Water is required in almost every one of the different processes in the body. The human brain is 95% water, your lungs are 90% water, your blood is 83% water, your muscles are 76% water and your bones are 22% water—and we are 100% sure that staying hydrated is essential for optimal health. If fact, that may even be an understatement. Yet, Americans are chronically dehydrated. It is reported that nearly 75% of U.S. adults are dehydrated on a daily basis. It is no wonder that when we fail to prioritize drinking enough water, we also struggle to reach our health and fitness goals.

If you’ve ever had a health problem, you’ve probably been asked if you’re drinking enough water. Well, the same goes for weight loss. Not seeing the scale budge? Ask yourself if you’re drinking enough water.

When we’re on a health and fitness journey, we tend to focus on eating clean and working out—so much so that we often overlook water consumption. However, water plays such a huge role in weight loss that it could be the one thing holding you back from reaching your goals. Even if we are consistent with hitting the gym and dedicated to eating healthy, we still may not see the results we want to see if we are not consuming enough water. So, for the 75% of us who fall under the chronically dehydrated group, and for those of you out there who are working to lose weight, it’s time to better understand what role water plays in weight loss and some simple ways you can stay properly hydrated every day.

Reduced Appetite

Water helps us reduce our appetite in a few different ways. Your body struggles to differentiate your feelings of hunger and thirst, which means that sometimes when you feel hungry, it could be a sign that you are dehydrated. Have you ever felt hungry, eaten something that usually fills you up and still felt hungry afterward? It’s most likely because your body didn’t need food, it needed water. Thirst disguised as hunger is common for a lot of people who are dehydrated. The problem is, when we confuse the two, often we reach for a snack instead of a glass of water, leading us to consume more calories than necessary. While calories in versus calories out isn’t everything when it comes to weight gain and weight loss, and it certainly isn’t the only way to lose weight, it still plays a role. If we are constantly eating a surplus of calories and our goal is to achieve a healthier BMI, we most likely won’t see the results we are looking for.

Solution: The next time you finish a full, balanced meal and still feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water and wait 20 to 30 minutes before you eat more food. That’s about how long it will take for your body to process the water and for you to know if you are hungry for more food or not.

Bonus: When your stomach feels like it is full, it will send signals to your brain to stop eating. Water takes up space in the stomach, resulting in feelings of fullness, signaling to the brain that it is no longer hungry, therefore reducing hunger.

Fat Burn

Water is necessary to burn fat. It is required in the process of metabolizing stored fat and carbohydrates. Without water, your body won’t be able to convert excess carbs and fat into usable energy. This process is called lipolysis. Being dehydrated slows down your metabolism because it won’t have the water it needs to process what you are consuming.

Solution: If you want to keep your body in a consistent fat-burning mode, being properly hydrated should be a priority.

Bonus: Staying hydrated encourages you to drink water instead of sugar-filled drinks, so you’ll also be cutting out empty calories.

Energy

Dehydration is one of the main causes of daytime fatigue. When you hit that mid-afternoon slump or you feel like you don’t have the energy to work out, you don’t need to reach for a second coffee or energy drink—you may just need to drink some water! Staying hydrated is going to help keep your energy levels high throughout your entire day, ensuring you have the energy you need to push yourself to work out.

Solution: Put down the energy drink and try sipping on a cup of water. You may find that you don’t even need the extra caffeine anymore.

Bonus: If you do have the energy to work out, staying hydrated will help your muscles recover faster and reduce your feelings of soreness. So, you’ll be ready to go crush another workout sooner than you would if you weren’t properly hydrated.

Need-To-Know Water Facts

Something important to know is that when you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated. You don’t want to wait to drink water once you feel thirsty. You want to avoid those feelings of thirst. Drink water regularly throughout your day to make sure you prevent dehydration.

Just as important: There is such thing as drinking too much water. In this case, more doesn’t mean better, and it won’t make you healthier, either. When you drink too much water, it can cause your body to expel essential vitamins and minerals you need, throw off your electrolyte levels and dilute your blood.

At Burn Boot Camp, we like to stick to the rule of thumb that you should drink your body weight in ounces of water every day. It may be difficult to suddenly start drinking that much water if you aren’t already regularly drinking enough. In that case, start with drinking half your body weight in ounces and slowly increase that number each week until you reach your water intake goal.

We also realize that drinking plain water isn’t necessarily “fun,” but there are a few ways to make water more exciting.

Tips To Make Water More Exciting:

• Squeeze a lemon into your water.

Bonus: Lemon water is anti-inflammatory, helping to reduce bloating.

• Add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with some cinnamon.

Bonus: ACV helps boost digestion.

• Sip on fruit-flavored herbal tea.

Bonus: If you prefer a sweet beverage, you can sweeten any of these with stevia.

• Switch it up with sparkling water, as long as it is free of artificial flavors and chemicals.

Bonus: Clean sparkling water is just as hydrating as regular water.

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Most of us know the feeling after enjoying a night out with friends—maybe you enjoyed it a little too much. The headache, nausea, the overall feeling of “Can today be canceled?” Hangovers are the body’s way of reminding us about the hazards of overindulgence. It makes sense when you break down the science of it all. The symptoms that we experience begin after blood alcohol levels start to fall. In fact, according to some experts, the worst symptoms occur when levels reach zero. How much you drank is just a small factor in the equation. Some studies even suggest that light and moderate drinkers are more vulnerable to getting a hangover than heavy drinkers. All that aside, we can all agree that recovery is the number one goal the day after indulging.

Usually, recovering from a hangover includes hydrating with some type of electrolyte-filled mixture. You might associate this with some version of a generic sports drink, loaded with fake sugars and artificial flavors, which is meant to aid you back to health. Problem solved—or maybe not so much. Although a pre-made, quick-fix drink sounds like a great choice, all the added artificial sugars, colors and flavors may be doing more harm than good. The common artificial ingredients found in typical sports drinks have been known to cause symptoms that include headaches, stomachaches, cravings, inflammation and irritability. Ironically, these are some of the same symptoms we experience with a hangover—which the sports drink was supposed to cure in the first place!

Instead of loading up on a blue or purple flavored drink with a hint of electrolytes, opt for one of these natural options instead.

Water

Maybe this goes without saying, but nothing hydrates better than water—simple as that. After a night out, dehydration is common. This is because alcohol depletes your body of water and vital nutrients. If you are dehydrated, you may experience unpleasant symptoms such as dizziness, fatigue and vomiting. Next time you are out on the town, remember to drink one 8-ounce glass of water between alcoholic beverages and then continue to load up on H₂O the next morning.

Coconut Water

We’ve already addressed that alcohol doesn’t only make you lose fluid—it washes away essential electrolytes. Potassium is one of the electrolytes depleted, which can leave you feeling weak and crampy. Potassium helps control the amount of fluid in the body, maintains a healthy blood pH level and is vital to cell function. Coconut water is a great choice to replace your sports drink. It has more potassium per ounce and is free of artificial colors and sweeteners.

Orange Juice

Another classic choice for morning-after recovery. Vitamin C is one of the major vitamins depleted by alcohol. We need vitamin C to support our immune system and act as an antioxidant to scavenge for free radicals, which cause inflammation and tissue destruction. Ever wonder why your skin looks so lackluster after a hangover? Vitamin C also helps your body produce collagen, which makes your skin appear hydrated and rejuvenated! Freshly squeezed OJ is the perfect drink to reach for when you’re on the mend.

Ginger Lemon Tea

Nauseous? Ginger is your new best friend. It works wonders to alleviate nausea. Add lemon in the mix for the ultimate recovery drink. Lemon supports your liver, which goes into overdrive trying to metabolize all that ethanol (aka alcohol). You can make it yourself by boiling some water and adding fresh slices of ginger and the juice of half a lemon.

Bone Broth

Before you turn your nose up at the thought of drinking bone broth, hear us out. Bone broth has tons of benefits. It contains L-glutamine, which supports the health of your small intestine, and glycine, which supports detoxification. While homemade is best, store-bought versions are still a great option. Just make sure you look for one made with whole food ingredients—like grass-fed beef bones and pasture-raised or free-range poultry bones—without additives, coloring or flavor enhancers.

Miso Soup

Let’s talk about another important electrolyte: sodium. Our body requires small amounts of sodium for nerve and muscle function as well as fluid balance. Drinking alcohol drains your body of normal sodium levels, so it is important to replenish those levels after the fact. Fermented soybean—otherwise known as miso—has naturally higher levels of sodium and contains probiotics and antioxidants that help sooth digestion, making it the perfect thing to sip on. Make sure when you are purchasing store-bought versions that you stay away from any ingredients with GMOs. As always, organic ingredients are best.

Beet Juice

After consuming alcohol, the liver is hard at work processing all that ethanol. You might feel achy or run down—but not to fear, beets are here! Beets contain betaine, which is an antioxidant rich in anti-inflammatory compounds. A clean pressed juice containing beets will help your liver cleanse your body and put that pep back in your step—just make sure it contains 100% juice and no preservatives if you go the store-bought route.

Virgin Bloody Mary

They say a little hair of the dog will do the trick, but your best bet to recover as fast as possible is to give your body a break from the booze. The ingredients that make up a Bloody Mary are a surprisingly great mixture for detoxing your body. Omit the alcohol but keep the tomato juice, lemon, olives and celery, and you have yourself a great recovery drink. Tomatoes have natural sodium, potassium and, most importantly, lycopene—an antioxidant that helps with detoxification. The lemon juice adds a nice kick of vitamin C!

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You’re working out regularly, eating healthy and still not seeing results or losing weight. Or maybe you were seeing amazing results and now you seem to be stuck at a standstill. Either way, you’re frustrated because you are putting in so much effort and can’t figure out why you aren’t getting where you want to be. Check out these 11 reasons you might not be seeing results or losing weight.

1. Do you overeat healthy foods?

We know how delicious almond butter is, and yes, it is healthy for you—but spoonful after spoonful is not! Regardless of the quality of the foods you are eating, portion size remains essential. One serving size of almond butter is two tablespoons, not two heaping scoops. This easily doubles or even triples your fat and calorie intake, and when that’s done with each food at every meal, you’ll end up overeating! Just because a food is considered healthy, it does not give you an excuse to eat too much of it. At the end of the day, a calorie is a calorie and consuming more calories than you expend could be the reason you are not seeing results and losing weight.

2. Do you overeat “healthy” processed foods?

Beware of packaged foods with labels that say vegan, gluten-free, low-carb, low-calorie, low-fat, high-fiber, high-protein, keto-friendly, paleo-friendly, whole-grain, organic or natural. This does not automatically mean these foods are healthy. Many of these products are filled with processed ingredients and could be a reason you aren’t seeing results and losing weight. In most cases, protein pancakes, keto donuts, gluten-free pizza and vegan ice cream are not any healthier than the real deal. Always read the list of ingredients to determine whether the product is actually healthy before falling for its nutritional claims.

3. Are you too unrestricted on the weekends?

You work out hard and eat healthy during the week and deserve to treat yourself, right? So you allow yourself to loosen up on the weekends, unrestrict yourself and indulge in your favorite foods and drinks. Let’s say you start enjoying yourself Friday after work and indulge throughout the entire weekend—that ends up being roughly 35% of your diet. No matter how much you work out or how active you are during the week, for most of us, it’s extremely difficult to outtrain a bad diet. Don’t allow your weekends to be the reason why you are not seeing results and losing weight! Pick one day or a couple meals a week—not the entire weekend—to eat whatever you want in moderation.

4. Do you not eat enough carbs?

Did you know for every one gram of carbohydrates you eat, your body retains three grams of water? So when you drop your carbohydrate intake, the weight loss you experience is primarily from losing water weight. Cutting carbs temporarily may be beneficial for weight loss, but long term it can cause serious problems, especially if you work out regularly.

Many women are sensitive to carbohydrate restriction, causing hormone imbalances that ultimately lead to weight gain. Long-term low-carb diets can decrease thyroid function. As proper thyroid function is directly related to a healthy metabolism, when your thyroid function goes down, your metabolism follows. A low-carb diet also increases stress hormone levels, which can lead to a slower metabolism and increase your appetite and food cravings. It also causes a drop in your muscle-building hormone levels, placing your body in a catabolic state, breaking down muscle rather than building it.

5. Do you over-exercise and not take time to recover?

You may believe that during your workouts you are building muscle and losing excess body fat. What you are actually doing is tearing your muscle fibers and breaking them down. Muscle growth occurs when your body is at rest. Training every single day or hitting the gym twice a day causes you to be in a perpetual state of muscle breakdown, meaning you are continuously losing muscle and never building it.

Overtraining also leaves your body in a chronic state of stress, which negatively affects your hormone levels. These hormone imbalances can elevate your blood sugar, increase your food cravings, heighten your appetite, alter your digestion and slow your metabolism. If you are not seeing results and losing weight, try giving your muscles time to rest, recover and rebuild between workout sessions.

6. Are you not working out hard enough?

Working out every day is amazing for your health, but picking up the same set of dumbells week in and week out or simply going through the motions of each exercise may be the reason you are not seeing results and losing weight. Your body is smart and learns to adapt to the stress it is regularly put under. This is referred to as the SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands).

Let’s say you did lunges holding 15-pound dumbbells for the first time. Doing so shocked your body and forced it to figure out how to adapt to this new stress by recruiting more muscle fibers and building more muscle. As you continue to use 15-pound dumbbells, your body no longer becomes shocked and doesn’t need to adapt.

If you want your body to change, you have to encourage it by picking up the 20-pound dumbbells. Ensure you are pushing yourself hard enough in your workouts by recording the weight you used, the number of breaks you took and the amount of reps and sets you performed. Work toward beating those numbers to see results and lose weight.

7. Do you track calories burned?

Do you use a fitness tracker to count the number of calories you burn in your workouts? It is a fun stat to follow, but it might not be accurate. Studies have shown that fitness trackers have a large margin of error when it comes to estimating calories burned, somewhere between 20% and 93%! Use these devices to keep you motivated and to gain a general idea of how many calories you burn, but do not rely on them completely. Especially do not add the given total calories burned to your daily caloric intake. With such a potentially large margin of error, doing so can lead to consuming way more calories than you actually burn and may be the reason you are not seeing results and losing weight.

8. Do you use too many condiments?

In many cases, when people add more vegetables, complex carbohydrates and clean sources of protein to their diet, they smother them with condiments to add taste. Most dressings and sauces are packed with processed sugars and oils. Processed sugar spikes your blood sugar, triggering your fat-storing hormone, leading to excess fat storage.

Processed oils are unrecognizable in your body and unable to be broken down into a usable form of energy, also leading them to be stored as body fat. These effects greatly outweigh the benefits of eating more whole foods and may be the reason why you are not seeing results and losing weight. You’re better off making your own condiments from organic, high-quality olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and seeds, tahini, avocados, hummus or tofu to ensure you are fueling weight loss, not weight gain.

9. Do you eat too few calories?

In order to lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit. But if you cut your calories too low, you will experience the reverse effect. When you eat fewer calories, your body catches on and begins burning fewer calories as well. Your body is unsure as to when it will get more food, so it slows down the metabolism to store body fat rather than burn it. This can cause long-term damage to your metabolism and should be avoided. Signs you are not consuming enough food include lack of energy, hair loss, constant hunger, loss of menstrual cycle, feeling cold, irritability, constipation and anxiety. The average adult woman requires approximately 1,400 calories a day to fuel basic bodily functions, which means you should consume roughly 1,400 calories a day if you are not engaging in any physical activity. The more intense your workouts, the more calories your body will begin to require.

10. Do you not sleep enough?

Depriving yourself of sleep may be the reason you are not seeing results and losing weight. When you’re sleeping, your body releases growth hormones that boost muscle recovery and muscle growth. When you deprive yourself of sleep, you slow down your recovery process, leading you to see results more slowly.

Lack of sleep also plays a huge role in altering your hormones levels. It causes a greater release of your hunger hormone, leptin, and less of your fullness hormone, ghrelin. This causes you to experience persistent hunger throughout your entire day and also heightens your food cravings, especially for processed, starchy, fatty foods. People who are sleep-deprived have been shown to eat 300 more calories than those who get enough sleep. Lack of sleep also spikes your insulin levels, your fat-storing hormone, stopping you from burning fat as fuel.

11. Are you retaining water?

Water retention can be caused from a multitude of things and may be the reason you are not seeing results and losing weight. The most well-known cause is consuming too much salt. ou may also be retaining water from not drinking enough water, eating too many carbohydrates, exercising too much, not sleeping enough, high levels of stress or too low of a calorie deficit. Due to water retention, the scale may not be showing you lost weight, but you might still be losing fat. Try staying hydrated, reducing your sodium intake, getting enough sleep and monitoring your carbohydrate intake to help you stop retaining water. Giving your body more electrolytes has also shown to be beneficial.

Chelsea Morrow is a certified personal trainer and yoga instructor. After a six-year career as a professional figure skater, she now works at Burn Boot Camp HQ on the Marketing team and is passionate about educating all of Burn Nation about fitness, nutrition, and a positive mindset. Chelsea is also the author and mastermind behind The Blueprint, Burn Boot Camp’s weekly newsletter. She loves doing yoga, meditating, rock climbing, her dog Yogi, and eating Mexican food.

We all know that the metabolism is the process of breaking down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats to yield the energy your body needs to maintain your activity capacity. Ever hear someone say that their “metabolism is getting slower” or “I have a slow metabolism”? While it is true that some people genetically have a slower metabolism than others, there is always a way to maximize your bodies ability to burn fat as fast speeds. Our metabolism is like the “dealer” of the macro nutrients when they are being broken down by the body. Put it this way, you butt, thighs, and hips will store all the pizza and wine while all the chicken breast and spinach go to your muscles! Put simply, the only REAL significant way to increase your metabolism is to build muscle. These tips below will give you a little insight on how to efficiently flush your body of toxins and prime your body to build muscle!

1. Eat Breakfast, Everyday! Never skip out on your first meal of the day. It is crucial to eat a healthy breakfast 30 minutes upon waking, breaking the fast from the night. Feeling rushed in the morning? Prep those breakfast meals the night before so it’s no hassle in the morning. Some great breakfast recipes to prep the night before are egg white muffins, overnight oats, or a protein shake!

2. Spice Up Your Life– Adding spice to your foods have proven to help rev the metabolism by kicking up your body temperature. Add cayenne pepper to your protein or start your day with a glass of hot water, cayenne pepper, and lemon.

3. Enjoy 6 small meals a day- Eating smaller meals throughout the day prevents your from binging out on one big meal,  it keeps your blood sugar in check (preventing spikes in blood sugar).

4. Pack on the Protein- Your body digest protein slower than carbs and fat, keeping you full longer. In a process called thermogenesis, your body uses 10% of your caloric intake by digestion. Protein takes longer to burn than carbs and fat, so your body expands more energy absorbing the nutrients. Another benefit of protein is that it helps retain lean muscle mass, which is the best fat burning tool you can have!

5. Don’t cut calories TOO low- Cutting you calories too low can be damaging to your metabolism. You may be tricking your body into thinking it needs to hold on to everything you eat by storing as fat.

6. Burst Training- This type of intense interval training elevated the  growth hormone and have been shown to decrease body fat and increase protein synthesis after exercise. Interval training burns more calories and fat not only during the workout but throughout the rest of the day.

7. Strength Training- Don’t be afraid of the weights! Building muscle is the most efficient way to boost your metabolism. The more lean muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest. This should be a given!

8. Sleep- Studies have shown that women who sleep five hours or fewer per night are 32 percent more likely to experience major weight gain. When you lack sleep, your metabolism can’t function properly, and instead your metabolism slows down. Poor sleep also causes an increase in the hormone ghrelin, which signals the body to eat more.

9. Drink MORE Water- This is a simple way to speed up metabolism and burn calories. Our body needs to stay hydrated to maintain regular body functions.

10. Don’t take Shortcuts- Take the stairs, find a parking spot that allows you to walk a little further, ride you bike to a friends instead of driving, take a brisk walk everyday for at least 15 minutes. This small changes will help you burn extra calories throughout the day that sure do add up at the end of the week!