Certain wellness changes can take weeks or months to show any sign of change. Changing to the anti-inflammatory lifestyle can take 5 weeks to notice dramatic changes and lifting weights to gain muscle can take months before any noticable change is seen.

However drinking water can make an impact on the body in a matter of minutes. As someone who has Klinefelters Syndrome it is absolutely paramount that I drink at least 3 litres of water a day on a general basis and at least 4 litres of water a day on hot days or days when I do strenuous exercise. Now this may seem a lot, especially as the recommended daily water intake is 8 x 250ml or 2 litres.

However even this is not enough according to most health and fitness journals who cite that men should have an intake of 3.7 litres of fluid a day, with women requiring an intake of 2.7 litres of fluid a day. The signs that you are drinking enough fluid daily include :

  • You will urinate more –
    this means that toxins, causes of inflammation and impurities in the body will be flushed out (made more significant if you are on antibiotics as flushing out the negative side effects of antibiotics can only be a good thing).
  • You will feel less hungry and may lose weight –
    ok, so it is good practice to drink some water to see if you are really hungry; if you drink water and it staves off your need to eat immediately, then all good but otherwise, go eat but you may find you will eat less as the water has filled some of the void.

    Drinking the required amount of water per day may help you lose weight. If you have been on a cycle of not drinking enough fluids daily for a lengthy period of time then this weight will be “water weight”.

    When you don’t drink enough water the body starts to dehydrate and the body will hold onto reserves of water to stop your organs from failing and to stop you from dying. Starting to drink the required amount of water daily releases toxins, salts and impurities from the body which in turn causes weight loss.
  • Digestion –
    digestion will be easier and you should experience less heartburn. When the body is hydrated the passage of food through the intestines is made easier which in turn in reduces constipation.

    A Word of caution though, drinking too much water (and too much water, too soon) may cause diarrhea and can lead to hyper hydration (this is where the body is over hydrated (water intoxication / water poisoning) and causes too much water in the blood which over dilutes the amount of sodium in the body.
  • Skin, teeth and gums –
    Your skin will be more supple, moisturised and clearer and your teeth and gums will be healthier and more resilient. If you suffer with a large number of breakouts, drinking more water will reduce or eliminate the amount that you have.
  • Energy –
    If you feel like your energy levels are constantly being boosted with strong black coffee and energy drinks, switching to water will reduce or eradicate the need for energy drinks and excessive amounts of black coffee.
  • The gym –
    Workouts will be stronger. Hydration is key when performing any exercise but having an already hydrated body will make working out easier and the weight you lift will be greater or the distance you run will be greater or the time taken shorter.

If you find that drinking plain water doesn’t do it for you or it’s just plain boring, try adding fresh fruits, veggies, herbs or teas into the water. A couple that I like is to make a ginger tea using fresh ginger and then add the tea to your cold water bottle and consume during the day (adds an extra level of digestion) and the other is to make a nettle tea using fresh nettle leaves or dried nettle leaves and add to your cold water bottle.

Also, buy yourself a good quality water bottle. I have a Sundried bottle, which is a 750ml BPA free bottle with a silicone mouthpiece. It is shatterproof, lightweight and feels like glass.

If you use bottled water, never drink from the bottle the water comes in as it can impact on your immune system (the chemicals from plastic bottles are ingested into our bodies); may cause liver cancer and reduced sperm count as the phthalates in plastic bottles can be dangerous; chemicals such as Biphenyl A mimic estrogen that can lead to diabetes, obesity, fertility problems, behavioral problems and early puberty in girls; plastic bottles exposed to the sun may lead to harmful chemicals being released into the bottle which may increase the risk of breast cancer.

Always opt for reusable and sustainable bottles such as steel flasks, stainless steel bottles, alumimium bottles and bottles such as the Sundried bottle.