A Little Fitness==> How much do you drink??

Okay, let's forget the majority of liquid pleasures that are out there and concentrate for a minute on water. How much water do you drink in a given day? The typical rule is that you should drink eight 8 oz. glasses a day, which is 64 ounces. I have also read in various fitness magazines that you should drink the equivalent of half of your body weight in ounces of water daily. So, a 150 pound person, should then drink about 75 ounces of water, which would be more than those 8 glasses. Also, if you drink other beverages with caffeine or alcohol, should drink even more water to compensate. If you are not convinced about needing to drink a lot of water, check out this list of reasons why it is important for your body:

1. Weight loss. Water is one of the best tools for weight loss, first of all because it often replaces high-calorie drinks like soda and juice and alcohol with a drink that doesn't have any calories. But it's also a great appetite suppressant, and often when we think we're hungry, we're actually just thirsty. Water has no fat, no calories, no carbs, no sugar. Drink plenty to help your weight-loss regimen.

2. Heart healthy. Drinking a good amount of water could lower your risks of a heart attack. A six-year study published in the May 1, 2002 American Journal of Epidemiology found that those who drink more than 5 glasses of water a day were 41% less likely to die from a heart attack during the study period than those who drank less than two glasses.

3. Energy. Being dehydrated can sap your energy and make you feel tired -- even mild dehydration of as little as 1 or 2 percent of your body weight. If you're thirsty, you're already dehydrated -- and this can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness and other symptoms.

4. Headache cure. Another symptom of dehydration is headaches. In fact, often when we have headaches it's simply a matter of not drinking enough water. There are lots of other causes of headaches of course, but dehydration is a common one.

5. Healthy skin. Drinking water can clear up your skin and people often report a healthy glow after drinking water. It won't happen overnight, of course, but just a week of drinking a healthy amount of water can have good effects on your skin.

6. Digestive problems. Our digestive systems need a good amount of water to digest food properly. Often water can help cure stomach acid problems, and water along with fiber can cure constipation (often a result of dehydration).

7. Cleansing. Water is used by the body to help flush out toxins and waste products from the body.

8. Cancer risk. Related to the digestive system item above, drinking a healthy amount of water has also been found to reduce the risk of colon cancer by 45%. Drinking lots of water can also reduce the risk of bladder cancer by 50% and potentially reduce the risk of breast cancer.

9. Better exercise. Being dehydrated can severely hamper your athletic activities, slowing you down and making it harder to lift weights. Exercise requires additional water, so be sure to hydrate before, during and after exercise.

Are you convinced?

The difficulty with drinking all that water is that it's hard to keep track. I can easily go through a whole day and not have any water at all. What helps me is to buy bottled water in the biggest bottle I can find. I came across some at my local grocery store that are 2 liters which is equivalent to about 68 ounces. I refill the bottle daily and try to make sure it's empty by the end of the day. That way I can keep track of how much water I am drinking and make sure that I am getting enough.

There is one major snag I have encountered with this great water drinking plan....I am peeing like a pregnant woman! I have to use the bathroom all the time. Yesterday my husband and I ran errands for a large part of the day and I think I used the bathroom in almost every store we visited! Coming from someone who is not a particular fan of using public restrooms and who went an entire 10 hour international flight without going once because I refuse to pee on a plane....it is ridiculous to have to pee that much!

I know that drinking that much water is good for my body, but it's definitely challenging and annoying to manage all the restroom pit stops in between periods at school and while out in the world taking care of errands.

Do you drink enough water? Any tips to make sure you stay hydrated?