Does drinking a lot of water really help?

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  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,948 Member
    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    It actually does have to do with weight loss. The body requires water to break down fat and for metabolism (aka burning calories). But past a certain amount, more water has no effect.
    Explain how the body needs water to break down fat.

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    Some of the chemical reactions involved in metabolism are hydrolysis reactions - which means they require water as a reactant. Conveniently, the body is more than 80% water and has no trouble finding the water it needs to do this. So, it's true but not relevant.
    True, but not in the case of lipolysis. Water is essential for metabolic function, but in terms of breaking fat down, it's NOT part of the process.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    40 ounces of water a day will help keep annoying water retention away. You have to be obsessive about daily weight for that to matter.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited January 2017
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    It actually does have to do with weight loss. The body requires water to break down fat and for metabolism (aka burning calories). But past a certain amount, more water has no effect.
    Explain how the body needs water to break down fat.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    Some of the chemical reactions involved in metabolism are hydrolysis reactions - which means they require water as a reactant. Conveniently, the body is more than 80% water and has no trouble finding the water it needs to do this. So, it's true but not relevant.
    True, but not in the case of lipolysis. Water is essential for metabolic function, but in terms of breaking fat down, it's NOT part of the process.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png


    That doesn't sound right to me. I hate to use Wikipedia as a source, but a very quick search lists lipolysis as the hydrolysis of a triglyceride - which is consistent with my memory.* Triglycerides have a glycerol backbone with three fatty acid chains attached. To break off a fatty acid chain, you have to hydrolyze the ester which connects the fatty acid chain to the glycerol. So, unless it's a transesterification reaction (in which case, they shouldn't be calling it a hydrolysis)...

    *My biochemistry is bit rusty but my organic chemistry is very current.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    Found a "real" scientific article whose abstract confirms lipolysis as a hydrolytic reaction: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3031774/ Given that research has moved way past the point of "what chemical reaction is involved", it's hard to find an article that actually shows the reactions.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,948 Member
    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Noreenmarie1234 wrote: »
    It actually does have to do with weight loss. The body requires water to break down fat and for metabolism (aka burning calories). But past a certain amount, more water has no effect.
    Explain how the body needs water to break down fat.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    Some of the chemical reactions involved in metabolism are hydrolysis reactions - which means they require water as a reactant. Conveniently, the body is more than 80% water and has no trouble finding the water it needs to do this. So, it's true but not relevant.
    True, but not in the case of lipolysis. Water is essential for metabolic function, but in terms of breaking fat down, it's NOT part of the process.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png


    That doesn't sound right to me. I hate to use Wikipedia as a source, but a very quick search lists lipolysis as the hydrolysis of a triglyceride - which is consistent with my memory.* Triglycerides have a glycerol backbone with three fatty acid chains attached. To break off a fatty acid chain, you have to hydrolyze the ester which connects the fatty acid chain to the glycerol. So, unless it's a transesterification reaction (in which case, they shouldn't be calling it a hydrolysis)...

    *My biochemistry is bit rusty but my organic chemistry is very current.
    I have to defer here. I focused more on the hormones needed to promote lypolysis and forgot that hydrolysis IS part of the process. I can admit when I'm wrong. Good catch and thanks.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png
  • mom22dogs
    mom22dogs Posts: 470 Member
    I drink about 80-100 oz of fluids a day. I am disabled and have chronic bladder infections due to catheterizing, so I need to keep fluids moving so I don't get a kidney infection. I have not noticed any less hunger, better skin, or anything. But once you get used to drinking that much, you want to drink all the time and you body gets used to it. I pee about every 3-4 hours for the most part.
  • SierraFatToSkinny
    SierraFatToSkinny Posts: 463 Member
    I don't know about weight loss, but I've been trying to drink a gallon of water a day for about 10 days and I've noticed a difference in my face. My under eyes are less sunken and tiny little wrinkles I get from sleeping on my side are gone.

    Now... might be just the natural fluctuation of my body since I also happen to be halfway between periods, but I've been agonizing over my under eyes for months and now they're improving.

    I'm sold!
  • DoneWorking
    DoneWorking Posts: 247 Member
    I don't get thirsty, but I pretty much have to drink a goodly amount of water each day. If I don't, I get some pretty severe muscle cramps mostly at night. I can actually feel it in my muscles like the cramps are just waiting for their chance to pounce at an inopportune time. Also, I find that if I drink about 16 oz. say 20 - 30 minutes before eating, I'm not as hungry at meal time.
  • SunnyDayzMomma
    SunnyDayzMomma Posts: 114 Member
    I know the science might say no, but it helps me. When I don't drink enough water, I feel cravings much more intensely, and I tend to reach for bad food choices more. So much so, that before I put my kids to bed, if I haven't drank enough, I'll drink a massive amount of water because the "the kids are sleeping and I've put the house back together" time of night is so bad for my desire to snack. If I drink enough water, like I'm talking a glass or two in the morning, same in the afternoon, a glass with supper, and then a glass before kids go to bed, all I want to eat in the evenings is raw veg. If I've forgotten to drink water, all I want to eat at night is chips and chocolate and cheese and buttered bread. So although scientifically water doesn't make you lose weight, it's a key player in my success and my support system.

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