Passion 4 Life Ltd

So, how did you do yesterday? Did you just get by with the 2 litre water challenge or was it just a bit too much? lol . Did you try pacing yourself? Say a large glass of water every 3 hours? I understand how challenging it can be to get enough water in

Believe me when I say, that,it’s really not as much as you think

Think of how therapeutic water is – I mean natural water. When I wash my face in the sink or the shower, I love how it feels – I stay away from soap or anything I know will dry the skin on my face, Why? The truth is that the skin on my face is really sensitive as it is in most of us. Our face is the first part of our incredible physiology that we present to the world, after all. So how can I nourish the skin on my face?  By drinking water perhaps?

Smiling also helps, but most importantly, if I smile and my poor face is so dehydrated (lacking in water) that it feels ready to crack, then I wonder what kind of message I’m sending out to my environment? Albeit, I may be terribly uncomfortable in the process, right?

Dry lips can be a sign of dehydration and yes covering it up with a bit of lip gloss or lip salve, does help, but if I’m essentially thirsty or hungry or perhaps I’m unaware of the difference, then what?

I’ll pause here, for a cup of Mint tea……..sometimes the stomach rumbles when we are thirsty too, you know? Some of the effects of thirst and dehydration are excessive yawning, dry skin, sunken eyes, muscle cramps (the first thing that comes to mind here for me is when I go swimming and the toes on my feet stick together when my foot cramps – it’s quite an interesting and ‘painful’ sight, that reminds me to drink enough water or fluids before I go swimming/exercising in future ), some other side effects are headaches, constipation (which I will talk about separately in another article over the coming days )and fainting, etc

According to Wikipedia, we start to feel the effects of dehydration once the body has lost 2% of it’s volume. 2%! That seems like such a small amount in relation to 60% of the total amount of water in men and 55% of that amount in women. But think about it for a minute.

Scenario:
I put on my clothes in the morning, then I walk out the front door, only to discover that I have forgotten a vital piece of my apparel…….. my coat……it’s freezing outside. So what do I do? I’m feeling cold, there’s a change, so I go back inside and quickly get my coat, as the thought of being uncomfortably cold for a few hours is hardly enticing.

The point I’m trying to make is that the body’s systems have been so beautifully designed to respond to any slight inbalances – do you get the picture here? In order for us to function optimally as a physiological and anatomical ‘Sculpture,’ the body has to be in a state of equilibrium or homeostasis.

Basically, this means balance. so whatever goes in will also come out as some of you may have noticed today. Balance of the body’s systems is regulated by the hypothalamus – a small almond-shaped gland located above the Brain Stem, (which is the lowest part of the brain before it tails off into the spinal cord) that functions as a regulator for changes in temperature, hunger, thirst and circadian rhythms. Who would have thought that something the size of an almond could perform such a complex array of hormonal and neurological duties?

This amazing interconnection where our brain communicates internally, in our unconscious or perhaps sub-conscious so to speak, has all the little nerve cells picking up information about fluid balance and relating it back to the ‘almond.’

So how much water did you drink today? I managed to drink 2.4 litres yesterday, but my excuse was that I was moving/dancing in the studio quite a lot. Today, I managed to drink about 1.4 litres by 1.30pm and an extra cup of herbal tea and juice later on, whilst I was working, brought my fluid intake up to 1.85L. My body seems to need more because of the high activity and I pay attention to that as I end my evening with tea and the last glass of water for the day. My total is 2.75L. How did I manage that?

See the pictures below.

A 0.4L large cup of Mint Tea

A Pint/0.5L Glass of Water

Tea & Water side by side

As you see, a large cup of mint tea here is actually 400mls/0.4L – yes I was rather surprised myself. But I promise you I stood in my kitchen and measured it all out yesterday. The pint glass of water is 500mls/0.5L . So by the time you have had 3 cups you are more than half way through your quota

Let me know how you got on today and if you noticed any differences in your body

Until tomorrow………

Many Blessings

“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.”
Jacques Cousteau