BODY OF WATER: RECONNECTING TO THE SOURCE OF LIFE
Imagine you were lacking something important in your life, such as water. How would you react? It’s likely you would hoard and ration what little you have left, right?
Your body is no different. Nature has marvellously designed the human body to survive, and she will do so, quite often, entirely independent of your conscious wishes or actions.
In our water example, the body, if she senses a lack, will begin storing it – leading to water retention and of course weight gain. This often appears as the “wobbly” bits around your body. At the same time, we begin to get signals that we should get more water.
This manifests initially as thirst – a sensation that sadly we often ignore. If this continues for an extended period, other signals start to appear – dry skin, headaches and tiredness.
For years I carried a large water bottle around with me, and I felt so clever, always making sure that I had water! Actually drinking it however… well that was another issue. As a result, I started experiencing the symptoms I mentioned earlier.
Of course my body, being far more clever than I, realized that there was a lack of water, and began retaining what little water there was in order to keep herself (and by extension, me) alive.
Losing that extra weight is a relatively simple process – though it might seem counterintuitive on the surface. In order to reduce water retention in your body, you need to drink MORE water in order to release the water that’s being stored.
What you’re doing is convincing your body that there is no shortage of water – you’re essentially taking your body out of “survival” mode.
If your body has been storing water for some time, it becomes stale and stagnant; it’s not dynamically flowing through the body the way it should. This is the source of the headaches, the dry skin, etc. Re-energizing that flow through your body is essential to not only losing that weight, but also addressing the other issues as well.
Imagine having a vessel containing stagnant, dirty water. Now imagine placing that vessel under a tap and introducing a steady stream of fresh, clean water. As the water mixes, it overflows the vessel, gradually carrying away the dirt and other debris to leave only fresh water behind.
Your body is no different. Once you introduce a steady stream of fresh, clean water, the stagnant water is slowly replaced and the natural flow is restored. As she realizes that there is no water shortage, your body will begin to shed all the water she’s been storing.
Water retention is an easy trap to fall into, but the good news is that there are simple steps you can take to deal with it, and even avoid it in future.
1. Drink water!
This seems pretty straightforward, but it does require some explanation. There’s a lot of talk online about how much water you should be drinking (one litre a day, two litres a day, etc.) The amount is really not as important as the consistency. Make sure that you’re drinking water throughout the day, keeping a constant flow moving throughout your body.
2. Avoid foods that cause dehydration.
You may be thinking, “But I drink lots of water already!” That may be true, but it’s very possible that you’re also consuming foods and even drinks that are dehydrating your body even as you adding water. It can become a losing battle. Some of the most common sources of dehydration include coffee, sugary drinks, fried food and alcohol.
Note: When you first begin to introduce a steady stream of water to the body, you will likely feel a little bloated. This is only temporary! Your body is acclimating and that can take a little time, but once it does, the bloated feeling will pass quickly.
So many women will go to endless lengths to improve their health, following the advice of countless diet experts, every one of them offering different (even conflicting) advice, take a myriad array of powders and pills and only eat foods that are low in salt/fat/gluten/flavour/etc.
They’ve become seduced by the diet industry marketing machine simply to lose water weight and to feel healthier… when easier (not to say cheaper) solutions are available in their own homes.
Your body is a remarkable machine. She is a flowing, dynamic part of the world, and water is a vital part of that flow. It’s no coincidence that we often refer to water as “life-giving.” When cut off from this source of life, your body will do whatever she has to do in order to survive, and sadly, the process is often not pretty.
Reconnect to the live-giving and life-sustaining flow of water. Not only will it allow you to lose the weight associated with water retention, it can help keep you healthier and happier throughout your life.
There is a wonderful way to start getting in control of your eating.
I have created a 7 day challenge The 7 Day Sugar Free eating challenge that starts on 1st July 2019. Read more about it here and join in with all the activities and learnings around how to dissolve sugar cravings. https://fionarobertson.co/sugar-free-eating-challenge
