A 2 min Read
Lets Talk About Water & What it Does Water accounts for approx. 60% of your body weight. It exists nearly everywhere in your body, from your bones to your kidneys, from your muscles to even your lungs! The water we drink is absorbed by the intestines, and circulated throughout the body in the form of body fluids such as blood. These perform various functions that keep us alive. They deliver oxygen and nutrients to the cells and helps remove waste materials, which are then eliminated with urination. When your body temperature rises, blood circulation to the skin increases, enabling heat dissipation through sweating, helping to keep your body at a constant temperature. My PLT coach asks me to so much water - why? Thirst (first lol) and foremost, health, at PLT we focus on health being primary. In addition to the transportation of nutrients & minerals, removal of wastes, mentioned previously water will help you:
OK, so it's good for my health, how with weight-loss? How water benefits weight-loss is a little less obvious. When we increase our water consumption it aids with:
So, how much should I consume? Generally, at PLT like to encourage each client to drink around 0.75 oz per pound of body weight. So someone who weighs 150 lb should consume 150 x 0.75= 114 oz. For metric client's this would be approx. 3.25 liters ***We also have to consider each person's location and profession/sport/exercise. Someone living in a hot climate and/or working outside and/or being very active would need extra hydration. What if I don't drink enough and become dehydrated? When we sweat and don't replace our lost fluids we can become dehydrated; dehydration is when the level of water in your body reduces increasing the sodium concentration in your blood. The side effects of dehydration can be:
Always the simple advice is to drink to your thirst, thirst is triggered by the increased sodium concentration mentioned above and is your body's way of telling you to consume water. We want to avoid this situation at PLT which is why we set our clients daily water targets Tks for taking the time to read this and drink your water pls! Paul Leonard Whats the difference? A 2 min read
Many people join PLT wanting to ‘lose weight’ but what does that really mean? Often people don’t even use a bathroom scale so it really means they wish to reduce their body size, change its appearance, make it perform better, make clothes looser/go down clothes sizes. Your body, being approx. 65% water, will regulate the water it holds because ‘life’. If you become dehydrated, or if you’ve ever done a water cut, your weight goes down but eventually your body the regulates fluids it holds and your weight returns to its previous level . So to move your weight down you need to burn fat. ** This doesn’t mean ‘burning fat when you exercise, that’s fat as an energy source, you need to ‘burn off’ the adipose tissue and that’s a different substrate** So you’re working with a coach at PLT and your coach has you eating to a deficit; no PLT clients, on a weight loss plan, eats enough to gain fat... but one day your weight spikes - is that fat? No, that’s just body fluids shifting, it can’t ever be fat but it’s very annoying we understand that! You may have heard of a "WHOOSH" ? As you lose fat, your body refills the fat cells with water, again your body’s trying to maintain homeostasis and life, eventually the fat cell collapses and ‘whoosh’ the scale drops! This is a common occurrence you may have already experienced! If your body doesn’t have enough fuel to support it it will burn fat. When you’re sick, or women have their monthly cycle, your body will flood with fluids but you’re still burning fat. This is why post sickness or your cycle ends, your weight generally drops. It was burning fat all along but hiding it - pesky body! This is why your coach looks at your weight averages, never your one day weight, what you weigh on check-in day means little to us...it’s your overall week always. So if you can, try and understand the difference between fat loss and weight loss, its fat loss you are working towards not weight loss, and you’ll find the bathroom scale is a less scary object! Tks Paul Leonard Summertime is fast approaching and here come the invites to bbq’s, tailgates and pool parties! So much fun for sure, but how do you navigate the fun and stay on track as you work towards your goals? We are here to help as it CAN be done. A little planning, a little strategizing and you will be on your way to fun in the sun feeling confident! Here are some tips:
Bring along some food (to share) that you know fits your plan so you will have at least one option to go along with whatever might be offered from the grill
Navigate carefully and be a conscious eater. More likely than not you will have grilled proteins to choose from; burgers, dogs, brats, chicken, shrimp, ribs, etc. You know your numbers and which proteins work best for you, choose wisely and if you are low carb, skip the bun and go naked! Beware of salads with mayonnaise and heavy dressings, stay away from pasta and/or potato salads and reach for the green salads instead Leave your food scale home please! Social occasions are great opportunities for you to practice what you have learned in regard to portions and of course we can use our hands….
If you are part of our PLT community you have a toolbox full of tools; put them to use and enjoy yourself knowing that you are one day closer to your goals. If you are not following a nutrition plan and would like to start your journey towards your best self and have more confidence about living a healthy life, come join us, we can help. |
AuthorI'm Paul Leonard, CEO & founder of PLT Nutrition. Categories
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