Drinking more water to help you lose weight faster

willdob3

Drinking more water than you normally drink can help you lose "water weight" faster (not open to debate on this as I've proved it repeatedly) but it will not help you lose "fat" faster.

If you are retaining water for whatever reason you can get rid of it faster by increasing your water intake a bit, say a liter more than usual spread out over the whole day. Do not try to down liters of water quickly as that is not healthy.

misseseaj2010

This doesn't exactly answer your question but it is about water intake.

Awhile back other members were having a discussion about water intake and someone mentioned a "water intake ratio." Which I had never heard of. So I looked into and apparently how much water you need is based on your weight and other factors. I found a "water intake calculator" that I thought was pretty interesting.

http://www.waterintakecalculator.com/

JesterMFP

You're talking about a few days, which isn't long enough to determine results of any kind of change. Weight loss isn't linear.

If I understand your post correctly, in that time you've also lowered your carb intake. Carbs retain water. Taking in fewer carbs means that you will drop a little water weight.

Ayne6246

Drinking plenty water when trying to lose weight is important but a word of caution.....you have to really be careful not to over do it. Increasing water intake can also wash out sodium in your system which can lead to seizures. That happened to my sister-in-law a couple of years ago. Also, if you are a person who retains fluid, high fluid intake can cause cardiovascular problems.

Thorbjornn

Perhaps to be taken with a grain of salt, or not:

http://www.liverguru.com/dehydration.html

"Helps you lose weight. Mild dehydration can cause a 3% drop in baseline metabolism, resulting in the gain of one pound of fat every six months!"

olDave

Michael,

Here's an article I refer to alot. Hope it helps.

Eight glasses of water a day an urban myth'?

Water and a well-balanced diet 'do far more than water alone,' Australian researcher says

CBC News

Posted: Jun 10, 2012 12:51 AM ET

Last Updated: Jun 10, 2012 12:48 AM ET

The common advice to drink eight glasses of water a day doesn't hold water, say nutrition and kidney specialists who want to dispel the myth.

"What drove us to drink two litres of water a day?" asks an editorial in this week's issue of the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health.

The recommendation was driven by vested interests rather than health, suggests author Speros Tsindos of the department of dietetics and human nutrition at La Trobe University in Victoria, Australia.
Other beverages also help us meet the body's fluid needs, say nutrition specialists. (Aaron Harris/Canadian Press)
"Humans need to maintain fluid balance and need to drink water when required, but should also consider fluid in unprocessed fruits and vegetables and juices. There is further evidence that water and a well-balanced diet does far more than water alone," Tsindos wrote.

"Water is important for health; however, the recommendation of eight glasses of pure water per day appears an overestimation of requirements."

Even a baked potato is 75 per cent water, said nutrition Prof. Susan Barr of the University of British Columbia, who sat on a Canadian-U.S. committee that looked at fluid intake.

"There's nothing magical about water from a glass of water as opposed to water from a food or any other beverage," Barr said.

Drinking caffeinated beverages such as tea and coffee do not lead to dehydration, said Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, a nephrologist at the University of Pennsylvania who reviewed research claims on drinking eight glasses of water and studied how the kidneys handle it.

Let thirst guide you

"Drinking the coffee will count towards your total water intake for the day," Goldfarb said.

Goldfarb said despite the common idea that it's important to "drink eight glasses of eight ounces of water" a day, "There’s no evidence that benefits health in any real way and it really represents an urban myth."

There's no evidence you need to drink more water than what thirst dictates, Goldfarb added.

Studies on desert nomads showed people can consume minimal amounts of water in harsh environments. The military has also looked at how much water soldiers need to take with them when patrolling in hot climates without harming their performance.

"If one is just playing a game of tennis in an indoor facility, for example, or having a short run on a treadmill in an air-conditioned gym, the need to maintain hydration during that is just non-existent," Goldfarb advised.

People have died of dehydration and from drinking too much water too quickly.

A good guide to tell if the body’s finely tuned fluid balance is to check the colour of your urine. If it's very dark, you're on the dry side; if it's very light or translucent, then you need to drink a bit less water, said Dr. David Price, head of family medicine at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.