Why Drinking Water Is Important for Weight Loss

ElPumaMex

Here is a very interesting article, on why it is VERY important for weight loss:

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_water.php

Some excerpts from it:

•Initial weight loss is largely due to loss of water, and you need to drink an adequate amount of water in order to avoid dehydration

•The process of burning calories requires an adequate supply of water in order to function efficiently; dehydration slows down the fat-burning process.

•Burning calories creates toxins (think of the exhaust coming out of your car), and water plays a vital role in flushing them out of your body.

How Much Water Should I Drink?: nature's pretty good at letting you know the right amount to drink. When you drink enough water, your urine will usually be pale yellow

Diuretics include caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea and soda) and alcohol. When drinking diuretics, drink more water to compensate.

Chuck1223

Thanks for the info. :drinker:

sasgal

cheers for the info!!!

eddyca

Thanks for the reminder! I always need encouragement when it comes to drinking water. Drinking the recommended 8 glasses is hard! I carry a 1 litre bottle with me around all the time and try to drink 2 litres a day

savage22hp

I have always heard that drinking water in sufficient quantities was necessary for weight loss and had guessed at part of this but you have stated the facts very well. Thanks.

ElPumaMex

I am glad you all liked the article !

I started investigating the role of water in a diet, from the perspective of eliminating excess sodium, which is a large concern for me.

I am still looking for research on that subject, but now I realize that I need to drink enough water for a successful diet !

HMonsterX

Don't forget that neat water is not the only way to get water in your body!

You need the equivalent of 8 cups of water a day on average, from any source. These sources can be pure water/tea/coffee/juice/soda/milk/fruit/veg etc. It does NOT have to be pure neat water!

http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/wellness-water-8x8-myth.html

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/12/08/the-myth-behind-drinking-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/


As for coffee being a diuretic, so many people just spout that word as a reason, without actually understanding what "diuretic" means.

di·u·ret·ic (d-rtk)
adj.
Tending to increase the discharge of urine.
n.
A substance or drug that tends to increase the discharge of urine.

Neat water is also a diuretic. The diuretic effect of caffeine is far, far outweighed by the actual water in the tea/coffee. Also, regular consumers of caffeinated beverages will build up a tolerance to said effect, eventually reaching the point where caffeinated drinks provide practically the same amount of hydration as a cup of neat water will.


http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated-say-what

http://worldofcaffeine.com/2011/06/14/caffeine-does-not-dehydrate/

http://advance.uconn.edu/2002/020722/02072207.htm

http://nomoredirtylooks.com/2011/04/surprise-caffeinated-tea-does-not-dehydrate-you/

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/nutrition/04real.html

http://www.sharecare.com/question/does-caffeine-dehydrate-not

http://www.artofdrink.com/2009/12/caffeine-in-coffee-does-not-increase-dehydration-during-hangovers.php

http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/nutrition/questions/do-caffeinated-beverages-cause-dehydration.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5552790&page=1#.TrQWc0O5_oo


I never drink, nor ever have drunk, pure water. It's simply not required if you get your water from other sources.

FredAstair

I am glad you all liked the article !

I started investigating the role of water in a diet, from the perspective of eliminating excess sodium, which is a large concern for me.

I am still looking for research on that subject, but now I realize that I need to drink enough water for a successful diet !

Actually, to add REAL SCIENCE to the equation, the 8 glasses/day of water has actually been misrepresented over time. The myth of 8 glasses/day comes from a study that gave us the "2000cal/day" concept (which is still legit). From this study it was concluded that if you consume 2000cal/day your body also required 2000cc of H2O/day. Now this didn't actually mean DRINK 2000ml/day. In fact most foods we consume in a day contain approx 50% fluids (eg: fruits), there for in reality 500ml/day is sufficient.

Now on saying that, I have to disagree a bit for us weight losers.... Because we have seen a resurgence in these ridiculous JUICE BARS, we have added to our overall weightgain epidemic (short term memory loss that these were debunked in the 70s as a waste). No one needs these.... Sure theyre packed with nutrients, minerals, etc... but packed with calories.... So anyone lossing weight try to limit these to 1/4 of one of those ridiculously sized buckets they sell you at juice bars....

The paradoix with cutting out overcaloric foods such as these juices, we general don't feel as full anymore. So for most people who are overweight, it's not due to eating like a healthy person, but choice of incorrect foods from areas such as: yummy; tasty; economic; socialising (dining out); naughty effective marketing; lasiness; time contraints; boredom fillers, and mood foods.

So to correct the majority of the aboce is to follow a diet, and yes... DRINK LOTS OF WATER.... The more you feel saited the less likely you will be effected by the above causes. I know this still doesn't help the economic issue of poor food choices, but think of it this way..... The fitter and less overweight you are the less calories you need, ergo a reduction in calories= reduction in food= reduction in spending. While your out exercising you not burning power watching TV, on a computer, etc.... which will also increase you economic status to choose healthier foods.

So please, when you hear of the myth of 8 glasses of water a day, it has it's place in dieting, but just make sure your not 1) increasing your intake to quickly (ending in eccess diuresis), and the more water you consume the less food you can fit in your gut!

ElPumaMex

Don't forget that neat water is not the only way to get water in your body!
.....

Neat water is also a diuretic. The diuretic effect of caffeine is far, far outweighed by the actual water in the tea/coffee. Also, regular consumers of caffeinated beverages will build up a tolerance to said effect, eventually reaching the point where caffeinated drinks provide practically the same amount of hydration as a cup of neat water will.
...

I never drink, nor ever have drunk, pure water. It's simply not required if you get your water from other sources.

@HMonsterX:

I replaced with "...." some of your text, to leave the sections where I would like to comment:

1) Of course we all know that directly drinking water is not the only way of ingesting water, to be hydrated.
The point of the article is to drink excess water during dieting, to facilitate the elimination of the waste caused by the reduction in weight.
If you were to try to do this via food instead of water, you would be forced to consume food with a high water content (water melon, etc)
Much more practical to simply drink water !

2) I am not sure where you get the figure that the diuretic effect of caffeine is "far outweighed" by the amount of water in the coffee.
By experience, I can tell you that if I drink several cups of coffee, the resulting urine a short time later is not anywhere a clear color. Meaning that the body is not obtaining enough water to properly process all of the chemicals in the coffee.

3) It seems a bit extreme to state that you have never drinked pure water, almost as if there something wrong with drinking water?
Drinking pure water, besides being delicious, is an easy way for your body to clean itself. Forcing oneself to eat food in enough quantity to do the same is simply inefficient, and may actually lead to other problems, if drinking such things as Coffee.

SIGP229

2) I am not sure where you get the figure that the diuretic effect of caffeine is "far outweighed" by the amount of water in the coffee.

Ya know those thinks that you cut from his text? Those are called "references".

Perhaps if you had bothered to read them you would understand where he got the idea

HMonsterX

Don't forget that neat water is not the only way to get water in your body!
.....

Neat water is also a diuretic. The diuretic effect of caffeine is far, far outweighed by the actual water in the tea/coffee. Also, regular consumers of caffeinated beverages will build up a tolerance to said effect, eventually reaching the point where caffeinated drinks provide practically the same amount of hydration as a cup of neat water will.
...

I never drink, nor ever have drunk, pure water. It's simply not required if you get your water from other sources.

@HMonsterX:

I replaced with "...." some of your text, to leave the sections where I would like to comment:

1) Of course we all know that directly drinking water is not the only way of ingesting water, to be hydrated.
The point of the article is to drink excess water during dieting, to facilitate the elimination of the waste caused by the reduction in weight.
If you were to try to do this via food instead of water, you would be forced to consume food with a high water content (water melon, etc)
Much more practical to simply drink water !

2) I am not sure where you get the figure that the diuretic effect of caffeine is "far outweighed" by the amount of water in the coffee.
By experience, I can tell you that if I drink several cups of coffee, the resulting urine a short time later is not anywhere a clear color. Meaning that the body is not obtaining enough water to properly process all of the chemicals in the coffee.

3) It seems a bit extreme to state that you have never drinked pure water, almost as if there something wrong with drinking water?
Drinking pure water, besides being delicious, is an easy way for your body to clean itself. Forcing oneself to eat food in enough quantity to do the same is simply inefficient, and may actually lead to other problems, if drinking such things as Coffee.

1) Sadly "we all know" is not true. I've seen many, many threads where people are forcing themselves to drink they 8 a day of pure water, thinking they are missing out if they don't. People saying that water with anything in doesn't count towards it.

2) I get it from several studies into the subject, and it has been proven. People buy into the myth that caffeine really does dehydrate you, to the point where they say for every coffee you have you have to drink an extra glass of water! If that were the case I'd be dead by now from dehydration.

3) I have never drunk pure water for the purpose of hydration. You say it's delicious, that's your opinion. To me it's horrible, bland, and totally unnecessary. Your body is amazing at cleaning itself anyway, and in most cases doesn't need any help.

My point was to let those new people know that the 8x8 is a total myth, coming from a misrepresented article years ago. If you like drinking water, then there's nothing wrong with drinking lots of it ofc! But don't force yourself to drink it under the false premise that it is some kind of weight loss magic fluid. If you see improvements when drinking it then you are either under a placebo effect or you weren't properly hydrated before.

MissObstinatiox

From my research on the matter my belief is that. You do lose more weight drinking water and the reason for this is if you don,t your body holds onto water weight as your body,s unsure when it will receive more water.
As you drink more water your body adapts to realizing that it wont go into dehydration as your regularly topping up your body with water.Therefore you then get rid of the water weight your bodys has been storing.

kardowling

Flavored Seltza water is great..Plus, when you drink lots of water you really rack up the miles walking to the bathroom I know I do!