does water really make a difference?

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  • mistypelayo
    mistypelayo Posts: 9
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    yes drinking cold water does boost metabolism but remember that when eating you should drink room temp water. Drinking cold water while consuming foods can slow digestion.
    :smile:
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    There have been many, many medical studies that show water consumption assists with weight loss. Currently, beverage companies are trying to promote the consumption of their products as "better" than water, but most of those beverages have sugar or caffeine or both.

    Basically, if you get your water from the tap, it costs next to nothing to add some extra into your daily routine. I have 24 oz. upon waking with my morning supplements. Then I drink about 4 cups of coffee, and have another 24 oz. of water with my breakfast. I have a plastic insulated cup with a straw that I use for water. I try to have six 24 oz. cups of water a day to stay hydrated. I like to add a little lemon or crystal light (I cut it in half with plain water) for flavor. I just keep my cup with me, and refill it as soon as I notice it is empty.

    I think the straw helps me a lot. I used to be a smoker, so habitually having the straw in my mouth is pretty easy.
  • tanyaslosingit
    tanyaslosingit Posts: 178 Member
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    I understand all of the positive reasons for drinking water based on what i have read (and what doctors say). I'm just wondering if anyone can speak from personal experience. Changes in your own body when drinking 8+ glasses, like greater weight loss or clearer skin or something like that?

    For me, it definitely aided in my weight loss campaign as I used water to replace every other thing I was drinking (juices, teas, sodas); helped kill a lot of hunger pangs (often I was really thirsty rather than hungry) and; yes, I had a bad case of cystic acne that has disappeared. It's hard to say whether it's because I'm drinking water or NOT drinking the other stuff (probably both); but I've become a big water drinker. No complaints or side effects whatsoever :-)
  • Coyla
    Coyla Posts: 444 Member
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    I like to drink plain old tap water, none of that fancy stuff.

    But I don't think there is any kind of miracle associated with drinking water, unless you're really dehydrated. It doesn't make me lose weight faster. It doesn't help me with water retention or make me feel fuller. I don't even think I can move objects just by using my mind yet, either.

    Still, most people need to drink more water.
  • HogSandwich
    HogSandwich Posts: 146 Member
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    So far, I haven't seen anyone cite any medical evidence to support that we all need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. I actually read in the book Bottlemania that the recommendation about the 8 glasses was started by water bottling companies trying to sell us more bottled water. Of course, we should stay well-hydrated, but most people get plenty of hydration in their food as well as from normal water intake. Let thirst be your guide.

    Thirst is actually the bodies last-ditch effort to get you to drink water. When you hit the thirsty stage, you're already substantially dehydrated :)
  • HogSandwich
    HogSandwich Posts: 146 Member
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    YES water is good for you. It's good for fatloss and overall health.

    I just have a question?

    Why do "most" white people doesn't like drinking water? I'm speaking based on experience here. I'm just wondering because it's water right? What's wrong with plain water, why do they always have to put some flavor or enhancers to it just to be able to drink it? Because from where I'm from (Asia) drinking water is like breathing, you don't have to ask on how or why you do it. It's an instinct to drink water. :D

    It's entirely possible that we just complain more.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    YES water is good for you. It's good for fatloss and overall health.

    I just have a question?

    Why do "most" white people doesn't like drinking water? I'm speaking based on experience here. I'm just wondering because it's water right? What's wrong with plain water, why do they always have to put some flavor or enhancers to it just to be able to drink it? Because from where I'm from (Asia) drinking water is like breathing, you don't have to ask on how or why you do it. It's an instinct to drink water. :D

    I think this comes from marketing and especially health food marketing techniques. It isn't whites that have issues with water consumption, it's Americans in general, especially 3rd generation or longer Americans. Americans have been adding flavors to their waters for over a hundred years. The Boston Tea Party was a really, really big deal when local tea merchants couldn't operate independently and sell local beverages to the colonists in the 1700's. It's just part of our culture to drink flavored beverages.
  • Tulipmelody
    Tulipmelody Posts: 7
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    I love water, I do. But, I cannot drink as much as I wished, especially if I am somewhere outside of home such as work, shopping, or even friends gatherings! Why? It makes me pee a lot....

    I think it is just the biological stuff that runs in my family that my sisters and i just cannot hold pee like others. For example, I will need to use the bathroom in thirty minutes after drinking water. I do not have to pee after drinking when I was dehydrated, but they say it is not healthy to drink water only when you are dehydrated. So, basically, God did not give us a water-friendly body...

    Therefore, I try not to drink water because it is very embarrassing to constantly go to bathrooms during a meeting or fighting a project, or being completely unfocused because of the pain of not going.

    Basically, I have no idea what to do.
  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
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    Once I started drinking more water my food intake got cut by almost half. I now drink a glass or two before a meal and drink another 2 glasses with the meal, it make me full a lot faster so I don't have to fill up on extra food.
  • apocalypsepwnie
    apocalypsepwnie Posts: 373
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    Your body will adjust over a few days or weeks to the peeing thing. TRUST ME!
    I've drunk 9 cups of water already this morning... and just finishing my 12th. I've gone 3 times.

    The scientific reason is this -
    Your kidneys need water to function correctly. You should be drinking an even amount over the day to keep it going nice. Think of it like a jug with a hole in the bottom, a jug can only hold so much before it spills over. So, if you are guzzling quickly it will over flow the jug/kidneys before it has a chance to pass through and will go straight into the bladder without being processed. We can't hold it in the blood so it goes away. However, you may have small periods where you are at risk of dehydration but if you are a good water drinker it's no worries.
    If your kidneys aren't working properly guess who takes up the slack... your liver.
    Do you know what the liver's main function is? To process fats.
    So if you aren't hydrated properly, your kidneys tap out to the liver. The liver can't do everything at once and will do the main things to keep you alive and stops processing fats.

    So in short, yes water does help in weightloss because it's like oil for the car. It craps pants without it.

    If you need to know how much water we need it's 33ml/kg of weight. However that can come from any source. Up it a little more if you are exercising, it's hot, you have caffeine or lots of sodium. The other method is that your pee should be clear at least twice a day. Colourless. You shouldn't get 'thirsty'.
    If your main reason for not drinking enough is cause you gotta pee or it tastes boring... that's not outweighing the health benefits.
  • vsetter
    vsetter Posts: 558 Member
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    Yes, water helps. I used to drink very little of anything... water, milk, soda, you name it. There are two big differences I've noticed since shooting to drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water per day...

    1) I started MFP in late June. I never used to be thirsty. Now that I regularly drink water, I actually feel thirsty. Perhaps I was identifying thirst as hunger before this change.

    2) If I eat out at all, water helps flush out all of the sodium in those foods. If I don't drink extra water after having meals out, than my body holds onto the sodium and the weight. But, if I make sure to drink more than the usual 8 glasses, than my normal weight loss isn't affected too much.


    I've noticed this too. Before, I would maybe drink 2-4 glasses of anything in a day and I would never feel thirsty. Now (well....I've been drinking my water for about 5 days now), I do get thirsty....and often. It's like my body telling me that it likes this water stuff and wants more :). Not sure why it didn't tell me that before :)
  • apocalypsepwnie
    apocalypsepwnie Posts: 373
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    Yes, water helps. I used to drink very little of anything... water, milk, soda, you name it. There are two big differences I've noticed since shooting to drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water per day...

    1) I started MFP in late June. I never used to be thirsty. Now that I regularly drink water, I actually feel thirsty. Perhaps I was identifying thirst as hunger before this change.

    2) If I eat out at all, water helps flush out all of the sodium in those foods. If I don't drink extra water after having meals out, than my body holds onto the sodium and the weight. But, if I make sure to drink more than the usual 8 glasses, than my normal weight loss isn't affected too much.


    I've noticed this too. Before, I would maybe drink 2-4 glasses of anything in a day and I would never feel thirsty. Now (well....I've been drinking my water for about 5 days now), I do get thirsty....and often. It's like my body telling me that it likes this water stuff and wants more :). Not sure why it didn't tell me that before :)

    I've noticed the same thing! I can actually tell the difference between hunger and thirst rather than it being 'put something in my mouth'
  • andyxbear
    andyxbear Posts: 269 Member
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    Yes, water helps. I used to drink very little of anything... water, milk, soda, you name it. There are two big differences I've noticed since shooting to drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water per day...

    1) I started MFP in late June. I never used to be thirsty. Now that I regularly drink water, I actually feel thirsty. Perhaps I was identifying thirst as hunger before this change.

    2) If I eat out at all, water helps flush out all of the sodium in those foods. If I don't drink extra water after having meals out, than my body holds onto the sodium and the weight. But, if I make sure to drink more than the usual 8 glasses, than my normal weight loss isn't affected too much.

    I've noticed the same things with my body and water.
  • MayaSPapaya
    MayaSPapaya Posts: 735 Member
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    It's important to keep your body hydrated, and it does help with metabolism/weight loss. Also, as a pro for me, I used to have pretty bad acne on my back. I started drinking a lot more water and now it's gone. Water makes for beautiful skin! :smile:
  • jgbenney
    jgbenney Posts: 1
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    Every day I use a Nalgene with a reusable straw. I find I am much more likely to drink it this way than from a glass or other bottle. Plus it is easy to track-fill it once in the morning and again during the day and you have your 8 cups!
  • laurasuzanne2006
    laurasuzanne2006 Posts: 103 Member
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    So far, I haven't seen anyone cite any medical evidence to support that we all need to drink 8 glasses of water a day. I actually read in the book Bottlemania that the recommendation about the 8 glasses was started by water bottling companies trying to sell us more bottled water. Of course, we should stay well-hydrated, but most people get plenty of hydration in their food as well as from normal water intake. Let thirst be your guide.

    Thirst is actually the bodies last-ditch effort to get you to drink water. When you hit the thirsty stage, you're already substantially dehydrated :)
    This. The color of your urine gives a reasonable estimate of your fluid status.
  • DamianRendon
    DamianRendon Posts: 14
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    i drink a gallon a day
  • Miiimii
    Miiimii Posts: 279 Member
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    I drink up to 12 or 14 glasses of water and unsweetend tea a day - during my workdays. (Don't know why, but I'm a good drinker at my office desk and a bad one at home). I know it's healthy, but I can't feel or the a difference to the time I didn't drink that much - neither is my skin or hair better nor did my weightloss process increase.
  • colortheworld
    colortheworld Posts: 374 Member
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    My skin is clearer, if I don't drink enough water for a day or two I immediately break out. Plus I feel all around better, my energy levels drop majorly if I don't drink enough and I start feeling sick.
  • LadyVeng3ance
    LadyVeng3ance Posts: 236 Member
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    Dude, I totally feel your pain! I used to NEVER drink water.. Now, it's all I drink. (And juice lol)

    Seriously, just use one of those reusable bottes, and just keep it filled and by your side. I found out when I keep it by my side, regardless of what I'm doing (watching TV, falling asleep, working) I always drink loads of water, it is just so much more easy then going to the fridge, or using a glass or whatever.

    Just try it!

    And trust me, when I say I never drank water I'm not lying, I used to drink 2 liters of coca cola everyday, and that would be it! Like that is what I drank for years straight.

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