The earth is 70% water.  Our bodies are 70% water.  Our blood is 82% water.  Our bones are 25% water, yet water is the one item we consume the least of. 

The majority of life is water and we like to consume anything but water.  More people drink coffee and soft-drinks than water.  There are probably more people that drink alcohol than water.  Yet, water is the one thing all of life requires and we humans drink less of it our bodies require.  I don't think there is anyone who won't admit they like to drink a sugary drink of some kind, whether it be a cola, a fruit drink, tea with sugar or honey, or coffee with sugar or honey.  Yet, we drink very little water.

I have to admit, before I started drinking water on a regular basis, it was something that I had to be forced to drink it.  I remember coming in from playing as a kid asking for something to drink and detested being told to have a glass of water.  Come on, there's something better to drink than water.  Yuck!

Yet, water is the best and cheaspest thing to drink to quench your thirst. 

We need to drink at least one-half ounce of water per pound of body weight, every day.  How many of us drink that much water a day?  There isn't that many of us.

The on-set of bottled water has made it easier and more fashionable to drink water on a daily basis.  But, how many of us drink the minimum daily requirement our bodies need?  Not that many.

Some of us don't mind drinking water, yet we get so tied up with our busy lives that we FORGET to drink the amount of water we should drink.  I'm one who has to make a point of drinking the minimum amount of water my body needs daily.  I know that if I don't pace myself, I won't get the minimum amount consumed. 

I know myself and what my life entails.  I have to drink at least 20 oz. of water before I leave the house in the morning.  Then I have to make sure I have the second 20 oz. drunk (I like drank better, but that isn't grammatically correct) before noon.  Then I have the rest of the day and evening to drink the remaining amount I need to drink for my body.  My afternoons at work get so crazy that I'm barely able to sip water.  I'm able to drink it only when I'm parched and I can barely talk.

Each one of us needs to determine what our own personal routines are and make sure we drink the minimum amount of water our individual bodies need.  When we drink coffee and tea, we need to drink that exact amount more in water to off-set the caffine in the coffee and tea.  Remember, those are diuretics...they flush water out of our systems.  We drink an 6 oz. cup of coffee, we need to drink 6 oz. of water to replace the water we lost due to the coffee being a diuretic...that's over and above the minimum amount we're suppose to drink to make our body happy.

Water was an aquired taste for me.  I'm sure it's going to be the same for a lot of people.  We have to remember that water is more important to the body than food is.  We can live a lot longer without food than we can water.

If we have a hard time thinking about drinking water, we need to  stop and think about the people in Haiti who would do anything for water to drink.  That may make us appreciate the water we have available to us. 

I should be working on improving and completeing this website, but I came across an article that really disturbed me.

The article I read was by Randall Wolf, published August 26, 2009, in
Consumer Safety and Health.  The title of the article is, "Report says overweight bodies means smaller brains," which is a study done at UCLA, which has a great reputation in the medical field.  I'm one who wants everyone to learn, so this article grabbed my attention, and quickly, especially being done at UCLA.

The article states, "For every excess pound piled on the body, the brain gets a little bit smaller."  Whoa!  I've parked in front of an elementary school, and I've seen very heavy children.  When I see heavy children, it pulls my heart strings.  I know how cruel children can be, and they don't mince words.  Obese children are not liked at all.

I talked with someone this evening about this article.  The person thought the article was interesting, as he (with a BS in Secondary Education) thought fat children were stupid.  That's not scientific proof, but it certainly does give a few "hints" about obese children.

If this article is correct, it's more inparative that all of us fight Childhood Obesity.  If you know someone who has an obese child, Google for the article (Randall Wolf, Over-weight bodies means smaller brains.)  That is one area I believe that every parent wants their child to excel in, and I don't care what the social or economic status is.  You're dealing with a Mother Bear, and this is one area to make parents wake up about allowing their child to become &/or continue to be obese.

The article states that the lost tissue is in the frontal and temporal lobe regions, which is the areas of decision making and memory, among other things.  It also stated that obese "people" (not children) had eight percent less brain tissue, and over-weight "people" had four percent less brain tissue compared to normal weight people.

This is a wake up call for all of us.  We need to help everyone, child and adult, to lose weight.  Not  only is their health at risk, but so is their mental capacities.

Blogging is something new.  We will be blogging on a variety of items concerning health and weight loss.  One area that is going to be addressed is Childhood Obesity.  America really is having an epidemic on over-weight people.

Everyone has their own choice to make about their health and weight.  A lot of us don't know anything about portion control, making decisions about proper choices, self-control and a multitued of other reasons why we in American are so over weight.

Who doesn't love to hit the refrigerator or cupboard when we're stress out or bored.  We need to train ourselves to eat good green veggies instead of the ice cream or potato chips.  Watching what you eat doesn't mean you will never be able to eat potato chips or ice cream ever again.  Making good choices allows us to use self-control and to plan ahead a little.  Having a little ice cream or potato chips once a week is fine, as long as we eat it in moderation.  Having ice cream and/or potato chips every night is not making good healthy choices.  Save those "goodies" to eat on one specific day of the week.  The anticipation of eating one of your favorite "goodies" will make it all the more pleasurable.

It's the beginning of the year when many people make their yearly resolutions to lose weight.  Now it the time to jump on the band wagon.  There's lots of support to help you to contiue the weight loss journey until you reach your goal.

You don't have to starve in order to lose weight.  You do need to reduce portion sizes to reduce the size of your stomach.  Meat should be no larger than the palm of your hand.

Let us know what you would like to hear about and we will answer your questions and curiosity, even if we have to go do some research.

Happy Down Sizing!

Miriam