does water really help you lose weight?

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kalebsmama07
kalebsmama07 Posts: 503
in Health and Weight Loss
does water really help you lose weight? if so how and how much should you really drink?

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  • Sunsh1ne
    Sunsh1ne Posts: 879 Member
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    Water helps you lose weight by flushing excess sodium out of your system and keeping all your systems in working order. It also helps because by staying hydrated, you keep from getting thirsty, and most people confuse thirst and hunger impulses. AND, like you needed another reason, when you consume fiber and water together, the fiber absorbs the water and swells slightly in your stomach to trigger your "Stop, I'm full" impulse sooner, so it keeps you from overeating in two ways. Most recommendations say to get 64 fluid ounces, or eight cups, in a day.
  • rpolzin25
    rpolzin25 Posts: 19
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    I notice when I drink at least 8 cups of water per day the weight tends to come off that much easier. It is recommended to drink at least 8 cups of water per day.
  • durbanski
    durbanski Posts: 183 Member
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    I drink 64 oz. Your mileage may vary. It helps metabolism and keeping you feeling full to avoid snacking
  • karmasBFF
    karmasBFF Posts: 699 Member
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    It is ABSOLUTELY helpful in losing weight! I was up 3 lbs on Monday. I drank 16 cups a day (I read you should drink minimum 1/2 your body weight, but recommended for full benefits, .66 times your weight, both of these are measured in oz. Divided by 8 is the number of cups you should drink in a day! Yes, 8 is the recommended but I have lost those 3 lbs, plus 1 more, my face is clearer, my hair is softer, my skin is softer, my lips are fuller....and it makes me feel great!

    All the posts before mine also give other great reasons-especially about confusing hunger for thirst and drinking water to hold off hunger!
  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
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    Water does not flush anything out. Not even sodium. The other side of the equal sign from sodium is actually potassium. Staying hydrated does actually help you lose weight, but in limited capacity. Most of the human race is chronically dehydrated. Your body learns to "store" water in your tissues during times of "feast" for times of "famine." Drink enough water every day and your body will learn that it does not need to store water, and it will start dumping what it has put away for later.

    http://dehydrationsymptoms.org/
    http://www.care2.com/greenliving/13-symptoms-of-chronic-dehydration.html#

    A good formula for enough water to do this is one half your weight in pounds (in ounces). So if I weigh 138, then I should drink 69 ounces a day. This is my own personal formula. Ultimately, you should be peeing clear. Not yellow. Ask any military, police or firefighter what their drill sergeants told them, it will probably be the same.

    Sunsh1ne has it right about confusing thirst with hunger though.
    http://healthpsych.psy.vanderbilt.edu/howmuchwater.htm
  • karmasBFF
    karmasBFF Posts: 699 Member
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    Water does not flush anything out. Not even sodium. The other side of the equal sign from sodium is actually potassium. Staying hydrated does actually help you lose weight, but in limited capacity. Most of the human race is chronically dehydrated. Your body learns to "store" water in your tissues during times of "feast" for times of "famine." Drink enough water every day and your body will learn that it does not need to store water, and it will start dumping what it has put away for later.

    http://dehydrationsymptoms.org/
    http://www.care2.com/greenliving/13-symptoms-of-chronic-dehydration.html#

    A good formula for enough water to do this is one half your weight in pounds (in ounces). So if I weigh 138, then I should drink 69 ounces a day. This is my own personal formula. Ultimately, you should be peeing clear. Not yellow. Ask any military, police or firefighter what their drill sergeants told them, it will probably be the same.

    Sunsh1ne has it right about confusing thirst with hunger though.
    http://healthpsych.psy.vanderbilt.edu/howmuchwater.htm

    Its a little rash to say water does not flush anything away. In fact, your last source states the opposite. It does flush waste. It also flushes the extra water your body will hold onto if it begins to become dehydrated. Both of these are precise reasons in why it aids in weight loss.

    You are, however, correct about potassium being the balancing agent for sodium. While we Westerners consume close to 5000mg of sodium a day and about 2,000 mg of potassium, we should be consuming them in reverse. I cannot remember the study, but I believe one stated that potassium should be consumed by 4 times the amount od sodium to counterbalance the negative effects of sodium.

    And most of the human race is NOT dehydrated, also cited from your source. Unless, of course, you are referring to the very poor regions and even still, I do not think they constitute the majority of the human race.
  • rjadams
    rjadams Posts: 4,060 Member
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    Water does not flush anything out. Not even sodium.
    Sunsh1ne has it right about confusing thirst with hunger though.

    Curious to know what your source for this is. I have seen a lot of stuff on the web that says drinking water will help you get rid of sodium since it is processed in the kidneys and the kidneys process the water you take in so you can urinate.
  • Sunsh1ne
    Sunsh1ne Posts: 879 Member
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    And most of the human race is NOT dehydrated, also cited from your source. Unless, of course, you are referring to the very poor regions and even still, I do not think they constitute the majority of the human race.

    Ending global poverty is an important cause to me, so I feel you ought to know that 80% of humanity lives on $10 a day or less. I could go on about this at length, even though it's irrelevant to the topic, but just take a second to think of how lucky we are to be able to think about this question without wondering about where we'll get our water, or how safe it is to drink. 1.1 billion people have inadequite access to water - one out of every six people on earth. And 2.6 billion people have unsanitary water supplies - that's one out of three. Clean, abundant water is both a necessity and a luxury.

    ETA source: http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
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    Water does not flush anything out. Not even sodium.
    Sunsh1ne has it right about confusing thirst with hunger though.

    Curious to know what your source for this is. I have seen a lot of stuff on the web that says drinking water will help you get rid of sodium since it is processed in the kidneys and the kidneys process the water you take in so you can urinate.

    You are absolutely right that water helps to process sodium. But not at the increased speed that many believe water will accomplish. Kidneys have a maximum capability.

    Water doesn't flush excess sodium out because the sodium causes the body to retain water. You just have to wait until your kidneys process it and excrete it.

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


    While I don't have a source that says how long, my bloating typically lasts about 20-24 hours.

    And I hope you don't take this as snarky because I mean it as funny-but how much have you seen on the internet that is just plain bull****?

    I can log into this website and find twenty things a day that are wrong according to current science, but because that same science (or those parading as diet "experts") have had it wrong in the past, mistruths have propagated like bunny rabbits.

    For example-there is not one single study on record that says we need 8 cups of water a day. But how many people say this?
    http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=130326&page=1
  • firegirlred
    firegirlred Posts: 674 Member
    Options
    Water does not flush anything out. Not even sodium. The other side of the equal sign from sodium is actually potassium. Staying hydrated does actually help you lose weight, but in limited capacity. Most of the human race is chronically dehydrated. Your body learns to "store" water in your tissues during times of "feast" for times of "famine." Drink enough water every day and your body will learn that it does not need to store water, and it will start dumping what it has put away for later.

    http://dehydrationsymptoms.org/
    http://www.care2.com/greenliving/13-symptoms-of-chronic-dehydration.html#

    A good formula for enough water to do this is one half your weight in pounds (in ounces). So if I weigh 138, then I should drink 69 ounces a day. This is my own personal formula. Ultimately, you should be peeing clear. Not yellow. Ask any military, police or firefighter what their drill sergeants told them, it will probably be the same.

    Sunsh1ne has it right about confusing thirst with hunger though.
    http://healthpsych.psy.vanderbilt.edu/howmuchwater.htm

    Its a little rash to say water does not flush anything away. In fact, your last source states the opposite. It does flush waste. It also flushes the extra water your body will hold onto if it begins to become dehydrated. Both of these are precise reasons in why it aids in weight loss.

    You are, however, correct about potassium being the balancing agent for sodium. While we Westerners consume close to 5000mg of sodium a day and about 2,000 mg of potassium, we should be consuming them in reverse. I cannot remember the study, but I believe one stated that potassium should be consumed by 4 times the amount od sodium to counterbalance the negative effects of sodium.

    And most of the human race is NOT dehydrated, also cited from your source. Unless, of course, you are referring to the very poor regions and even still, I do not think they constitute the majority of the human race.

    From my last source:
    "75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated"

    And water aids in removing waste-yes. But drinking water at some crazy volume a day doesn't make it happen any faster than it would in a person who is just plain correctly hydrated.

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