The fact that water is absolutely essential to our survival is no secret. Unfortunately, it’s also a fact that most people don’t drink enough, either because they’re complacent or think that getting it from other sources (e.g. coffee, tea, soda) actually counts. It doesn’t, because these beverages contain caffeine and other diuretic ingredients that actively DEHYDRATE you, but that’s another story.

Skimping on water every day has a number of negative effects:

• Water retention – Your body will stockpile water in your various tissues in order to keep you hydrated – meaning you get swollen hands, feet, and generally feel heavy/bloated.
• Waste buildup – Water is essential for flushing waste products from the body, and without adequate water intake, the body can be literally poisoned by its own waste products, leaving you lethargic, prone to digestive complications, and having a general feeling of poor health.
• Poor muscle/joint function – Water is crucial for transporting nutrients and oxygen to the cells through the blood, and lubricates our joints. Without adequate water intake, you may get muscle and joint soreness.

Keeping your water consumption at a healthy level has a whole host of benefits. For example, metabolic waste created by the burning of fat is excreted through urine, so drinking a healthy amount of water each day can help you to lose weight and prevent the buildup of waste products in your body.

The general consensus is that adults should consume between 8 and 10 glasses of water per day (8 ounces each). This is a generalization however, and a handy formula for calculating your ideal water consumption is to have between 1/2oz and 2/3oz per pound of bodyweight. For example, if you weight 160 pounds, you should be drinking between 10 and 14 8-ounce glasses of water per day, depending on how active you are, and how hot your climate is.

You should also try to spread your water consumption throughout the day – don’t drink it all in the morning or all in the afternoon. When you first step up your water intake, you may find yourself making frequent trips to the bathroom – tihs is perfectly normal, and within the first week or so, your body will adjust, and you’ll urinate less frequently, but in larger amounts.

Get your water consumption up to a healthy level, and you’ll be rewarded with more energy, better digestive function, a leaner body and you won’t be fatigued as often!

We all consume caffeine, in some shape or form. Whether you drink coffee, tea or soda or eat chocolate… they all contain caffeine. Caffeine is great for giving you that short-term “kick”, but with prolonged intake, caffeine can start to show some nasty side effects. The biggest and most prominent of these is an increase in cortisol, which is the “stress hormone”. Your body produces it naturally to help kick off the “fight or flight” response – it gives you a quick burst of energy, lowers your sensitivity to pain, and gives you a short-term increase in focus and memory functions in general.

So cortisol is good stuff, right?? Yes, as long as it’s in quantities our body is designed to handle, and there’s the problem – we’re not meant to deal with increased quantities of this hormone for long periods of time, and as a result, prolonged increased cortisol production can cause stress-related illness, suppressed thyroid function (hello, weight gain!), blood sugar imbalances (it messes with your insulin), high blood pressure, lower immunity and impaired cognitive performance.

All of these things stack together to leave you feeling constantly run down and tired, to the point where you NEED that daily caffeine kick (or several daily caffeine kicks) in order to stay focused and stay awake – and that is not a good thing.

Ditching the coffee and going for something like herbal tea or green tea is a positive step in the right direction. These teas still contain some caffeine, but also contain a whole host of other beneficial ingredients and nutrients to help balance out your body and let it do the job it’s meant to do – which is regulate your body’s hormone levels by itself.

Resisting the urge to fill up on coffee and other caffeinated beverages can make a huge difference to your lifestyle. You’ll start to get by without needing the caffeine hit, and when you DO need that extra boost, one coffee can actually have the effect it used to have when you were younger – it lifts you up, boosts your cognitive performance, and gives you a buzz. You won’t feel those effects if you consume large amounts of caffeine every day, because your body will have become dependent on caffeine – you’ll actually feel flat, listless and exhausted until you start downing the coffee.

Break the cycle! Ditch the coffee, cut back on the caffeine, and allow yourself to savor a single coffee once in a while, and you’ll start to realize how good your body is at looking after itself when it isn’t being thrown off balance!

Allowing your body to increase it’s natural production of HGH (human growth hormone) can also help keep cortisol (and stress) under control. While supplementing with HGH itself can be risky, you can take HGH Energizers, which are simply a carefully selected blend of essential amino acids and other nutrients which support the body’s own HGH production and can have a hugely positive effect on your energy levels and general wellbeing.Click here to read more about HGH Energizers.

One of the biggest killers of energy is a lack of exercise, and lack of physical activity in general.

We’re mammals, after all, and we’re designed to use our bodies on a daily basis. Our ancestors relied on physical stamina and fitness for survival. In this day and age however, everything is done for us, and there’s no burden on us to stay fit and healthy… you won’t be outrunning any predators in your town’s streets.

In the last 50 years, we’ve developed a sedentary, lazy lifestyle, with most people engaging in very little or no exercise on a daily basis. This causes weight gain, a drop in fitness levels, and ultimately, fatigue.

If you’re always tired, chances are you’re one of these people: not getting enough exercise, not eating right, and even walking up a set of stairs is a challenge. The single quickest and easiest way to start turning that around is to start exercising – even if you just take it slowly at first, like walking for 30 minutes every day. You’ll be amazed at how much of a difference even a small amount of regular exercise can make.

If you’re keen to see some real changes, however, you should consider joining a fitness program with other people. Tackling fitness by yourself can be a challenge, but facing that challenge with people just like you can make it so much easier, as group members tend to keep each other motivated, and if you skip a session or a class, you don’t just have to face making excuses to yourself… your group members will push you to keep up, and that is a good thing.

If you prefer to work alone, there are some terrific programs available there as well. David Smith lost over 400 pounds in his battle against weight loss. He followed Chris Powell’s “Reshape the Nation” fitness and diet program, which isn’t just some expensive fad diet that provides you a book and a calorie chart, but is rather a tailored program designed to suit your situation perfectly. Chris Powell’s Reshape the Nation program has featured on the Today show, ET and even Oprah, and if you’re looking for serious results, it could well be exactly what you’re looking for.

Click here to read more about Reshape the Nation.