The Cancer Benefits Of Green Tea

What are the health benefits of green tea?

Green tea has been used for centuries, especially in Asian culture, as a health remedy and prevention of many adverse health conditions.  Research continues to find new health benefits of green tea, and some research has solidified the “proof” of green tea’s ancient supposed remedies.  Here are some new and old health benefits of green tea.

Cancer Prevention and Treatment

According to a 2004 Harvard Health Publication, green tea consumption has an association with reducing risk of various cancers.  Green tea and cancer prevention probably has the highest amount of research for any health benefit with green tea.  However, research results with green tea and cancer prevention/treatment have mixed results.

Green tea contains catechins, which is the compound known for cancer fighting benefits.  They are anti-inflammatory and anti-angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels), according to a 2005 article from The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

Angiogenesis is a normal process in the body, but it is also needed for cancer growth.  Catechins can fight off cancer by stopping new blood vessels from being formed that are needed for the cancer cells.

Antioxidants in green tea can protect body cells from DNA damage.  If DNA gets damaged, it may be susceptible to proliferation as seen in cancer.

How much green tea is needed for potential cancer prevention?  

Because of the variances from types of green tea, preparation and bioavailability of compounds (like catechins), it is not known exactly if and how much green tea can affect cancer prevention or treatment.

Also, some research studies use test tubes or animal models, which make the application of their outcome with green tea and cancer impossible to translate to humans.

Until more research is clarified, there appears to be no harm for drinking green tea in terms of cancer prevention and only possible benefits.

Never Give Up On Your Weight Loss Journey (WLJ)

Never Give Up, Never, Never Give Up, Never Ever Give Up, Never Give UP!  That’s right, the secret key to losing weight is not a new fad diet, it’s not a new medication, it’s not a gimmick supplement, it is A STATE OF MIND!

Let’s face it. You tried to lost weight in the past, and you failed. So what! The key is what do you do now. Do you give up, or do you start again. Anyone and everyone who has successfully lost weight and kept it off had failed in the past. However, the reason they were finally able to lose the weight, was because they never gave up.

I know how hard and frustrating it can be, but never give up. If you have a bad day and eat a bunch fatting junk, so what, forget about it. Just do not give up, never.

Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it. Just start a new day and never give up.  If you tried to lose weight, and did not work, try something different Like AdvoCare.

JUST NEVER GIVE UP!

“Have you ever considered the cost of quitting? For real eye opener…ask Thomas Edison...Steve Jobs…Michael Jordan…or Sylvester Stalone. Ask them how much it would have cost them if they had quit. What about you?”

Dwight Obey, Independent AdvoCare Distributor

Start Your April 3rd Moving!

Start tomorrow morning moving.... You will benefit more from getting up fifteen minutes earlier and going for a brisk walk or light jog then you would get from sleeping an extra fifteen minutes after hitting your snooze button. When you are doing this visualize your goals, and say your motivational phrase out load. To keep me energized, and moving during my early mornings, I have learned to start my days with an energy supplement called AdvoCare Spark .

Written by,

Dwight Obey, Independent AdvoCare Distributor

Being Overweight......

Being overweight or obese is becoming more and more common in today's society. Although the media inundates us with possible solutions, there are no simple answers. 

By visiting 1st N Weight Loss you will find all the information you need to educate yourself and find out what is right for you, so you can start losing weight now.

Benefits

• Why lose weight? Here are the benefits of weight loss.

Dieting

• Who should you believe? Get the all the information you need to decide which diet is best for you. Fact or Fiction? Find out how to determine what is true or not.

Resources

• All you need to know about pedometers, and you can buy one and weight loss books too.

Psychology

• There can often be mental barriers to losing weight.

Exercise

• Exercise should be an important part of any weight loss program.

.....and much , much more!

Clean Eating...What is is?

Clean eating is the best described as removing all processed, artificial foods from your diet and focusing on healthy, whole, unprocessed foods. Your body is from nature, bring it back to nature and reap the rewards of eating clean, like living a longer, healthier life, have great glowing skin and hair, fast weight loss and healthy weight maintenance.

You wouldn’t feed your pet bird cardboard, would you? No, you would feed them nuts and seeds just like the natural food they have in the wild. It’s time to start thinking of yourself as the bird, feed yourself what humans found and grew in the wild hundreds and thousands of years ago, not “frankenfood” made in a laboratory.

How to Eat Clean

The best way to understand and implement Step 1 is to skip the boxed, pre-made foods, and shop the perimeter of the grocery store. By shopping just the perimeter of the grocery store you’ll pick up organic fruits and veggies, lean protein from the butcher and freshly baked bread from the store bakery. You’re only buying fresh food. Of course this is more metaphor than rule. Organic pasta, rice and beans are usually found in isles as well are organic whole wheat flour and spices. Be sure to choose these ingredients in the purest forms, pick up the organic brown rice, not the box of rice mixture with the spices. The only ingredient on the label should be “brown rice.”

You can have your chocolate, but instead of the “sugar free” chocolate candies that are full of artificial sweeteners, have a square of all natural dark chocolate (Chocolate Recipes). As for cheese, choose sharp cheese, you can use less and get the same cheesy goodness, thus saving calories (Cheese Recipes).

Eat More Fat Burning Foods

Fat burning foods are a staple in the weight loss plan. We make small swaps to recipes to turn them into metabolism boosting foods. For instance, swapping out buttermilk for almond milk in a pancake recipe can cut calories and add natural fat burners to your diet.

Little changes in recipes and your diet can make a big difference in your weight loss success. 

Top Foods that Burn Fat:

• Hot Peppers
• Green Tea and Coffee
• Whole Grains, Quinoa and Oats
• Grapefruit and other Citrus Fruits
• Lean Poultry and Fish
• Beans and Lentils
• Berries
• Apples
• Almonds, Almond milk and Almond butter
• Eggs
• Greek Yogurt
• Spinach and Broccoli

Fat burning ingredients can be added to many recipes. Just keep in mind that organic food will have more nutrition and therefor more metabolism boosting nutrition.

Raw foods also have more nutrition, so a salad with raw spinach will have more fat burning properties than cooked spinach would, so whenever possible have these fat burning foods raw.

Step #2: Plan your meals and log what you eat and drink.

I realize this sounds like homework, would it help if we called it studying instead?

By planning your meals and logging what you eat and drink, you will start memorizing how many calories are in your favorite meals and ingredients. Best of all you will learn your own eating habits and cravings, so over time you can better plan your meals to suit your cravings. After a couple weeks if you see you consistently have a 3:00 pm craving for carbs, you can head off that craving in advance with a skinny sandwich at lunch. Or, a sweet craving at 10:00 am can be managed with a sweet oatmeal breakfast.

So as tedious as this one step might seem,  it is an important step for both weight loss and maintenance later on and it holds everything together. Having a meal plan helps you manage plateaus while keeping you motivated. In the long run you’ve studied for your new healthy lifestyle and for your new figure. It makes it easier to maintain your weight loss diet when you have done the studying. So don’t skip this step, you’re studying for the most important test of your life… your health.

Meal Plan

By making a meal plan to lose weight, you are setting yourself up for weight loss success. Have you ever become extra motivated to exercise after a purchase of a new yoga mat, or running shoes? Making a meal plan is motivational in the same way.

If you sit down and take the time to plan out your meals you are more likely to stick to it, because you took the time to do it. You’ll find it’s easier to stay on plan knowing you have a yummy meal coming up later today, and you’ll be less likely to splurge knowing you have a plan to follow.

How Many Calories Should I Plan to Eat?

Since we are talking about setting a meal plan, we need to talk about how many calories you should plan to eat. If your goal is to lose weight, all you need to know is your goal weight. The equation is easy; add a zero to the end of your goal weight to find your daily calorie goal. Just be sure not to go under 1200 calories per day as this will send your metabolism into preservation mode, which may cause your body to hold onto weight instead of releasing it.

Say your goal weight is 135 pounds, your daily calorie intake should be 1350 calories.

Don’t fret if this seems difficult, below is an example of a super filling 1200 Calorie Diet Plan, just add on snacks to increase your calories.

Step #3: Move your body more.

Weight loss is 70% what you eat and 30% exercise. Many people often think exercise is more important in weight loss and they disregard the healthy diet part. That is why Step #3 is to move more. You don’t have to train for a marathon to lose weight, however exercise will speed up the process and, perhaps more importantly, tone your body.

Many people ask me what to do about extra skin, or loose skin, after weight loss and the answer is always “that’s what exercise is for.” If all you can do is a 20 minute yoga video after the kids go down for their nap, or a walk with the dog after work, find a way to make the most of it. And whenever possible increase the time you exercise, if even by 5 minutes.

How to Lose Weight Without Exercise

So what happens when you can’t exercise? There are many people with health and physical difficulties who can’t exercise in the traditional way. For those people, I assure you that you can still lose weight. Like I said above, weight loss is 70% what you eat and 30% exercise, so if you can’t exercise you have to be spot on with your diet plan to lose weight.

You also have to do your best to move your body more. That can mean taking the stairs instead of the elevator or even working extra hard at physical therapy. Do as much as you can, follow the other 3 steps and you will see the weight melt off.

Step #4: Drink a gallon of water a day.

Water is key to losing weight. Besides tasting great, studies have proven that drinking water naturally boosts your metabolism along with many additional water health benefits. It fills you up, flushes your system and naturally increases metabolism.

How Much Water Should I Drink to Lose Weight

At 1st N Weight Loss, we recommend you try to drink a gallon of water (3 ¾ liters) a day for weight loss. A gallon of water may seem like a lot, but it’s a good weight loss goal to strive for each day. By having 40 ounces of water in the morning, noon and night you will stay full and hydrated. The large amount of water helps increase your metabolism and flush your system, it’s a great aid to weight loss and an easy step that almost anyone can achieve. 

If you can’t get to a gallon, that’s OK. Start slow with 60 ounces per day and increase by an extra 10 ounces each day until you are at a full gallon. Here are some tips to help you drink more water.

Women And Exercise

Dwight, 2000

In addition to stretching the muscles involved in cardiovascular exercise, you need to stretch each specific muscle you train in a fitness program. When you stretch your muscles it helps to provide better physical performance, prevents injuries, and can help to improve your posture.When muscles are stretched, the elasticity in them improves which will help to increase your range of motion and improve the quality of your movements.

Never stretch a cold muscle; meaning you should always make sure your muscles are warm before stretching. It's usually better to do a more extensive stretch at the very end of your fitness program, but light stretching between exercises is fine. Stretching doesn't take a long time, and it shouldn't, but you do benefit tremendously from it. Stretch only after the muscle has been properly warmed-up. Again, the best time for a complete stretch is when your exercise session has been completed. By the time you have finished your specific weight lifting program, which will be about 35 - 45 minutes in length, your muscles will have warmed up as much as they can possibly get.

Remember any fitness program must always include a warm-up and proper stretching for maximum effectiveness and to prevent injury.When you do this you will indeed experience the terrific benefits a good weight training program will give you.

Exercise Selection:

For you to succeed in your over-all fitness plan you need to select at least one exercise for each major muscle group in your body. This will help to promote well-balanced muscle development.

Another important part of your over-all fitness plan is the order your exercises are performed. When doing a range of weightlifting exercises, it's better to start with the larger muscle groups then perform exercises for the smaller muscle groups. Performing your fitness program in this manner will allow you to be exercising at your best during the most demanding exercises when fatigue levels are the lowest and you feel fresh.

Another important area of exercise selection is the total number of sets per exercise and total number of sets per exercise session. A "set" as it relates to weight lifting is the number of successive repetitions of a single exercise performed in succession without stopping. Now the number of sets per exercise and per exercise session is really going to depend on exactly what your goals are. Always treat your very first set for each muscle group as a warm-up, as was discussed in the warm-up section above. Then the rest of your sets will be determined by whether or not you are using a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level fitness program and what your particular goals are.

Regardless of the number of sets performed, all sets and repetitions have to be done with proper exercise form and under complete control.

Exercise Form Or Technique

One thing that always seems to be missing in most fitness programs, and the most common and critical training mistake is exercise form or "technique." Too much weight usually results in poor form, which decreases your ability to get results and also increases the risk of injury.

Examples of poor form or technique include, but aren't limited too…

• Bouncing the bar off your chest when performing a chest press;
• Using your hips for momentum and over extending your back to initiate the bicep curls;
• Arching your back or bending backwards when performing a shoulder press during the resistance portion of your fitness session;
• Using momentum in any exercise;
• And training at a fast tempo.

Be aware of these types of mistakes and remove them.

Exercise Nutrition

Food and exercise go hand in hand. If you are on an exercise program, you must ensure that you are getting enough energy to fuel your exercise, as well as all the right nutrients. If you are exercising to bulk up, or exercising to lose weight, there are also many other things to consider.

Before Exercise

One of the most important meals for any athlete is the one before training or competition. Never compete without eating something beforehand, even if your event is first thing in the morning. In general, the pre-exercise meal that is taken a couple of hours before the training session should be based on carbohydrate-rich foods. Closer to the event, carbohydrate rich snacks can be consumed, while high-fat or high-protein foods should be avoided.

During Exercise

It is very important to make sure where appropriate, that food and fluid is ingested during exercise, in both training and competition. Generally, the longer the event, the greater the amount of carbohydrate that is utilized. As a rule of thumb, if your sport or training is longer than an hour, you may benefit from consuming some carbohydrates during sport in addition to fluid.

After Exercise

Recovering well after an exercise session may be a challenge. Recovery will be most effective during the first few hours after the exercise. The aims are to replace muscle and liver glycogen stores, replace fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat and repair the damage caused by the exercise. The best fuel to use is carbohydrate foods, as these foods will replace the glycogen stores depleted during the activity.

Tips On Working Out Utilizing Your Bodyweight That Can Save You Money

You do not need to have a full gym of expensive exercise equipment to have an effective training program.

Benefits of Bodyweight Workouts

• Save money – you don't need to spend money on buying weights and equipment.

• Workout Anywhere - with body weight exercises you can workout everywhere.

• Reduce Injuries - the probability for injuries is lower using bodyweight exercises.

Some Bodyweight Exercises

Here are some simple bodyweight exercises that anyone can do, with a list if the major muscle groups that they target.

Exercise	Muscles Worked
push ups	chest, arms and core muscles
dips	triceps, chest
chin ups	lats, arms
body weight squats	quads, hamstrings, buttocks and posture
sit ups	abdominals
supine bridge	core muscles
side lying bridge	down phasing obliques
horizontal pull ups	upper back, arms
step ups	quads, hammies and buttocks
lunges	quads, hammies and buttocks
crunches	abdominals

Fitness Basics

Basic Fitness Principles

With the huge amount of information on different training methods out there, there is no consensus on which is the right way to go. Understanding the basic principles of training will help to understand the differences you will find among training programs.

Basic Principles

There are two simple acronyms for remembering the main principles of an effective training program.

SPORT

• Specificity - sport and individual needs
• Progression - start at your level and gradually increase
• Overload - work harder than normal
• Reversibly - train regularly
• Tedium - keep it interesting

FITT

• Frequency - how often
• Intensity - how hard
• Time - how long
• Type - what methods of training

Putting it into practice

Just about any training program will work to improve your fitness to some extent. If you perform a training program in which there is an increased load placed on the body, the body will adapt to the higher load, and you will be become stronger, faster and fitter. However, a program tailored specifically for you and your needs can maximize and accelerate the benefits to your health and fitness.

Work At Home Moms Can Stay Fit

Despite what many may think, working from home takes a lot of time and a lot of work. I'm sure you've heard someone say, "They don't really have a job, they just work from home." That statement couldn't be farther from the truth!

Running a home business takes almost all of your time. Therefore, many other things drop down on your priority list. Probably one of the first ones to drop is fitness.

When you have a never-ending to-do list, a house that never seems to get clean and family and/or friends who demand attention, it's understandable that exercise can take a back seat. But, it shouldn't.

Exercise offers so many important benefits that it should always be part of your weekly routine. Of course, we all know that exercise can help you stay slim and fit. But, do you also know about all the other great results of exercising? Daily physical activity reduces stress and can help you sleep better - two things that are especially beneficial to busy at-home workers and business owners. 


Fitness helps keep you healthy and has been linked to reducing the risk of some diseases and to warding off depression. Researchers also believe that strength training can help prevent osteoporosis. If that still doesn't convince you to get moving, then keep in mind that exercise also improves self-esteem, increases stamina and ultimately helps you be able to do continuous work for longer. What more could you ask for?

1. Schedule time for working out. When you work at home it's so easy to work around the clock. To help avoid this think of yourself as having a traditional "office job". In most "office jobs" when you go home for the night you leave work behind and concentrate on personal things. Even though going home for you may simply be walking down the hall, you need to set boundaries in order to find time for you.

1. During working hours, take several 5-10 minute breaks and run up and down the stairs (or even just walk). This will also help rejuvenate your mind.

1. Sitting in front of a computer can be hard on your body, especially your posture. So, find a comfortable place where you can occasionally stand to do your computer work.

1. It's not necessary for you to find 30 continuous minutes for working out. You'll get just as much benefit if you break your exercise into small chunks. Try 10 minutes before you start work, 10 minutes at lunch and 10 minutes after work (re-read # 1 above if you just said you have no "after work" time).

1. If you don't won't to spend a lot of time in the kitchen but still want to eat healthy, cook large portion meals on the weekend that you can freeze. Then simply defrost and warm for dinners during the week. This saves you the time of having to make dinner and you don't have to compromise calories as you would if you instead opted for take-out.

1. One great advantage of working at home is that you can workout over your lunch hour while never leaving your office plus you don't have to pack your workout clothes and toiletries to take with you to work. This saves you travel time, which you can instead spend on grabbing a healthy bite to eat. And, if you don't have any face-to-face meetings scheduled, then you don't have to worry about looking perfect after your workout.

1. If you haven't already done so, invest in a good hands-free headset for your phone. This is a great way to multi-task because your hands are free to do other things while you concentrate on your conference call. You can even do some simple (but worthwhile) exercise moves. Some good choices are squats, tricep dips, lunges, wall push-ups, etc.

1. Keep healthy snacks available for when you need an energy boost or simply just need something to chew on to help you get through some tough work. Don't forget to keep water on hand and sip some all throughout your day.

1. Purchase an exercise stability ball. While there are dozens of great toning exercises you can do with the ball, it's also beneficial to simply sit on it. Try sitting on it instead of a chair for even short periods throughout your day. This will help build your core strength (your trunk area).

1. Don't forget the importance of stretching. Take a couple of minutes every hour to stand up and stretch your entire body.

It all sounds great, right? But you still don't think that you can find any time in your hectic schedule for staying in shape. Don't worry. There are a lot of creative ways to fit it in.

 Below are some tips to help you get started.

As you can see, exercise offers huge benefits even with just a small amount of effort. And if you have kids, by exercising you also set a great example. So, to help you, your business, and your family, it's time to stop making excuses and just start moving!

How To Workout At Home For Free

If you are like me, then you will probably know that using free weights and machines is the fastest and most efficient way there is to improve your metabolism and strength but for many reasons these may not be convenient or readily accessible to you.

You may also have no access to a commercial gym, home gym or are on business trip, but there can be a solution, a strength-training workout without the need of expensive machines.

As with any exercise, whether you are using your own body weight, machines or free weights, if the resistance doesn't increase, your muscles won't be worked to their maximum capacity and the stimulus these fibers need to grow will be missing.

Exercises done correctly will build the lean muscle and increase your metabolism in the same way as performing exercises at a gymnasium, but without the time constraints and associated costs.

These exercises can be easily done in a bedroom, hotel room, a park, school yard, ceiling rafters in a garage or in a doorway and all you have to do is use your imagination. There will always be a way to add more resistance to your workouts.

Please remember: It doesn't matter where you are working out — at home, a hotel, or a park — always warm up properly before beginning your session, and cool down and stretch when you are finished.

Leg Exercises

Squats

They build muscle in the thighs, shape the buttocks and improve endurance. Position your feet about 13 to 17 inches apart or at shoulder width, keeping the back straight and your head up. If you want you can use something that will give you some support, i.e. a desk, bookcase, sink etc.
Now squat down to where the tops of the thighs are parallel to the floor, hold for a second and then stand up, but don’t bounce at the bottom of the movement, use a nice fluid motion. Always exhale your breath as you stand up.

Lunges

Stand straight in correct posture; now stand with one leg forward and one leg back. Keeping your abdominal muscles tight and chest up, lower your upper body down, bending your leg (don't step out too far).
You should have about one to two feet between your feet at this stage, the further forward you step, and the more your gluteus and hamstring muscles will have to work.
Do not allow your knee to go forward beyond your toes as you come down and stop where your feel comfortable (try not to let your back come forward) then push directly back up. Do all your reps on one leg then switch legs and do all your reps on the other leg.

Back Exercises

Chin-ups

Chin-ups are a great upper body workout, particularly targeting your biceps, deltoid and lat muscles. Use a doorway chin-up bar, ceiling rafters in a garage or grab the moulding of your door frame, position your hands with an under hand grip and hang down stretching the lats, slowly raise your body until your chin reaches the bar level.


Pause a moment before slowly lowering yourself back to the starting position. Don’t swing or use momentum to get your body to the top, just use the target muscles. Doorway chinning bars remove from the doorway when you are not using them and can be put up and taken down in seconds.

Bent Over Row

Take up a position with your right hand and right knee braced on a sturdy bed or some other flat surface that will provide a good support. Now pick up a dumbbell or something heavy that you can hold onto with your left hand.


Visualize your arms as hooks and slowly bring the dumbbell or object up to the side of your chest, keeping your back straight, then lower the weight back down to arms length, no lower, on extremes, safe form only please. Concentrate on your back muscles. Reverse the whole procedure and do the exercise now with your right arm.

Chest Exercises

Push-Up

The push up is used for building chest, shoulders and arms. Lie face down on the floor with your hands about shoulder width apart and keeping your palms turned slightly inward. Now push-up until your arms are straight, lower and repeat for repetitions.

To make it more difficult elevate your feet. Try placing the toes of your feet on a stable, elevated surface such as a bench, chair or a stair. Straightening your body, position your hands on the floor at shoulder width, lower your body until your chest touches the floor at the bottom, and then return to the starting position in a nice fluid motion.

Dips

This exercise can be done between two sturdy chairs or other surfaces that provide stability. The dip is another great upper body exercise. It’s a compound movement as well and involves working all the muscles that the push up works.

Keep your head up and body as vertical as possible. For the beginning of the movement, start at the top (arms fully extended) and lower yourself until your upper arms are parallel to the seat of the chairs, hold and then push up to the top of the movement until your arms are fully extended again. Keep looking straight ahead and don’t bounce at the bottom of the movement.

Adding Weight

Although the simple weight of your own body is enough resistance to provide an effective workout we need progressive overload (added resistance) to become stronger.

So all we need to do is add some weight wherever we can find some. Because there are no metal plates and fancy machines to use it doesn’t matter because the body doesn’t care where it is as long as it's receiving resistance of some kind.

You can use heavy books clasped in your hands. You can buy some cheap weighted dumbbells or ankle weights. A weighted vest will also allow you to add resistance for both chin-ups and push-ups.

Try to buy one that will let you remove and add weight as you see fit. Also a backpack filled with books can be perfect for most of the exercises and is a cheap alternative.

How about a couple of buckets and fill them with a certain level of water? As you get stronger fill them with more water. This is perfect because depending on the exercise, all you need to do is to increase or decrease the amount of water in the buckets for the required amount of resistance.

Home

Why Water Is Important When Trying To Lose Weight

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 realize 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 you lose 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.

• 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 

• 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.

• 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 

• After dinner - before bedtime drink your final glass of water and sleep well!

• 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 liters 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.

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 signaling 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 liter 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.

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 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 centimeters, 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 centimeters.

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 recognize the symptoms of thirst.

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 favor 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. 

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