From CADIS, here is the post I kept from that group concerning water.  Very
important stuff.  Makes me want a glug right now....





         "HOW  8  GLASSES  A  DAY  KEEP FAT  AWAY"
                        By Donald S. Robertson, M.D.

Water supresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize
stored fat.  Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will
cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can
actually reduce fat deposits.  Here's why:

The kidneys can't function properly without enough water.  When they
don't work to capacity, some of their load is dumpted onto the liver.
One of the liver's primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into
usable energy for the body.  But, if the liver has to do some of the
kidney's work, it can't operate at full throttle.  As a result, it
metabolizes less fat, more fat remains stored in the body and weight
loss stops.

Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention.  When
the body gets less water, it perceives this as a threat to survival and
begins to hold onto every drop.  Water is stored in extracellular spaces
outside the cells.  This shows up as swollen feet, legs and hands.

The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give the
body what it needs: plenty of water.  Only then will stored water be
Released.

The overweight person needs more water than the thin one.  Larger
people have larger metabolic loads.  Since we know that water is the key
to fat metabolism, it follows that the overweight person needs more
water.

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their
natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration.  It also
helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss.
Shrinking cells are buoyed by water, which plumps the skin and leaves it
clear, healthy and resilient.

Water helps rid the body of waste.  During weight loss, the body has a
lot more waste to get rid of.  All that metabolized fat must be shed.
Again, adequate water helps flush out waste.

Water can relieve constipation.  When the body gets too little water, it
siphons what it needs from internal forces.  The colon is one primary
source.  Result?  Constipation.  But when a person drinks enough water,
normal bowel function usually returns.

So how much water is enough? On the average, a person should drink
eight 8 ounce glasses every day.  That's about 2 quarts.  However, the
overweight person needs one additional glass for every 25 pounds of
excess weight.  The amount you drink also should be increased if you
exercise or if the weather is hot and dry.

Water should preferably be cold.  It is absorbed into the system more
quickly than warm water.  And some evidence suggests that drinking
cold water can actually help burn calories.

To utilize water most efficiently during weight loss, try to follow this
schedule:

MORNING: 1 quart consumed over a 30 minute period.

NOON:  1 quart consumed over a 30 minute period.

EVENING: 1 quart consumed between 5 and 6 P.M.

When the body gets the water it needs to function optimally, its fluids
are in perfect balance.  When this happens, you have reached the
"breakthrough point."  This is when endocrine gland function improves:

(1) Fluid retention is alleviated as stored water is lost.

(2) More fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolize
      stored fat.

(3) Natural thirst is returned.

(4) There is a loss of hunger almost overnight.

If you stop drinking enough water, your body fluids will be thrown out
of balance again, and you may experience fluid retention, unexplained
weight gain and loss of thirst.  To remedy the situation, you have to go
back and force another "breakthrough."
CADieu!
  Frieda     [log in to unmask]
200/184-3/4/155
'Did I do that?' - Urkel