If you are still not able to get rid of excess weight even after eating healthy and exercising, then you are perhaps not drinking enough water. Many drink up coffee before exercising since caffeine raises the body’s ability to burn fat. Caffeine increases heart rate which helps in burning more calories but this is at the expense of the muscles in your body. The muscles require water to function properly. Moreover, your heart will work quite hard during the workout sessions. In fact, it is best not to consume caffeine before working out. Water performs scores of important functions in our body. It helps in digestion and absorption of the food you eat. Water is necessary for emission of waste from your body. Blood is majorly constituted of water which helps in proper distribution of nutrients around your body. There are various symptoms that indicate insufficiency of water in your body. Lack of water causes dehydration resulting in headaches since water is necessary to flush out toxins from your body. Fatigue, constipation, bad breath and inelastic skin are some of the other signs of dehydration.

Water is the best weight loss treatment and you will be wonder struck to see the marvelous ways in which water works. Your skin starts sagging due to aging or even loss of weight. Water hydrates the skin cells and your skin looks much younger and healthier. Moreover, impurities are flushed out of the skin to make it glow and attain a fair complexion. Besides your skin, muscles that have sufficient water will slim down more easily. This will help your workout sessions yield better results and help you get rid of flabby muscles. You will tend to overeat solid food due to insufficient water intake. Your body might actually be in need of water while you feel hunger pang. This is because, at times, your brain may not be able to tell the difference between thirst and hunger. On an average, you need about six to eight glasses of water per day, each glass measuring up to eight ounces. If you are overweight, you must drink up an additional eight ounces for every 25 pounds of your excess weight. The intake of water should be consistent throughout the day. Spread it out over the whole day since it is unhealthy to drink too much water at once. Never allow yourself to feel thirsty because to feel thirsty is a sign of dehydration. Therefore, it is best to consume water at regular intervals even when you are not actually thirsty.

The quintessential part of the southern barbecue is perhaps the sweetened iced tea. Flavored with lemon, lime, or mint, the iced tea continues to rule the roost as far as summer cookouts go. Add a fruity flavor and a unique color to the traditional iced tea this year by adding cranberry juice. Use your imagination and experiment with other fruit juices as well for a twist to the time-honored beverage. Lemonade is another all-timer, and its charm remains fresh whether you make it straight, or punched with an additional fruit juice or indeed, a shot of vodka. A way to add color and flavor to the lemonade is to add slices of fruit, such as strawberry to the drink.

If you want to forego the traditional lemonade for innovation this summer, try the smoothie — combining fruits as diverse as blueberries strawberries, or even honeydew melon, pineapple, and pomegranate for interesting cool drinks. For a lot of Americans, Memorial Day barbecues are incomplete without beer, and the choice revolves only around the beer to pick. Porters and heavy ales are best avoided at the barbecue. What works best is a lighter, crisper, warm weather beer. For a twist to the beer, try the “shandy”, a mixture of beer and ginger beer, ginger ale or lemonade. The shandy goes particularly well with lighter foods, such as poultry and seafood dishes.

Some cookout veterans swear by wine for the beverage. When picking wines, go for the lighter, more refreshing wines, Make sure they are chilled, of course. Low temperatures are key in the barbecue. For the adventurous, there is the option of turning out fruity summer cocktails using the flavors of passion fruit, mango, guava, and pineapple for the summer cookout. For a lot of cookout aficionados, sangria is the must-have. A thought for the environment: a great deal is now being written and said about the virtues of using local and organic food and beverages for your consumption. With the growth of microbreweries, there are plenty of options for you to pick from. Also, organic beer is fast gaining popularity, so this could be your turn to contribute to the environment by using sustainable beverages this summer.