1/12 Wellness Wednesday

Today's barbell burpees are facing the bar:)

Monday I explored the appeal of a cleanse for a New-Year reset and suggested that you might be able to make yourself feel better if you just drink enough water. 
I know drinking water isn't as sexy as doing a cleanse. But, hey, I'm here to tell you the straight truth not try to sell you a nutrition system based on magic powders, pills, tinctures, and elixirs. We have an outstanding nutrition system just down the road, it's called Rocky Creek Farm. 
Hydration is an often overlooked health practice that has numerous benefits. Being adequately hydrated can make your skin look great, help reduce joint pain, reduce hunger, and a whole mess of other good things. Check out the image below, click on it if you like, to learn all the benefits of staying adequately hydrated. ​

Click on the image above to learn all the benefits of staying hydrated

One of the reasons I suggest focusing on your hydration rather than wasting your money on a cleanse is because water does much of the functions most cleanses claim to do. Water has seven primary functions in our body:

• transporting;
• dissolving;
• cleaning;
• reacting;
• padding; and
• regulating temperature.

​That's right! Water does all of that on its own. You don't need to add anything to it for it to help your natural detoxification system do its job. 
Recommendations vary on how much to drink. I like the 1/3-1/2 ounces based on body weight recommendation because it's tailored to each individual. For example if you weight 140lbs aim for 42-70 ounces of liquid every day. If you weight 180 lbs aim for 54-90 ounces daily. If you want to lose weight aim on the higher side. 
The good thing is that you don't actually have to drink water to get the benefits of being hydrated. Contrary to popular belief unsweetened coffee and tea are not diuretic and actually contribute to your hydration. So does your post-WOD FitAid, Core Power, protein shake, and so do fruits and vegetables!  If your preferred quaff contains carbohydrates, e.g. coconut water, beer, wine, scotch, the carbs impact your blood chemistry and don't have the same hydrating effect. It's ok to drink these beverages, but anything over 8 ounces doesn't count toward your overall hydration goal. 
So the next time you're tempted to buy into that cleanse system, check yourself and save some money. Focus on drinking 1/3-1/2 your body weight in ounces of water for 2 weeks and see if you feel better. My money is on the dihydrogen monoxide!

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