Resolved to be healthy this year? One thing you gotta, gotta do

I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man. 

-Henry David Thoreau

If you’re like me, you wrote a long, meandering cryptic post about New Year’s resolutions and you went ahead and posted it because you figured everyone has demons and self-doubt and maybe it would help someone to know you do too.

If you’re like over 40% of the population, you made a New Year’s resolution that relates to your health: lose weight, work out, quit smoking, quit drinking. (You could reasonably argue that two more of the top 10 resolutions, spend more time with family & friends and enjoy life more, also fall into the better health category.)

If so, I’m gonna say three little words that are going to make this week so much more comfortable for you.

Drink more water.

Maybe you did a few fast, sweaty miles on the treadmill.

Maybe you reached for the Wheaties rather than a doughnut. More fiber.

Maybe you started taking a multi-vitamin. With extra iron.

The rule of thumb is eight 8oz glasses of fluids a day; adjust for the fact that caffeine is dehydrating.

But if you’re switching up your diet or exercise routine, odds are that your digestion and hydration are gonna be impacted. A crappy diet full of fats and simple sugars is processed by your body differently than bulky fiber and complex carbs. Add in exercise and you’re talking about pretty significant change.

I’m no nutritionist but I can tell you this: drinking extra water helps keep everything moving.

It also does all that other awesome stuff you already knew about, like flush out toxins, keep energy levels high and skin dewy, boost immunity.

How much water does a man need? (That’s a play on a Tolstoy short story title. Obviously I mean women too.) Here’s a water calculator to help you figure that out.

It’s the easiest thing you can do to kickstart your healthy and happy 2012 🙂

Water. It does a body good.