Water and weight loss

lovelyclaire86

Does anyone else struggle drinking water? I’ve managed to cut back on junk food, cut out all full fat fizzy drinks (which I would normally drink by the gallon) I normally manage to drink 2 - 3 litres per day at the start of my journey then by 3 weeks in I struggle to keep it up. It just becomes a chore. I still drink glasses of no added sugar diluting juice day to day but as far as filling up my water bottle and making sure I finish it, it doesn’t happen.

Do you notice keeping up with water intake helps your weight loss journey?

tinkerbellang83

lovelyclaire86 wrote: »

Does anyone else struggle drinking water? I’ve managed to cut back on junk food, cut out all full fat fizzy drinks (which I would normally drink by the gallon) I normally manage to drink 2 - 3 litres per day at the start of my journey then by 3 weeks in I struggle to keep it up. It just becomes a chore. I still drink glasses of no added sugar diluting juice day to day but as far as filling up my water bottle and making sure I finish it, it doesn’t happen.

Do you notice keeping up with water intake helps your weight loss journey?

Water is for hydration, you don't necessarily need to drink 2-3 litres, just enough fluid (that can be water/tea/coffee/juice/soda) so that your urine is the correct colour - a light yellow/straw colour.

Water can be helpful in weight loss but not directly, it is zero calorie so obviously if you're replacing something with calories for water, you're reducing your calorie intake, probably with little difference to your hunger.

It can help flush out water retention after high sodium meals, but this shouldn't be confused with fat loss.

Thirst can often present itself as hunger, so drinking fluids can sometimes stop some people from snacking as much between meals.

kimny72

There really isn't a specific amount of water you need to drink. As long as your pee is light colored, you're properly hydrated. Your diluted juice, diet soda, soups, fruits, veggies, etc all provide water too.

Some days I drink a lot of water, others I just drink coffee, tea, and diet soda. Replacing calorie drinks with water or other no-cal drinks can help hit your calorie goal, but don't make yourself crazy trying to hit some magic number of ounces of water, it's not worth it :drinker:

MichelleSilverleaf

Keep up my water keeps the pipes moving so to speak, but that has minimal affect on my weight loss. The diluted juice you're drinking is still contributing to your hydration though. I have a water bottle that holds roughly 4 cups of water and I just aim to get at least one of those in per day. Using water flavouring helps.

RelCanonical

kimny72 wrote: »

There really isn't a specific amount of water you need to drink. As long as your pee is light colored, you're properly hydrated. Your diluted juice, diet soda, soups, fruits, veggies, etc all provide water too.

Some days I drink a lot of water, others I just drink coffee, tea, and diet soda. Replacing calorie drinks with water or other no-cal drinks can help hit your calorie goal, but don't make yourself crazy trying to hit some magic number of ounces of water, it's not worth it :drinker:

Yup! Just check your pee. Here's an example chart (keeping in mind that medication can affect the color of your urine, this is a general guideline):

lovelyclaire86

Thanks folks. That’s put my mind at rest. I just keep thinking ‘ahh! I need to drink more water’ ‘I won’t lose as much if I’m not drinking water’ but it really is a struggle and so far nothing’s been forced or enjoyable while calorie counting so don’t want to start now.

The frequent trips to the bathroom when I’m drinking loads of water is off putting too. No one wants to go to the toilet every 15 minutes 🙈 x

TrishSeren

I've never drunk 2-3 litres of water in a day in my entire life. I'm lucky if I even drink 1 litre.

However 10 litres of tea a day is easy.

earlnabby

lovelyclaire86 wrote: »

Thanks folks. That’s put my mind at rest. I just keep thinking ‘ahh! I need to drink more water’ ‘I won’t lose as much if I’m not drinking water’ but it really is a struggle and so far nothing’s been forced or enjoyable while calorie counting so don’t want to start now.

The frequent trips to the bathroom when I’m drinking loads of water is off putting too. No one wants to go to the toilet every 15 minutes 🙈 x

You will settle in to the right amount for you. I do drink a lot of water but I always have. To me the hand to mouth action is satisfying and I would probably smoke or snack more if I didn't always have a beverage by my side. Over the course of a day, I probably drink 2 liters above my coffee/tea/cocoa/ etc. I do try to keep one liter plain (but fizzy via my sodastream) and one liter flavored which could be soda or Mio or something else.

lovelyclaire86

2 litres of tea is right up my street! I’m not going to put any pressure on myself to be drinking so much. As long as I’m not drinking Coca Cola as much as I was, I’m happy x

jlynnm70

Also - if you take supplements/vitamins - be aware of how that changes the color of your pee. I drink plenty of water - more than 60 oz most days....but after I take my vitamin...you'd think I was dehydrated......But if I skip it a day....it's almost clear.... so I know it's the vitamins...

cwolfman13

Water doesn't have anything to do with losing weight. Not all health matters are about losing weight. Staying hydrated is healthy and good for you, but has nothing to do with losing weight.

mndamon

I struggled switching from drinking a ridiculous amount of Diet Coke over to water. It's still a work in progress but I'm at about 100 ounces of water a day. I just keep a 24oz cup of it at my desk all day and can typically get in 3 or 4 fills. Then with that on top of my pre workout, etc I wind up with close to a gallon total for the day.

But definitely don't feel alone on the struggle to try and drink more.

Chrismadison100

I went to a weight loss clinic and they advised me to drink a glass of water before every meal. It helps to curb my appetite so I do not want to eat as much. Once again, I run into the same problem as well where I do not drink as much water as they recommend.

lovelyclaire86

Yeah sometimes my other half will get home from work and remind me I’ve not dunk any all day! I really wish in my teens I’d binned the fizzy drinks for water and maybe now I’d manage to drink more. X