Water - Do you think it affects your weight loss?

Joeyje3

I was just wondering how much water everyone drinks?

And for those people who lost weight, is it a big factor contributing to your weight loss, do you think?

I've just been doing MFP since the beginning of May and been having a slow process. Dow 3.8 lbs. But a loss is a loss. I've actually have gotten used to drinking about 7-8 (8oz) glasses of water a day. I think it's helping. What do you all think?

UponThisRock

I I <----this much

neanderthin

Water consumption can acutely reduce energy intake. Basically consuming a few cups of water just before eating can result in less food consumption, which means your just consuming fewer calories that you've allowed yourself.

secretlobster

No, not really. That doesn't mean it isn't essential, or that it doesn't affect digestion or the way your body feels and functions. It just doesn't directly relate to weight loss. Water consumption and retention DOES have an effect on the number the scale says from day to day, but that's completely separate from losing mass on your body.

I drink a decent amount of water (probably the equivalent of 4-6 bottles) and I have never found the amount of water I drink to have an effect on the amount of weight I lose.

gtamomof2

I just wrote a blog post on this the other day! I do think it has an impact. When I'm drinking lots of water, I find I'm not hungry as much. Plus, I'm not thirsty so I'm not reaching for alternate drinks that are high in Sugar and Calories!!!

When I'm drinking less water I eat more and feel tired. It may be mind over matter, but either way, it's healthier and thats what its all about!

sapalee

It greatly effects the intensity at which I can exercise.

No more heat strokes, I can sweat now, yay!

OccupyFitness

I think drinking water makes me more effective in my food management and in my exercise and in my overall feelings of health and well being.

That being said, I struggle to meet my daily water intake minimums. If I get my 64 oz in there, I do feel way better then if I don't. It is just hard for me to get there.

ATT949

As some posters have mentioned, water plays a part in weight loss. I've only ever found one site* that bothers to explain why they urge you to drink 8 glasses of water a day. The others just pass it along.

To a properly hydrated individual, there's no value in drinking 8x8. That's the result of a serious study by a Princeton professor who's an MD and who wrote "the" textbook on how the kidneys function. he and a research assistant scoured medical literature for evidence backing up 8x8 and couldn't find any.

He wrote about that here:

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2002/aug/080802.html

http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/283/5/R993.full


Even Snopes gets into it here:

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


OK, that all makes sense but why do diet sites recommend that we drink 8x8?

Because it helps you lose weight!

How's that?

There's nothing particularly magical about H2O, in that respect. You could substitute any digestible liquid and, for this purpose, it doesn't matter what you drink. The issue with drinking something before you eat is that it fills up your stomach. Nothing magic - just think of it as a temporary lap band that you can drink.

And it has the same problems as a lap band because all you're doing is masking the reason why we got obese in the first place - we ate (and drank) too much.

Understand that you will pee it all out. Folks will swear that it removes wrinkles and clears up their skin — whatever floats your boat, as I see it, but there's one problem with that. You body doesn't work that way. We can't use our mind to control how much water we retain ("I'd like just enough to get rid of the crow's feet, please.") Our body is, at its core, a homeostat which means it will seek a balance. Sure you can glug down as much water as you want but the body will excrete it based on what it wants, not what you want, so drinking lots of water just pushes up your weight, makes your kidneys work harder, and gives you more quality time in the bathroom.

OK, back to work. I'm done being Mr Cheerful! :-)


*The Mayo Clinic

leslisa

Not entirely certain I agree with ATT949 about being able to drink any digestable fluid. Truthfully, I do see to lose more weight when it's water and green tea I drink each day (and if it's psychological, don't care, so long as it works) as opposed to other liquids. I also seem to have a lot more energy.