Water is my like my cell phone. No matter what I’m doing, I always have water with me.

Drink water. The recommended amount of water to drink a day is half your body weight in ounces. I never drank enough water before but I’ve learned to embrace going to the bathroom every hour and a half. At first, I was a bit nervous of what people would think about me using the bathroom so much. Now, I don’t care and people are used to my bathroom runs.

When I first began losing weight, I carried this cup with me EVERYWHERE. As soon as it was empty, I filled it back up immediately even if I wasn’t thirsty. This way, I had something to drink if I got tempted to eat food I wasn’t suppose to eat. It was hard at first, but now it’s second nature. At work, I keep a 10 cup (0.6 gallon) Brita pitcher on my desk. Every morning, I fill it up. My goal is to drink the whole pitcher of water while I’m at work. I accomplish this goal almost everyday.

Drinking water is a natural cleansing process that rids the body of toxins, which is very important. Toxins hold onto unneeded vitamins, minerals, and fats that your body doesn’t need making you gain weight. If you can drink the recommended daily amount of water, your body will thank you.

PRO TIPS

If possible, don’t drink your calories.

Avoid drinks with added sugars such as soda, sweetened iced tea, lemonade, alcohol (one glass of wine could have 200 calories in it), Gatorade/sports drinks, milk, juices, etc.

Stop drinking soda. Soda has no nutritional value in it and doesn’t help your body in any way. Studies have shown that regular soda makes you thirstier and diet soda makes you more hungry.

Gatorade/Sports drinks have a lot of added sugar and are only recommended for athletes who are training for hours a day.

Switch to skim milk. Skim milk has less added sugars than any other milk and gives you enough calcium and Vitamin D that your body needs. Skim milk also doesn’t have fat in it. The fat you get in milk isn’t necessary. You will get fat from other meals you have throughout the day. Don’t waste your fat count on milk. Milk is not necessary to drink either. The two things you get from milk that your body needs are Vitamin D and calcium. If you plan accordingly, you can get Vitamin D naturally from spending one hour in the sun everyday and you can get your recommended calcium intake from many vegetables such as broccoli and spinach (two of my favorites). TIP: If you go for a daily one hour walk outside, you’ll get your Vitamin D and you’ll begin to build body endurance also known as fitness and exercise.

Alcohol. I know it’s hard to think about cutting back on alcohol but it’s very important to consider the calories you are drinking and the sugars you put into your body from alcohol. One glass of red wine could be about 200 calories. Studies have shown that one glass of red wine a day is good for your heart. Before cutting down on alcohol, consider what you need to have a successful healthy lifestyle. If you need a glass of red wine at the end of the day to unwind, great! Just make sure you plan for it in your calorie count. TIP: A great way to unwind from the day is doing 30-40 minutes of Yoga. I personally have done it and it really does help me to relax.

Try to make your own homemade iced tea. Growing up, we always made sun tea and brewed it naturally. Then, we added our own sweetener to it. Adding our own sweetener still was added sugars but it was a better substitute to Turkey Hill iced tea and the Lipton Iced Tea mix, which both contain ridiculous amounts of added sugars and sodium.

Juices are a hard subject because there are so many juices today that say, “Made from 100% natural fruit.” If you have children at home, try to get the natural juices that have no added sugars. The problem with some of these juices that have no added sugars is that many companies are now cutting back on the added sugar content but RAISING the sodium content. So on the one hand your sugar levels could be high or on the other hand, your sodium levels could be high. Choose your poison. This is why it’s really important to try to eat as naturally as possible. Juices are one way to begin this process. Many of the vitamins and minerals you are trying to get from the “Made from 100% natural fruit” juices are in regular fruits and veggies. I recommend avoiding juices all together and begin eating fruit and veggies. It doesn’t have to be organic (another post for another time) but it does have to be fruits and veggies from the fruits and veggies section of the market. This way, you aren’t adding any sugars or sodium to your foods and you are getting just what your body needs without the confusion of what you should and should not buy.

In the end, there are many things to consider when drinking different things. My recommendation, stick to water. It’s the healthiest.