January 30, 2013 - To Drink Or Not To Drink

Good morning to everyone, As most of you know, one of our health imperatives is water and more water. However, sometimes I feel water becomes the "four letter word" in my life. How about you? But I can assure you, if you're stuck at a weight that is not your ideal weight - pull back on the calories and throttle the water. Yes? We KNOW this. But how about this............recently our pastor discovered that he has blood clots in both lungs. We knew something was wrong as his breathing was seriously compromised and he was so tired. Lack of oxygen - yes, but we didn't know why. Here's what we discovered. His blood is thicker than it's supposed to be and one of the doctor's FIRST directives was increased water input. That seems like a common answer, but listen to the schedule. They have instructed him that every 30 minutes he needs to be up and walking and HYDRATING himself. That's a lot of hydration pockets during the day. But they feel this is a critical component for all of us. I thought, "praise God for timers on my phone." And, while we "know" that water is critical to our weight loss, how about it's critical to keep our blood flowing and at the correct consistency that God created it to be? And, when our blood is thicker than normal, it causes our heart to have to PUMP harder to circulate that thick blood and then an enlarged heart can develop as well as a host of other serious maladies. UGH! I used to laugh and tell people, "I'm not fat, just thick." Well, in this case, both can cause our lives to be affected. If you look at the real value of water - it's probably the critical KEY. Our planet is 75% water, our body is 75% water and then somehow we get confused and convince ourselves that we "don't like the taste of water and therefore we don't consume any during the day." This is really not about whether we "like" it - I don't. When I pick up my water bottle I MAKE MYSELF take 10-12 gulps at a time. I also try to not drink anything else until I have met my water requirement. But after hearing this report from my pastor's doctor, I am becoming like the lion on the Wizard of Oz, "I will drink all my water; I will drink all my water; I will drink all my water." Grab your water bottle, keep it close, and set that timer. Let's move and drink every thirty minutes............we could create a little dance routine. AH, a fresh idea with which to play. Have a wonderful, water-filled day, PK