Whether your goals include weight loss, controlling chronic conditions like diabetes or hypertension, or maintaining a healthy lifestyle, proper hydration can help.

Without adequate fluids, your body just can’t work as well as it should. In fact, your body's performance and your brain’s ability to function well can be decreased with just a one percent loss of body weight due to dehydration?

So how much should you drink each day? At Draelos Metabolic Center, we like to encourage our patients to drink at least two liters of liquid daily and caffeinated beverages and alcohol do not count.

Don’t wait until you feel thirsty to drink. It turns out relying on feelings of thirst does not maintain hydration. In fact, you are often already dehydrated by the time you feel thirsty.

As we age, we also often lose the sense of thirst and can become dehydrated faster. Sometimes your body even gets confused and sends hunger signals when you are actually thirsty. Drinking continuously throughout the day will prevent this.

Here are a few tips to help you ensure that you are drinking enough of the right fluids:

• Try drinking a glass of water before every meal. This boosts hydration and will also curb your appetite, which helps prevent overeating.

• Toting a bottle of water around with you can serve as a reminder to drink more often.

• If the taste of water becomes just too boring for you, then try sugar-free flavoring (0-5 calories). It’s a great way to spice up the flavor without adding unnecessary calories.

Finally, remember when it’s hot and windy outside, you need even more water. Sweating, hot weather and wind can all cause your body to lose water very fast. So when you are out and about in the hot weather or exercising outside during the Oklahoma heat, hydration is paramount. Intense exercise (the kind that gets you really sweaty) requires about a cup of water every 15 minutes and water really is generally best. 

Many people think sports drinks are best to rehydrate after a workout, but this is not necessarily true. Although sports drinks do provide a good source of electrolytes, they also contain calories. And for someone trying to lose weight, drinking calories they just burned off is counter-productive!