ArcaMax

Glug. Glug...

There’s even more data out in support of water consumption.

We did a small study as part of the development of Plan Z the diet by Zola. One group in our study was allowed to just drink as much water as they wanted during a day and by most standards, that meant they didn’t drink very much. I try to cajole people into drinking at least 70 ounces a day. You would not believe the number of excuses I get for not hitting the mark. It’s as bad as “my dog ate my homework”.

Then there was another group who embraced the idea of drinking water and that group consistently drank more than 100 ounces of water per day. YAY for them!

The even bigger reason to celebrate is the group who drank the large quantities of water lost a whopping 30 percent more than those who drank 70 ounces or less.

So there’s your first reason to drink more water if your goal is to lose weight.

And don’t worry. Your body will get used to it. For the first few days when you increase your water intake I will admit you’ll spend more time in the washroom. Interesting thing is your body gets used to it. Then your body begins to crave water and might even begin to prefer water to other drinks; like mine does.

Some folks ask me. “Can I count my coffee as part of my water intake?” My answer is technically, yes, but it’s actually a bit counter-productive. Most folks realize that caffeine dehydrates you so it’s not good to count it as part of your 100 ounces. I do 100 ounces of water no matter what else I drink, and the other stuff just becomes bonus. Make sense?

The old adage is drink eight glasses of water per day. That’s old news now. There is a rule of thumb you can use to determine the minimum amount of water you should drink in a day. It’s the newest science. Drink a half ounce of water per day for each pound you weigh. Clock in at that amount and your body will stay hydrated. So if you are a 230 pound person that’s 115 ounces of water. Just take your weight and divide by two. Easy math.

Now, why do you want your body that hydrated? My first reason is weight loss. My second reason is pain management.

If you are one of the millions of Americans who walks around in pain, listen up. Water can help with pain management.

So let’s say you drive long distances and your back hurts. Keeping your body hydrated will help decrease the pain. And caffeinated soda (even diet soda) is not helping. Water will help though. The discs in your back are filled with fluid. That fluid comes most easily from the water you drink. You drink anything else and your liver has to work hard to filter it first. Not efficient.

If you want your discs to have less degeneration and just plain last longer, drink more water.

Discs also have a tendency to deplete during the day. They shrink. That’s why when you drive a long distance your back begins to hurt more as the day progresses. Then your body replenishes the fluids in the discs while you are sleeping. So get good sleep too. The same applies for people who stand a lot, walk a lot or just plain work a lot.

New subject: Let’s say you have a sports injury or arthritis in some of your joints. Whenever you have a muscle or joint area that you are babying because of the pain, you notice it gets stiff. That’s 'cuz you are not using it. But it’s also because you have inflammation in that area and toxins begin to settle in that spot (or spots). Those toxins begin to crystalize and clog up the circulation in that area. We know we need circulation to heal. Water will flush the toxins and allow your body more freedom of movement, less pain and faster healing.

So there are three more reasons to drink your water.

I’ve been at work for two hours. I’ve already consumed about 40 ounces of water. So that excuse about typing a lot is no excuse not to drink water. That pitcher of ice water sits right next to my left hand. Every time I stop typing (even just to gather my thoughts), I drink more water. It only takes one hand. So even if you are driving you can have a bottle of water at the ready. No excuses.

Bottoms up.

Valentine’s Day is this week. Chocolate is considered an aphrodisiac. Here’s a chocolate recipe you can impress your honey with. This is gourmet but pretty easy to make. Downright decadent. Skip the cookies and eat desserts like this one and you can maintain your weight without the guilt.

Chocolate Liqueur Pots de Crème

Serves 6. Can be doubled easily.

This is a French dessert. When I made it the other night one diner declared it “Birthday Cake Good”. Which means...who needs birthday cake when you can eat this kind of Big YUM stuff!

This can be made in using several flavors of liqueur to go to along with the chocolate. Chocolate-raspberry, chocolate-orange, etc.

Ingredients:

7 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, chopped into bits (Get 70 percent cacao)
1-3/4 cups of whipping cream
4 packets of Truvia (4 tsp)
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup of liqueur. Choose anything from a cream liqueur like Baileys or even raspberry (Chambord) or orange (Grand Marnier) etc.
1 tsp of organic vanilla
6 large egg yolks

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Take out a 9-by-13-inch ovenproof pan and lay a kitchen towel, folded, inside. This will help keep your ramekins stable.

Heat water in a double boiler until it begins to boil. Put the chocolate in the top and begin to melt it. Stir. When melted, take off heat but keep it from getting hard again.

While chocolate is melting: In a small sauce pan, add the cream, truvia, salt. Stir. Then bring that just to the boiling point. Don’t let it boil over. It’s hot enough when the bubbles form along the outside edge of the pan. Take it off heat and add your liqueur and vanilla. Stir.

In a medium bowl add the egg yolks and stir with a whisk to mix them well.

Slowly add the cream mixture to the melted chocolate. Stir continually with a whisk until it’s all incorporate and your mixture is smooth and creamy.

Then VERY slowly add the creamy chocolate mixture to the eggs. You have to do this VERY slowly. Just add a bit at a time and then mix it. If you put in too much too fast you’ll shock the egg yolks and they will “cook” leaving you with lumpy, scrambled eggs. So go slowly.

When it’s all mixed you’re ready to load your ramekins. Put your ramekins in the 9-by-13-inch pan on top of the towel. The towel stabilizes them. Turn on the hot water on your tap. Let it run to get it very hot.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the ramekins so they almost fill. (My ramekins are about a half cup size. I used to have pot de crème pots. You can use those too).

Then put some hot water in a container that you can pour from. Slowly pour hot water around the ramekins so it soaks the towel and goes up about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil so the tops of the chocolate mixture stay moist while baking.

NOW CAREFULLY TRANSFER the pan to the oven. Put on middle rack and bake approximately 25 to 30 minutes. Make sure you are keeping the pan level so you don’t get burned by hot water sloshing around as you transfer it in and out of the oven. And keep the water out of the chocolate mixture or they won’t bake properly. They will be slightly jiggly when finished but not totally firm and not soupy (lift the aluminum foil lid to check them).

When baked, carefully remove the ramekins from the water and let cool at room temperature for 15 minutes. I use oven gloves and a tong or a spatula to lift them. You can then transfer them to the refrigerator to chill. If you are going to serve them much later, after cooling, cover them with plastic wrap to keep the tops moist.

Garnish with fruit if you like or serve plain.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola