹性。当你用手捏一下皮肤，它很快就会恢复。

后记：

咖啡因会使身体失水。他们就是我们所知道的利尿剂，因为他们会使你的身体脱水。你需要做一大堆努力来补救。你喝一杯咖啡就需要两杯水来削弱利尿的效果。用凉茶来代替话，你会感到惊喜.