Water is good for you in many different ways and is essential to good health and great when you’re dieting.  Why?

Water gives you a false sense of fullness.  Experts say that a majority of the time that you think you’re hungry, it’s really just your thirst mechanism.

Water cleans out your system of elements it doesn’t need and gives your cells the water they DO need to function at their highest level, metabolically.  The reason you feel hungover after a night of drinking is because your cells don’t have enough water because your body’s process to break down the alcohol (carbs) you drank used it all.  It’s called your Krebs Cycle, bitches.  Know it and love it.  Feed it with water.

It’s great for your skin, as it clears away the yuckies mucking that up as well.  Expect clearer and healthier looking skin with your eight glasses a day.

Doctors recommend you imbibe 8-12 glasses of water a day, minimum – more if you’re sweating out at the gym or in some other physical activity.

Some tips to sneak in more water into your diet:

1. Take a bottle in the car with you.  I know when I am bored, I’ll drink it just because it’s there.
2. Have it at your desk while you work.  It’ll give you something to do, again, just because it’s there, and with the need to get rid of it (potty breaks) you’ll have an excuse to get up and stretch your legs.
3. Drink a glass of water before you eat each meal.  It takes up a good amount of space in your stomach so you eat less.
4. Always have it on hand while you’re working out.  I know I drink a lot more water when I have a bottle in the cupholder on the elliptical than if I have to wait until my 20 minute workout is up.  Then you can drink when you want, as much as you want, without the skeevy guy breathing down your neck, waiting behind you for the water fountain (or “bubbler” if you’re from Wisconsin).

Hopefully these ideas and tips will get you into the habit of drinking more water.  Do you guys have any more tips for integrating more water into your day?  Leave your ideas after the jump.

This pretty much sums up my weekend.

So…the weekend has come and gone and I am back from Myrtle Beach a little sore from the surfing we did, but a little plumper from the eating we did.

On the way down, we stopped at Hooters to kick off our trip.  We hit up a Plantation House of Pancakes for breakfast one morning.  We cooked up a whole rack of ribs, potatoes and corn on the cob.  We had our share of s’mores and cold beers by the fire.  We had fast-food chinese to save a few bucks on our ride home.  Not a stellar weekend for my hips and hynie.  But today….We are back on the boat!

I had had about 800 calories today so far.  A Smart One, an egg white omelet with some cheese and veggies and toast…not bad at all.  Definitely back on the wagon.

While I made a fat pig of myself this weekend, I realized that everyone has the same problem as me.  Keeping it real during the week is no problem. The days are so routine and regimented, packing a healthy lunch, making it to the gym and making the right decisions are a lot easier.  Maybe you go out for lunch with coworkers once a week or something, but on the whole, dieting is a piece of cake (bad analogy).

What do you do on the weekend to help with your dieting goals?  I’m always caught up in going to have a beer with friends or getting some chicken wings with the BF while we watch the game.  We’ve tried to bake wings, do light beers, etc., but in the end, we end up going through more calories than we’d want.

Why do we get lazy on the weekends?  Is it our chance to let our hair hang down in every way possible?    No work, no schedules, no diet?  I am just not sure exactly how effective we can be at losing weight if we crash and burn like I know I do on weekend days.  I’m all about a treat here and there, but can two days of completely reckless abandon be too much?