Stew Smith Fitness News

This week a young man asked me, "Does water affect weight?" After some digging, I realized he has been observing his mother use one of the 45 Day Plans to lose weight / get fit and this program requires the user to drink more water than they normally would - up to 3-4 quarts a day!! Most people do not drink enough water in a day PERIOD. The Mayo Clinic states, "Water is your body's principal chemical component, making up, on average, 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes...

In light of a recent incident, in which a radio show contestant died from water intoxication after taking part in a contest to see how much water one could drink without going to the bathroom, I thought there should be clarity on what happened. Drinking water is essential to living, but there are ways that you can die from drinking too much water. A concerned reader wrote:Perhaps you might consider updating your excellent article about drinking water in light of the death today of a young mother of three who induced hyponatremia by drinking water for a radio station contest.I...

This week, a concerned Army Reservist asks, “I have heard about people dieing of drinking too much water. Is this possible?” This is a great question because so many times this issue is taken out of context causing people to stop drinking water altogether. When you read about people who die or get kidney damage “from drinking too much water” you are only hearing half of the story. The other half of the story is often overlooked. These people die or are seriously injured internally from over-hydration with insufficient replacement of sodium, which is called dilutional hyponatremia. The documented cases...

In a fast paced world where the fine line of work and relaxation has been blurred with wireless technology and the development of the home office, workers as well as families have become more and more susceptible to stress-related illnesses. Stress is a natural element of our behavior and our body handles stress by injecting “stress hormones” into our bloodstream when we are feeling the burden of work, financial pains, spousal military deployments, and so many other “stressors” to name. Physiologically, stress wreaks havoc on the body today. The same thing happens to your body when you are stressed at...

This week the question comes from a gentleman who was once fairly active, former military, but has not done anything in about five years other than an occasional weight lifting session at his gym. The question is – “How do I get back into working out again without killing myself after a five year hiatus?”What I recommend for situations like this is to start off easy. So many times I have seen people start off Day One with a 3-4 mile run because “that is what they used to do.” This philosophy can also be seen in the weight room...