One of the most important elements in your diet and often thought of as the ultimate weight loss weapon is water. You may be able to go months and sometimes even years with a deficiency in almost any nutrient, but you can only survive a few days without water. 

In a healthy person, water contributes 50 to 60 percent of your body's weight and comprises over 75% of your muscles. Muscles need to be properly hydrated to work and properly working muscles contribute to your bodies metabolic rate. A higher metabolic rate means you will burn more calories. 

Water also regulates your body thermostat and therefore your temperature. A great deal of heat is required to change water from a liquid state to a gas form. Water evaporates into sweat and carries off large quantities of body heat. 

Another valuable water characteristic is that water molecules cannot be compressed together so water actually helps to cushion your joints and protects your vital organs from shock and damage. 

Water also helps to dissolve nutrients, amino acids, glucose, minerals and other substances, so that healthy cells can function properly. Water also helps to flush waste products and toxins produced by cells, out of the body and perhaps more important helps to flush fat out of the body as well. 

Now that we know the importance of water, we should also know we are constantly losing water through perspiration, respiration and urination, so you have to be careful to replenish your bodies supply. Besides basic needs, the more calories you burn, the more water you need. Research suggests that a person needs one tablespoon of water for every calorie burned. Since the average person burns about 2,000 kcals. a day, you should drink about eight, eight ounce glasses of water a day to maintain a healthy balance. 

Another formula to use would be to take your bodyweight and multiply by .66 to get the number of ounces of water you need to drink per day. If your weight is 190 lbs. you would need... 190 x .66 = 125 ounces of water. Since there are 128 ounces in one gallon, you would need to drink one gallon of water per day to maintain a healthy balance. 

This may seem like a lot of water but it really isn't. You will quickly get used to drinking this amount and feel better for it. You should however be careful not to drink all the water at once, as this many cause your stomach to get upset. 

People who exercise regularly also need to consume even more water. You need to replenish between 8 to 16 ounces of water for every pound that you lose while working out. ( replenish every 250 kcal. burned or about every 20 minutes of exercise…more in hot, humid weather) 

And you should not wait until you're thirsty to drink. By the time you feel thirsty you are already one to two percent dehydrated. A loss of 2 to 5 % of body water can induce fatigue, dizziness, headaches and slurred speech. 

If your not sure whether you're properly hydrated a good gauge is your urine. If your urine is pale and odourless you are probably properly hydrated. The more dehydrated you are the darker your urine becomes. 

If you drink a lot of soft drinks and coffee, although they may quench your thirst and do contain water, they should not be considered as part of your daily water intake. In fact they actually rob your body of liquid because the sugar and caffeine act as a diuretic, cancelling the good effects of the water those drinks contain. You should also try to avoid fruit juices, electrolyte replacement drinks and carbohydrate drinks that contain fructose and other sugars. However Crystal light and sugar free Kool Aid can be used in moderation and can count as part of your daily water intake. 

By now you should be getting the point that water should be an essential part of your diet. In fact water is a dieters' best friend. The reason for this is water acts like a natural appetite suppressant. Research suggests that the thirst centre lies near the hunger centre in your brain, and when you think you are hungry, you are actually just thirsty and often a drink of water will satisfy your desire to eat. 

Water also helps your body to metabolize stored body fat. This is how it works. Your kidneys need water to work efficiently. When your kidneys don't get enough water, they slow down and when they slow down, your liver picks up the slack and helps to get rid of your body's waste. One of your livers primary function is to metabolize stored fat into energy, but how can it do this efficiently when your liver is doing the work for your kidneys. The result is your liver doesn't do the 100 percent job it was meant to do and therefore more fat remains stored in your body. 

So if your goal is to lose fat, make sure you use your ultimate weight lose weapon and make sure you drink plenty of water.

I know you want to get in shape and look great. Whatever your fitness goal to slim down ...gain muscle ...tone your arms or flatten your tummy I’m here to help you accomplish your goals and to improve your fitness level. You will learn how to select and combine your diet with exercise, so that you can be the best you can be.