water water water

ladycoy

I am managing to drink but havent seen any difference yet other than my visits to the ladies increasing, oh and a spot appeared on my face :-)

tommygirl15

Some good responses, though I didn't read them all... but here's my 2 cents; water doesn't make you lose weight, but should be drank regardless because it's essential to life (hydration, removing toxins, aiding in organ function, etc). Frequent trips to the bathroom is the downside for me, too.. so I feel your pain. Most people tend to forget that they are also consuming water through fruits and vegetables, I'm quite looking forward to watermelon season

LauraW1219

Okay I'm not expert, but both my neighbors are doctors. They advised me to only drink vapor or steam distilled water because it doesn't have all the chemicals the other water has. They say it rids your body of up to 70 percent of the toxins and salt you take in in 24 hours. They said that the bottled water from around here is from a spring, but it's purified a different way. So I only now drink steam or vapored water. I don't know if it's true or not because everyone has their own thing to say. Just trying to help.

Peanutbutterx

it helps me loose weight, it makes me feel fuller. something about drinking water just makes you feel healthier too like it puts you in that mindset. if i have a diet coke, i want food with it haha. but water does help. if you dont like the taste of water (my mom hates it) try crystal light with it! or make ice tea with orange slices and mint (sounds different but its really good) but things like that kind of make you drink more water becaues its still water but tastier also, i just finished some pre nursing classes and learned that sometimes people eat more because there really thirsty and when your body breaks down food it goes through hydrolysis and makes a little bit of water in your body, but if you just drink more water you wont be as hungry - in other words it really does help you to loose weight and not eat as much- i explained that weird but hope it helped a little

PHF58

I find that water consumption certainly helps me with constipation and digestion. I found out about this new (to me) "flavored" water, Hint, when I was looking for lo-cal mojito recipes....(hehe...going to Aruba!) and it helps break up the monotony of my 8 glasses of water/day.

ATT949

does it really help you lose weight or is it just to keep you peeing?

My standard response:

"Why do you feel that you need to drink more water than your body wants you to drink?

I've found two reasons to drink more water than my thirst mechanism tells me to drink:
1 - I run. And, per advice from running sources, I drink 8 oz of water about 15 minutes before I run. During my run, I drink about 7 OZ every 20 minutes.

2 - When people are trying to lose weight, drinking water gives a "full feeling" so people tend to eat less.

Other than that, I've never found a credible, scientifically-based study that shows that there is any value in drinking more water than our thirst mechanism signals us to drink.

Two sources:

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

The author is a medical doctor. There are lots of those floating around but this one has some cred. He's on staff at Dartmouth (or Princeton, I can't remember…) and that's a good sign that the fellow has some moxie. Second, he wrote a text book on how the kidneys work.

Take the 60 seconds that you'll need just to read the abstract and that will help kill the myth. Oh, yes, 100 citations to published medical documents.



Second source, is the Runners World book "Guide to Road Racing". I got my copy for $5 from Amazon. In the "Fuel" chapter there's a section entitled "Hydration". First sentence under the heading "How Much do I Need?" (page 221)

"The old formula—everyone needs eight glasses of water a day—is out."

It then goes on to give a formula for men and women:
Men = body weight (in pounds) * 0.35
Women = body weight (in pounds) * 0.31

That's the "drinking requirement in fluid ounces" for water.

The authors go further and cite the decision of the International Marathon Medical Directors Association (isn't that amazing - they have their own association!), who, in 2006 threw out their old guidelines which was to drink more water than you felt that you needed so that you could "drink ahead" of your thirst because "the message being that by the time you feel thirsty, you're already on the road to dehydration."

They tossed that out and support the "increasing scientific evidence to support the notion that thirst is actually the ideal way to gauge hydration needs."

They quote Timothy D. Noakes, MD, a professor of exercise and sports science at University of Cape Town, South Africa, and the author of "Lore of Running" "It is the only system used by all other creatures on earth. Why should it not also be ideal for humans?"

(page 224)
According to the medical director of the New York City marathon, who is also the chairman of the board of the International Marathon Medical Directors Association, "We're used to hearing that thirst follows too far behind what you really need, but that doesn't hold true scientifically.…Your body's thirst mechanism is giving you real-time feedback on your internal fluid balance."

My thinking about water and weight loss?

If you need water to curb your appetite, drink water until you learn to control your appetite. But drinking 8 cups of water a day 'to flush toxins" or "because your muscles need it to work smoothly"? Sorry, our bodies have evolved over millions of years to tell us when we need water. I'll stick with that, thanks."

Insofar as "flushing out toxins". That's all the rage…now. Again, we have an organ called a liver that's been doing that for some time (40 million years, or so). Not to say that we can't improve liver functions but, rather than take the assertion of a guru on the web, anyone have a scientifically based body of work that actually demonstrates cause and effect?

PHF58

ATT949, thank you for that info, sounds good and helps to separate out some myth-like qualities...

The point about one's liver and it's role is pretty important...but water does help if you're eating more fiber!

JordanSkinnyLovely

It can help clean your body of bad stuff and make you lighter and less bloated and you'll burn calories if you keep having to go to the toiled anyway

ATT949

ATT949, thank you for that info, sounds good and helps to separate out some myth-like qualities...

The point about one's liver and it's role is pretty important...but water does help if you're eating more fiber!

Absolutely - that's one of the two reasons why water helps during weight loss - part of a yet another standard reply to "I gotta drink more to help lose weight" statements.

Water does fill up your stomach and, therefore, stave off hunger for a few minutes. Also, when folks change their diet (usually by increasing fiber), they sometimes get constipated so increasing water intake can help to get folks regular.

Other than that, though, the physiological need for water is, from everything I've been able to find, generally speaking, adequately controlled by the thirst mechanism.

TerriAnne53

I read that you should drink 1/2 of your body weight in oz of water daily. so if you are 200lbs you should drink 100 oz of water a day. I have been doing this since I started my life style change on MFP. I really think it does help.

Helenotero48

Water is not my favorite thing but i drink SOBE waters and add flavor to it, to make it easier to drink.

kinkykiddo

Considering all the other benefits or drinking water, you should be happy to drink it regardless of it's ability to promote/help weight loss. I love water! Nothing quite as refreshing as a tall glass of iced water. Yummy!

ladycoy

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