5 Things you Did Not Know About Drinking Water and Weight Loss
We are all told to drink plenty of water – at least 8 glasses a day! But that is about where our knowledge ends.
We all know that are survival depends on drinking enough liquid, but many of us don’t like drinking water, and don’t drink enough of it. We would much rather have something with sugar or caffeine in it – both of which actually dehydrate rather than hydrate us. For instance – if you drink a cup of coffee, when you go to the bathroom, you will actually pass more liquid than you just consumed.
So, here are 5 good reasons why we should all drink more water and how it can help with weight loss:
1) Water suppresses the appetite.
Have you ever started to feel hungry and reached for a snack? Your body was asking for something and you presumed it must be food. But it may have just been thirst. Next time grab a glass of water and see if this helps, you may just be dehydrated.
Water will also help metabolise stored fats. Studies have shown that a decrease in water will cause fat deposits to increase. An increase in water can reduce this.
Your kidneys function at there best when given enough fluid. If they do not function properly they will dump some of their load onto the liver. One of the functions of the liver is to metabolise stored fat into energy for the body. But if the liver is having to do some of the kidneys work it is not working as it should, so metabolism of fat is slowed down and this can cause weight loss to stop.
2) An increase in water can help fluid retention.
When the body does not receive enough water it will perceive this as a threat to survival. So every drop of liquid that you provide, it will hang onto. Water is stored outside the cells and this will show up in swollen hands and feet. A water retention pill may help, but this only provides a short term solution. As this forces water out of the body, it will also take some nutrients with it. The body will still perceive this as a threat to survival and the next time you drink something, the body will store it.
The best way to combat this is to drink more water. The body will know that there is an endless supply so will stop hanging on to every drop. You may find that if you have a high sodium diet you will also suffer from water retention. Again, drink more water. This will help flush the sodium through your kidneys and keep things working properly.
3) Big versus small
An overweight person will need more water than a thin one. An overweight person has a bigger metabolic load. As we learned above, water can help metabolise fat. More water is needed to help the kidneys and liver to function optimally. On average for every 25lbs overweight, an extra glass of water is needed.
4) Muscle Tone
By preventing dehydration, water will help muscle tone by giving them the natural ability to contract. Water can also help against sagging skin in weight loss. Shrunken cells are buoyed by water and this will help the skin plump, and leave it clear and healthy.
5) Waste
When we lose weight we have a lot more metabolised fat to get rid of. Drinking more water will help flush this waste out of the body. Water can also help constipation as well. The body siphons what it needs from internal recourses, this includes the colon. If there is not enough liquid in the body, this can cause constipation. The cure? You’ve guessed it – drink more water!
So how much water should we drink?
Saying 8 glasses is fair enough, but how big (or small) are the glasses? We should be consuming around 1.5 litres a day. This sounds a lot when you are not used to drinking that much, and yes to begin with it is difficult and you have to drink when you are not thirsty. But after a few days, you will pass the ‘breakthrough’ period and will begin to get your natural thirst back. You will be surprised, in the end, how easy you will find drinking 1.5 litres actually is.
One trick I found helped me when I started, was to measure out 1.5 litres in a jug. Then find a medium sized glass and measure out how many glasses it would be. You may find that it is only 4 glasses and this seems pretty manageable to drink in a day. If you pick a glass that is to small, you may find yourself having to drink 8-10 glasses of water. It is all about tricking the mind and making it seem less than it really is.
If you stop drinking enough water your body will be thrown out of balance. You may experience weight gain, fluid retention and loss of thirst.
Tags: Diet, Water, weight loss
October 25th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Your weight loss plan is pretty healthy, so no lectures on my end. Though, i would recommend at least 1000 calories a day. To lose weight you need a net worth of 500 less calories a day.
With the plan you have posted, i would say 1-2 pounds a week. ***Any more than 2 pounds per week would be unhealthy and the effects probably wouldn't last long term.
October 25th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Sounds to me like you have done your research and that sounds like an aggressive yet sensible way to lose weight. As for if you are or are not going to lose 10 or 15lbs in a certain amount of time, well, that's not possible to say
I would suggest you aim to lower your percentage fat rather than your weight as it will give you a better indication of how well your regime is working. You are not substantially overweight enough to be able to measure by weight. Go for it! I get the feeling you will achieve your goals!
October 27th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Ok I'm going to answer your question but there is a lot you need to know first. I'm not judging or trying to be negative here but I'm afraid you don't have enough information and I would like to fill in those gaps so you can move on and start losing weight.
First let me define calories so you get the idea what they are then we can move on. I promise I'll answer your questions after this short explanation.
The body needs energy to function. That energy comes from what we consume(eat) in foods and drinks. That energy is measured in a unit called "calories". You might have learned in high school physics that energy is measured in "joules" and calorie is basically the same thing.
Now when you consume more calories than your body can expend(burn) in a day those excess calories usually end up causing weight gain. – This is called being in a "caloric surplus"
What about adipose tissue(fat tissue)? Well fat is "stored energy" in the body. When the body needs energy and there is no food present it will take those calories from fat. One pound of fat has about 3,500 calories.
Now when one is dieting to loss weight they will have to create a "caloric deficit" and force their body to resort to burning fat for energy. This is done when the body can't get enough calories from food so it goes to body fat usually for this fuel.
So that is how dieting works. – If you want more on fat cells you can check this answer here http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ak45sEoNGXo.eHDIHbUfQRDty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20100204054853AAvOEzP&show=7#profile-info-jPxX29ZBaa It contains some typos cause I was tired and it was 2am when I wrote it. But hey! I still got best answer lol
Anyways to answer your questions
1)Do you really need 8 glasses of water a day? – Drinking water can help cause what is called "satiety" which is the feeling of being full and can aid in weight loss in this area. There was a study a while back that said also a small TEF(thermal energy of food) effect by drinking cold water but it doesn't amount to much. Besides consuming too much water can throw off mineral balances and cause other issues in the body.
2)Is adding Chystal Light cheating? Short answer = No. You are still getting water. Long Answer = The Crystal Light I have here contains 5 calories so that means it can mess up your diet if you can possible consume a ton it. Quite frankly 5 calories is hard screw up a calorie deficit when calories allowance is at 1,500+ calories.
3) There is nothing wrong with your personality and you will get results like this. But please one failure(say eating a pizza) doesn't amount to much in the big scheme of things. If you are are in deficit of 500 calories a day and you screw up and eat a piece of pizza that is only 200 calories then you really didn't mess up your caloric deficit. Cause 500-200 = 300. So you still have a 300 deficit. It's when you feel guilty and eat the whole box of pizza that you rack up calories. People seem to eat out of guilt and this is what I want to make sure you watch out for and not do the same.
4)If I didn't change my eating habits would I get results? Unless you increase your energy expenditure in physical activity and burn off those calories that you are eating you can't expect results. You gained weight by eating so much over time and one calorie after the other added up. If you go back to Your old eating habits you can expect a repeat the cycle. So really you will have to change both activity and eating habits.
The good news is healthy food becomes easy after you break your addiction to sweats and when your body become less reliant on carbohydrates and high fat foods.
5) How much an I expect to lose? – Please see my other answer for this question – http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtWI8oP4UI.7N8_IdmCMTKzty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20100225003158AAaY49Q&show=7#profile-info-et1mizeUaa
6) My worst area is my stomach – Please understand that spot reduction doesn't work(please see my post on fat cells I linked first). Also working once muscle without working the opposite(antagonist) will cause muscle imbalances. So doing a million setups will probably create a pulling on the lower back and result in lower back pain. Muscles need to be balanced
It's very good that you are trying to lose weight. If you want any help in your process than send me a email and I'll try to help.
Take care and good luck.