March 20, 2017
Mark Kalladeen, Fitness Center Trainer

Health tip of the Month: Drink water! Especially Before Meals

Staying hydrated can have numerous benefits. Some of these include the fact that water has a major effect on both energy level and brain function. Studies show that even mild dehydration (1-3% of body weight) can impair many aspects of brain function. So keep those minds hydrated at all times! Another important factor, is that it can help boost the amount of calories you burn.

According to studies, water can boost metabolism by 24-30% over a period of 1-1.5 hours. This can amount to 96 additional calories burned if you drink 2 liters (67 oz) of water per day. The best time to drink water is half an hour before meals. Another study showed that half a liter of water, 30 minutes before each meal, increased weight loss by 44%. This may sound repetitive but the importance of drinking water cannot be stressed enough! There are way too many benefits that you could potentially be missing out on.

Fitness Tip of the Month: Watch the Clock

Your body clock, that is! Try to work out at the time you have the most energy. If you’re a morning person, schedule your fitness activities early in the day; if you perk up as the day goes along, plan your activities in the afternoon or evening. At first it may take a while to find a set time to come in and workout but even if you make one specific time a part of your routine, your body will adapt.  Research suggests the body can adapt to regular gym dates, so if we go to the Fitness Center every day at 4 p.m., eventually we might perform better at that time than at any other time of day. Just keep this in mind and try to make the idea of working out when you have the most energy a routine, because it will yield the best results!