Drink Water to Lose Weight

“Drink eight glasses of water every day!” We hear this every time, but what weight loss
benefits do we get from drinking water?

All functions taking place in the body needs the presence of water. A well hydrated body allows these functions to take place quickly and efficiently. All chemical processes involve energy metabolism and drinking plenty of water will increase your metabolic rate and will make you feel more energetic.

To stay sufficiently hydrated you should drink about 96 ounces of water every day. For weight loss, you should drink extra 8 ounces of water for every twenty-five pounds you are over your perfect body weight.

In addition to that water consumption should also be increased in hot climates or during vigorous exercise. Following are the benefits of drinking water:

1. Improves hormone function.
2. Boosts metabolic function.
3. Drastically reduces appetite.
4. Increases fat which is used for energy.
5. Improves liver function.
6. Decreases fluid retention.
7. Increases natural thirst.

• Water improves your metabolism function and burn calories 3% faster.

Drinking water is essentially required if you are trying to lose weight. Some studies have revealed that hunger and thirst sensations are triggered together. If there is even a minor dehydration the thirst mechanism may be mistaken for hunger and one may start eating when the body is in reality craving for fluid. As most of the food comprises some water, if one doesn’t drink much water they may be subconsciously motivated to eat more to get the required water supply. However, you also put on the undesired effects of increased consumption of calories. Drinking more and more water can benefit in weight loss and can help to prevent overeating.

• Significance of drinking water in modern diet:

Many new food products manufactured today not only contain high amounts of energy from added fats and sugar but they also contain very little amount of water. Nowadays, foods need to be stored for longer duration and foods containing high water content are likely to get spoiled much faster. It is possible that you may stock your cupboards completely with all of these delicious foods that last for longer duration, but the problem is, they contain very less amount of water.

If a weight loss diet does not allow much food or if the food consumptions are largely in the form of processed food, it may be essential to drink additional water to help stop powerful cravings for food.

• How much water is required to drink to benefit losing weight?

For the normal person, it has been recommended by experts to drink at least 64 ounces of water every day or 8 ounce glasses. If you are on a diet to reduce weight it is essential that you consume more and keep drinking water for the entire day.

A good guide for every day intake is to drink 1-ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight. A two-hundred pound person is supposed to drink about 100 ounces i.e. 12.5 cups of water in order to gain the benefits of increased energy and metabolism.

If you are doing exercise for losing weight then more water should be included to avoid sweating which occurs due to water loss. Drinking water before, after and during the exercise will maintain energy levels high and helps in recovering faster after training.

There are many people who do not prefer to drink pure water. Gaining water by eating fruit which are high in water content is also considered to be the best way to increase water consumption without drinking it directly. Fruit will also help in filling up the stomach with low calories and increase tons of minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients to boost vitality.

In reality any food with high water content can increase water consumption, most foods high in water content are naturally occurring healthy foods, which is considered to be the another reason to eat a healthy diet.