April 2011 Tips and Recipe

April Showers

Spring is here. With the spring weather, and the month of April, comes the showers. Rainy season is upon us. So this month's ezine is dedicated to getting drenched – drenched with water.

Weight Loss Tip

Quench Your Thirst

Water is one of the best things to have while trying to lose weight. In fact, all weight loss programs, diet pills and other weight loss supplements always state to drink your water. Water helps us to feel fuller longer, curbs your appetite, reduces food intake and hydrates your body for exercise. But the benefits of water go way beyond weight loss. Here are just a few health benefits of drinking water.

Maintains Balance

Drinking water helps maintain the balance of bodily fluids. Our bodies are made up of 60% of water. Your body fluids are responsible for many functions including digestion, absorption, circulation, producing saliva, transporting nutrients and maintaining your body temperature. Keeping your body fluids balanced helps keep these functions running smoothly.

Energizes Muscles

Without the right amount of water and electrolytes, your muscle cells can shrivel which can lead to muscle fatigue. When your muscles don't have enough fluids they can not perform as well. Maintaining muscle tone is important not only for your health, but helps promote weight loss by speeding up your metabolism.

Skin Moisturizer

Your skin acts as a protective barrier against excessive fluid loss. When you are dehydrated your skin will look dry and wrinkled. With proper hydration, your skin will look less dry and wrinkled. While it cannot erase those wrinkles and fine lines, having the right amount of water can help your skin look healthier.

These are just a few examples of the benefits of water. Water helps many other functions of our bodies perform efficiently, so be sure to drink your water for weight loss and your health.

Water, Water and more Water

Drinking water during exercise is important to rehydrate the fluids you sweat off. In one hour of vigorous exercise a person will lose 1 quart of fluids through sweating. So it's important to keep hydrating during this workout to replace the lost fluids. Drinking water before and after exercise is just as important as hydrating during your workout. You should start drinking water a couple of hours before your workout. Drink two or three cups of water about 2 or 3 hours before you plan to exercise. Then drink a cup of water just before exercising.

Once you are done with your exercise routine, keep hydrating your body. Drink another 2 to 3 cups of water within a couple of hours after your workout. Then continue drinking water regularly throughout the day to stay hydrated.

In addition to water, eating before and after exercise is important to fuel your body. In addition to replacing lost fluids, you want to replace and replenish nutrients as well.

Keeping with the water theme, I thought this watercress recipe would be a tasty way to hydrate your body.

Watercress & Cucumber Sandwich Appetizers

What You Need:

• 8 cups cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 20 slices whole wheat bread, crusts removed
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 cups trimmed and coarsely chopped watercress

How to Make It:

1. Place cucumber in a medium bowl. Mix in salt.Cover and set aside for approximately 30 minutes.
2. Mix ground black pepper, chives and butter into the bowl with the cucumber.
3. Spread whole wheat bread slices with mayonnaise.
4. Top 10 slices with equal portions of the cucumber mixture, then with equal portions watercress.
5. Cover with remaining 10 slices of bread. Cut into triangles and serve.

Number of Servings: 20

Nutrition Information Per Serving

Calories 157; Fat 10(g); Fiber 2(g); Protein 3(g); Carbs 15(g); sodium 352(mg)

Original WW Points 4

Points Plus 4

If you modify this recipe and use fat free mayo and reduced calorie bread, you can drop the WW pts down to 2 points plus value.

Exercise 4 Weight Loss 2 Achieve Fitness and Health

Best wishes from your diet buddy