Are you drinking enough water?

Struggling to lose weight and trying to find the perfect diet product? Follow celebs like Liz Hurley and Kylie and look no further than your own kitchen - turning a tap could provide all the answers you need

Though the festive season may be just a memory, for most of us it's left some unwanted legacies - surplus pounds and a general feeling of being 'below par'. The reason? Simple over indulgence, post-party stress, lethargy and a healthy dose of neglect.

The answer - drink more water. Many celebrities swear by it to keep them healthy and hydrated. Liz Hurley says: 'Ive drunk Evian for years. I love it.' And even though Kylie rarely drinks enough alcohol to have a hangover, if she does she says she immediately reaches for a bottle of her favourite water.

Water can also help you to lose weight - but 71 per cent of us are dehydrated for much of the time. And not only can this lead to poor muscle tone and stand in the way of weight loss, it can also cause health problems such as digestive disorders.


Drink water, lose weight

·  Water is a natural appetite suppressant as it makes you feel full quicker. Drink a glass before you eat your meal and you will eat less

·  Water can help banish snack attacks. US research found that in almost all dieters studied, a glass of water eliminated midnight hunger pangs

·  Staying properly hydrated enables the body to break down fat and maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Water causes the body to swell and stimulates production of high-density lipoprotein - 'good cholesterol' - which picks up low-density lipoprotein - 'bad cholesterol' - and takes it to the gut to be flushed out of the body

·  Water also lubricates your muscles and joints - and exercise is, of course, a vital part of any weight-loss regime. To stay fit and healthy and burn off the maximum amount of calories, it's vital that you remain hydrated throughout your workout. The secret is to drink little and often - before you feel thirsty. When you exercise, your thirst sensors are inhibited, so you may not notice how dehydrated you're becoming. A loss of three per cent of your body's water content causes a 10 per cent drop in strength and eight per cent drop in speed, according to Patrick Holford, author of The Optimum Nutrition Bible (Piatkus, £12.99)

·  Another good weight-loss tip is to carry a small bottle of mineral water around with you. Whenever you get a hunger pang, don't reach for a snack but take a swig of water. It'll help to fill you up and make your body more efficient at burning up fat


How much water do you really need?

Your MINIMUM daily requirement is two litres. Alice Kavounas, author of Water: Pure Therapy (Kyle Cathie, £12.99), says: 'Water is excreted through your skin and kidneys, and with every exhalation of breath.' Even on a cool day, your body uses and loses two litres of water, which is why you should drink two litres at the very least. During hot weather or when you're exercising you should drink more, to replace the fluids lost through sweating.

You also need more when you're on a plane because the amount of fluid evaporation from the body rises at higher altitudes and in dry environments.


Does tea and coffee count towards the daily total?

No, the water you drink in tea and coffee doesn't count. The caffeine acts as a diuretic which means your hot drink takes more than its volume of water with it when it leaves your body. Herbal teas are the only exception. For every cup of coffee or tea you drink, you should have an additional cup of water. For every alcoholic drink you have, drink an extra two cups of water.

Can you get enough water from the food you eat?

All foods contain water, which can help top up your daily intake - but this should never take the place of your two litres of drinking water. Baked potatoes are 70 per cent water; mushrooms are 90 per cent; tofu is 85 per cent; and even bagels contain 35 per cent.

Does it matter what kind you drink?

All water is better than not enough water, but some will give you more nutrients than others.

·  Bottled mineral water. This is better for you than tap water because it contains more essential trace elements, vital for wellbeing. And it's better to drink the still rather than sparking variety as the carbon in fizzy water binds to minerals which should ideally be going to your teeth and bones

·  Tap water. Major investment and tough guidelines have resulted in huge improvements in the safety of UK tap water. Out of 2.7 million samples taken in 2000, 99.83 per cent met stringent quality standards. But it is still a good idea to invest in a water filter, as tap water contains chemicals and cleansing agents such as chlorine to make it safe to drink. Point-of-entry ceramic and reverse osmosis filters are best as they rid the water of bacteria and viruses, as well as any impurities. For more information, visit www.brita.com.


Five more reasons to drink water

·  It gives you perfect skin. Water is needed to stop skin from drying out, plump out fine lines and wrinkles and prevent spots. Healthy skin is 70 per cent water - but it's always the last organ to benefit from the body's supply. Remember, a moisturiser can only lock in the moisture that's already there.

·  It reduces road rage. Driving a car in the city typically results in the loss of as much as half a litre of water an hour, according to the National Mineral Water Information Service: this can trigger emotional changes that lead to road rage

·  It gives you a great smile. Flouride added to tap water supplies provides extra strength and density to teeth and bones

·  It makes you brainier. An experiment at a school in Scotland found that pupils' test results improved when they drank water throughout the day

·  It replenishes your body's stores of minerals. The average natural spring water contains over 100mg calcium, needed for healthy teeth and bones - without the calorie content of dairy products! Popular bottled waters containing the highest mineral content include Evian, Perrier, Highland Spring and Ballygowan

By Jane Murphy

Lose a stone without trying

She was voted sexiest female in a soap only a month ago. But rumour has it that EastEnders sex bomb Jessie Wallace (Kat Slater) has been 'comfort eating' after splitting from her boyfriend of three years earlier this year.


Pictures in the tabloids show she's been piling on the pounds and getting bigger by the day. But she needn't worry too much, and if you're in the same position, making a few simple and painless lifestyle changes now, will stop you getting any bigger and help you to get back in shape fast.

There is no getting away from it. To burn fat you must use up calories by getting more active and eating less than usual. Sounds grim? Maybe, but in truth, shedding a stone needn't mean hours in the gym and starvation rations.

A pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. To shed four pounds a month, simply adopt four of these seven suggestions each week. Each saves at least 875 calories, which makes - you've guessed it - 3,500 in total each week. Put another way, that's 49,000 calories or one whole stone in the coming four months.

Be prepared

Think ahead and carry your own health foods with you. So next time your stomach starts to rumble, instead of grabbing the nearest fatty snack, you can zap your hunger with your own lower-calorie option. Swapping a bar of chocolate for an apple just four times a week saves 875 calories in total. Don't just stick to apples though, have pears, bananas or any fruit you fancy. If fresh fruit will get damaged in transit, try dried or ring-pull canned versions instead.


Walk, don't watch!

Give up half an hour of telly-watching four times a week. While sofa-surfing burns up just 40 calories per episode of EastEnders or Brookside, a 30-minute walk round the block uses up 228 calories a time. Try to walk with a friend. It is safer and making a date means you are more likely to make it a regular habit. Don't worry about flashy gear. All-weather comfortable shoes and baggy clothes will do. Take a bottle of water in case you need a drink but leave your purse at home to avoid popping into shops for treats en route.


Thirsty? Drink water

Quench your thirst with water instead of cans of fizzy drink. Each can of cola packs in seven teaspoons of sugar. Make this swap once a day and save 903 calories a week. Don't be tempted to quench a raging thirst with fruit juices. They may be good for vitamin C but glass for glass they have the same calories as cola. Other options are diet drinks but good old-fashioned water is better.


Eat more slowly

Your brain registers that you have started to eat only 10 minutes after you actually began. This means that the more slowly you eat, the more chance your brain has of telling you that you have had your fill and the less you will need to eat at every meal. Expect to shave at least 125 calories a day by mastering this simple trick. Initially, you will need to concentrate so switch off the television, sit at a table and chew every mouthful carefully. Saving 125 calories a day means a good 875 plus per week.


Get on your bike

And it does not need to be the latest top-of-the-range, 20-gear mountain version. Going for an hour's cycle ride every Saturday and Sunday will use up 875 calories in total whether on rough terrain or simply round your local area. If you can't manage a weekend fitness campaign, split the cycling up into smaller chunks. Eight 15-minute trips, for example, to work and back four times a week will do the same job. Wherever and whenever you ride make sure that you invest in a good-quality helmet and bright lights so motorists can see you coming.


Keep a food diary

Research carried out by scientists at the Dunn Nutrition Centre in Cambridge showed that the women they tested ate around 400 calories a day more than they realised. While the women could accurately remember what they had eaten at meal times, they simply forgot their snacks and alcohol. Jotting things down as you go has one main effect - it makes you think before you eat. Doing this helps to prune out unnecessary nibbles - an easy way to drop at least 125 calories a day.


Slash the fat

Go for small changes that have a big overall effect. When using half a pint of milk a day, having skimmed in place of whole shaves 700 calories per week while not losing out on all of its bone-strengthening calcium. Meanwhile, having low-fat spread instead of butter or margarine on two slices of toast or in a sandwich each day saves 330 more.

By Amanda Ursell