One Simple Change to Drink Enough Water this Winter

Stay Hydrated this Winter by Drinking Warm Water

You may be turning your nose up at this idea or citing articles claiming that cold ice water burns more calories.  A switch to warm water from ice water can make all of the difference! Keep reading to learn about the benefits of warm water, especially during the winter months. 

Some doshas (vata, pitta) are more receptive to warm water throughout the year. I've found that for myself, warm water works unless I'm overheated or if I've just finished an intense workout. 

Why Warm Water?

• Aids in digestion - digestion is sometimes an overlooked factor in overall health and in weightloss.  If your digestive fire (agni) is not on point and not being stoked, your digestion gets sluggish and so does the rest of your body. Warm water keeps things fired up.
• Breaks down food - warm water facilitates the breakdown of food beyond your initial chewing, allowing it to more easily pass through your body.
• Detoxifying - warm water helps to flush out toxins (and ama) as it helps your digestive tract stay lubricated.  Ice water causes everything in your tract to tense up and it has to work harder to warm the liquid to body temperature once it hits your stomach.  This is the calorie burn that many articles speak to.  To detoxify your body, you must baby it along, treat it well, not cause stress to it.  This allows the detox process to occur.  Although ice water will initially burn more calories, having a digestive tract that functions optimally will be more beneficial in the long run than the (very few) calories that ice water will burn. 
• Maintains warmth in the winter - winter is a season of cold and dry and warm water helps your body to maintain its warmth.  Who doesn't want a cozy warm water bottle to carry when stepping out into the cold?!
• Hydrates your body easier - cold water restricts blood vessels and requires the body use its energy to warm the water.  Warm water easily integrates into the mix and your body is able to start absorbing and utilizing that warm water because it doesn't have to focus on heating it up.
• Increases immunity - warm water helps flush out the lymphatic system and helps you to stay healthy and more able to fight off sickness.  This is especially important during flu season and as the holidays approach and we're all in close proximity, closed doors, with people who may be carrying new, fun sicknesses! 
• Helps with constipation - even if you aren't necessarily full on constipated, warm water helps to move matter through your digestive tract.  Everybody poops!

Staying hydrated is harder for some people than others. Winter seems to be a challenge for most people.  If you  notice that your lips are chapped, your hands are dry, your eyes are scratchy, you feel listless and lethargic, then you are likely dehydrated.  Unfortunately, you can't go chug a gallon water and maintain hydration.

I noticed that my son's lips were chapped yesterday, which is part of the inspiration behind this write-up.  During the winter, we're faced with such dry air, that our bodies have a hard time maintaining hydration. 

Roadblocks to Staying Hydrated

Consistency: Hydration requires that you are drinking water at recurrent intervals throughout the day.  If you've not had enough water from noon to 5 pm, you can't backfill at 7 pm with 5 cups of water. Your body will just flush it right through and isn't able to absorb it all.  

Timing: Ensuring that you aren't drinking a lot of water with meals will help stoke your digestive fire. Drinking water on a (relatively) empty stomach will allow your body to more easily absorb the liquid.  

How much water should you drink??

• Drink half your body weight in ounces of water. (If you weigh 120 lbs, you should aim for around 60 oz of water). You may need to increase or decrease this depending on your constitution.  If you notice that you're urine is completely clear, you either need to drink less or drink less at a time but with more frequency.  If your hands or lips continue to stay dry and parched, then increase your intake. Each person is unique - tune into your system to determine what works for you. 
• Drinking too much water can dilute your nutrient intake and flush out essential nutrients that your body needs. Ensure that you aren't overdoing the water intake.  

Action Plan!

1. Start your morning with warm lemon water.  Drink as much as you need in order to eliminate.  This is the one point in the day that drinking an excess of water is acceptable, as the major goal is for the water to aid in elimination.  With the lemon water on an empty stomach, it also helps to flush out toxins. 
2. Plan to have a few drinks every 15 minutes or a glass every 30 minutes throughout the day, paying attention to not drink a lot 15-30 minutes before a meal and allowing 15-30 minutes after a meal before drinking a large amount.  This approach allows your body to absorb as much as possible and also helps to keep you from running to and from the bathroom all day!  If you're consuming quantities in excess of what your body can absorb, you're just going to flush it down the toilet! 

I'm still working on not chugging water with my meals. I always have and it's proving to be a difficult habit to break.  I've done pretty well at the staying hydrated part.  This week, I plan to work on not drinking a ton with my meals.  

Tips:

• Find a water bottle that you really like.  
• Keep it with you at all times.
• Set a timer on your phone for the first week. 
• If you have a fitness tracker (FitBit), set an alarm for steps and for water intake!
• If plain warm water isn't appealing, try adding in herbs (mint, cilantro), fruit, lemon/limes. 
• Herbal tea is also beneficial but the focus should be on warm water. 
• If you drink coffee, double up your water intake around the time you're drinking the coffee.  It's very dehydrating. 
• If you have littles, make sure they're drinking water too (not just milk!) I have a hard time with my youngest, who only wants milk. 

Happy Hydrating!  

Stay hydrated, Bee Well!  One-at-a-time!

Follow me at BeeWellWV on Instagram or email me at beewellwv@gmail.com.

Bee Well!

There's a First Time for Everything

All of Your Firsts

We all have firsts.  The first time we walked. The first time we talked. The first time we ran a mile. The first time we got a real paycheck. Firsts often require a leap of faith and a lot of courage.  

What you see pictured here is my first supported headstand without having the safety net of a wall behind me.  This is a big step because I'm a chicken. I've been working up to this for months.  It goes back to one-at-a-time.  It took me a long while to even get into this pose (and a long time of bouncing off the wall behind me), but eventually, slowly, I gained strength and confidence and with some guidance of a more skilled yoga guru (shout out to WVYogagirl), I got my form down and now, I did this! 

Slow and steady wins the race when it comes to building strength, healing the body, and focusing on wellness.  If you are in a rut and want to change things, try one small thing at a time.  This weekend, try one new change.  That's how big changes occur, with small steps! 

Happy Weekend.  Happy Veteran's Day.  May you all Bee Well!

Ideas for small changes this weekend:

• Take a 10 minute walk after lunch.
• Take a 10 minute nap after your walk. 
• Meditate, be still, or do breathing exercises for 5 minutes.
• Have a vegetarian day.  Veggie soup makes this an easy one.  (See my previous post for Harvest Stew!)
• Clean out a junk drawer. 
• Take 10 minutes to do yoga. Or research a yoga video you'd like to try!

The options are endless.

Bee Well

Darker, Colder Days: Warmer, Heavier Meals!

Eating to Tune Your Daily Energy Cycles 

Recipe Alert!  Included below!

Harvest Stew: The perfect Ayurvedic fall food!

Our bodies are governed by a daily cycle, a monthly cycle, and a seasonal cycle.  With the morning brings an awakening, with the evening brings a need for stillness. Understanding and tapping into those energy cycles will give you more energy, keep you grounded, and help your sleep, digestion, and mental clarity. Going with the flow is always easier than going against it!!


We just experienced "Fall Back" to standard time, meaning we gained an hour, but also meaning that my son is SUPER confused and is now staying up until 8 PM every night in his bed, calling out for help putting on his robe, finding a new book, moving his arm because "it can't move anymore because it's sooooooo tired!".  He is adamantly working against his natural energy cycles.  I do not know why, but my guess is that if he doesn't soon fall into the new routine, his body will rebel and he will get a cold, virus, etc. You can keep your energy cycle in check - you cannot force others to do the same... apparently.  Even though I'm trying - really, really, really hard.

Daily Energy Cycles - What is this?

A quick look: 

Sunrise: 6AMish, Morning

• Rise your body
• Cleanse your body (inside and out)
• Move your body
• Eat a small breakfast

Morning (10AMish) - Noon

• Eat your largest meal of the day
• Most productive time of the day

Noon-2PM

• Be creative

2PM-6PMish

• Mental energy at its highest
• Eat a small dinner near 6PM (can be after), preferably soup or other easily digested foods

6PM-10PM

• If you are eating dinner during this time, ensure it is 2-3 hours before bedtime
• A time of stillness
• Do relaxing activities

10PM-2AMish

• Digestive fire is at its highest
• Do not eat during this time
• Body needs rest to digest!

2AM-6AM

• Body is working towards cleansing 

This is a general daily cycle. There are many tips and tricks for making the most of your daily cycle and how to ensure you're working in tune with your personal energy cycle, as they can shift slightly dependent upon your personal energy makeup. 

The key take-aways:

• Largest meal for lunch
• Eat 2-3 hours before bedtime
• Get to bed on time!

Let's talk about that Harvest Stew!

With the colder days upon us, the darker evenings come earlier and the feeling that we want to stay inside, bundled up in front of a fire fills us up.  The days have been dreary and my desire to be outside has dwindled to a big 0!! (And I'm an outside-all-of-the-time person!)

What to do when it's cold and dreary?  

Stay inside!  BUT, you should also prepare your body for the winter weather by eating warming foods, because at some point, probably, you will have to go outside.  Remember: Eat your biggest meal for lunch.  This is the meal that I like to eat protein at.  It gives the rest of the day to digest properly, and for dinner, a warm soup, roasted vegetables, or a warm salad is in order.

One-at-a-Time Protocol:

Above is a lot of "cycle" schedule to take in.  My suggestion is to start out by doing one of the following:

• Make lunch your biggest meal
• Eat a smaller, easily digested meal for dinner (i.e. soup, roasted vegetables, warm salad)
• Ensure you eat dinner 2-3 hours before bed

Take your time incorporating one of the above into your schedule (and stick to that one) and once that feels like second nature, then add another!  Or if you're bold, try all three! 2 weeks at a time is usually a good time frame.  Keep building upon each element.  Start with this routine and keep following my blog to learn about other easy to introduce concepts to align your energy!

Harvest Stew

This stew will warm you, lubricate you, and keep you strong against the cold winter days.

3 Quarts Chicken Bone Broth (or Vegetable Broth)

1 Jar Diced Tomatoes (preferably home canned) 12-32 oz depending on taste.

3 Tbsp Ghee or Coconut Oil and Ghee 

1 Onion (diced)

1 Garlic Clove (minced)

5 Carrots (1/2" slice) or 2 cups Shredded Carrots

2 Sweet Potato (large) (1/2" dice)

2 Potatoes (1/2" dice)

3 Zucchini or Yellow Squash (1/2" dice)

2 Bay Leaves

2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

1 tsp Coriander

Other vegetable options: Butternut Squash, Cabbage, Acorn Squash, Brussels Sprouts, Asparagus

*Meat options: Shredded Chicken, Grass Fed Beef, Venison, Turkey

• If this is for lunch, I recommend the inclusion of meat.  If the soup is for dinner, I recommend no meat. 

Saute vegetables in Ghee in the following order and salt and pepper as you add (medium heat): Onion, Garlic, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Zucchini.  Leave 2-4 minutes between each addition. Ensure vegetables stay lubricated with the ghee.  Add more if needed.  Add Bay Leaves, Italian Seasoning, Coriander.  Stir well.  Medium High heat. Let saute for 10 minutes, stirring each minute. Add Tomatoes.  Simmer 5 minutes.  Add in Bone Broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer until vegetables are desired tenderness.  Salt and pepper to taste. 

A few notes: 

• Ghee can be found in most grocery stores.  This is an important fat for your body during winter time.  It keeps your insides moving and your skin lubricated against the dry air. 
• Bone broth contains compounds that help boost your immune system - much needed during flu season! 
• Both of these are highly recommended as a staple for a winter time diet. 

Bee Well!

Follow me on Instagram: beewellwv or email me at beewellwv@gmail.com.