Ice Water and the DMV

This week I have been trying to clean up my eating and do the things that made me successful losing weight. On Monday I rode my bike for an hour and did a weights workout, crazy I know. Yesterday I did a tempo run (which I never do anymore) and followed it with a circuit training class at A2O. Tomorrow I may go swimming...

Another thing I have been doing is drinking the right amount of water, ice cold water to be more precise. I was great about it while I was losing weight but have not done the best in recent months. Proper water intake is needed to keep your body running efficiently as most people know. The reason to drink it ice cold is what is known as ‘water induced thermo-genesis”. Which is a fancy way of saying it takes energy to heat up the water in your stomach which burns calories. It doesn't burn a ton but anything helps when trying to lose weight.  Here is a good source with some basic information

I found another article that referenced 3 studies saying that it increased resting metabolic rate by 24%, 30%, and 4.5% for 60 minutes following consumption of a half liter of ice water. The results aren’t conclusive but on average it’s a boost of 19% and on the low side 4.5% which are both positive. Even if the results of the study were close to 0% I would still do use it as an excuse to get my recommended daily intake. I found this article that estimates water requirement that is pretty easy to follow.

I was in the cafeteria the other day and one of the ladies who work there asked me what I was up to and I told her thermo-genesis. Huh? Anyway I told her what I was doing with the ice water and she said she had heard about that before and does the same thing.

I told her it worked for me when I was losing weight. You lost weight? Yes, I thought she knew that but she started after I reached my goal and never knew the ‘old’ me. I pulled out my two driver’s licenses to show her the difference and she couldn’t believe it. I originally got the ‘after’ license when I was flying to Phoenix, Arizona.  I flew down there to pace my friend Sam Collier at the Javelina 100 mile endurance run. This was the first time on an airplane since I lost the weight and I thought I had better get it updated so I wouldn’t risk getting kicked off for having a fake ID!

I was going to keep my ‘before’ license, so when I went in to the DMV I told them I lost it.  The woman said it wasn’t a problem since they have them electronically now. She asked me my name and address then hit enter. She got this wrinkled up look on her face and leaned closer to the monitor without saying a word or looking at me. I started to chuckle, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

I still had my ‘before’ picture on my work badge so I put it up next to her monitor and said, Does the fat guy on your monitor look like the fat guy in this picture! She was at a loss for words for a second and couldn’t believe the difference. I told her it was all done with simple diet changes and exercise.  When I tell people that, many of them follow with, That's what my doctor keeps telling me!  Listen to your doctor because that is the BIG SECRET people are always looking for. Eat right and Exercise THE END

I still keep the ‘before’ in my wallet to remind myself of where I once was in my life. One of my favorite posts from a while back.... "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~ George Santayana