is water really that important for weight loss??

Check this out:
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20100823/water-may-be-a-secret-weapon-in-weight-loss

I drink 136 oz. of water a day, but most folks don't need that much. Water is pretty much all I drink though. I tend to have 5 oz. of wine every evening with my dinner, but other than that I'm usually drinking just water. If you really struggle with drinking water I suggest that you drink at least one cup (8 oz.) of water with every meal and snack.

Water is important for you know, life?

Burning energy during exercise is a chemical equation. You're left with a byproduct that has to go somewhere, and it's best to carry it out of your system with water's help.

There is no proof that drinking lots of plain water helps weight loss.

Almost everyday someone in these forums posts that they struggle with drinking so much water. No matter what others say, they seem to ignore anyone who doesn't agree with the idea that we need so much plain water....and yet they wonder why it's so hard to drink it all.

It's good to be skeptical about other people's opinions on a public forum. So, here is an article on the subject with opinions from people in the medical field who SHOULD know. It's not simply MY opinion.

If nothing else, this demonstrates that this subject is debatable and not a hard scientific or medical fact. The question will then be..."Who do you believe?"

Peace.

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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.

The dietitian told me to take my body weight and divide it in half and that is how many ounces of water I need a day.

not QUITE right!

1/2 body weight less 20% that you normally intake through food.

add 3 oz more for each caffeinated drink
add 10 oz for each 30 minutes exercise

ANy liquid is good - it doesn't HAVE to be Water only

I used to really really really hate water.. but now.. you don't see me without a bottle of water. its just second nature now.. and yes, it helps A LOT. and helps with sodium.

I'd like to see someone lose weight and NOT drink water... see what gathers in the gut... you need it. your body is made of it.. drink it or die. :P

There is no proof that drinking lots of plain water helps weight loss.

God why the hell is everything related to weight loss a myth?! I've ran across more myths than cold hard facts while losing weight. This leads me to believe weight loss is a completely random and arbitrary phenomenon

Seriously though any care to counter the argument I quoted?

That study described in the webmd link does not seem to have controlled for caloric intake (hard to tell from the informal description, and it isn't published).

I do not know of any evidence that water intake affects weight loss when caloric intake is controlled for.

It is important to drink enough to support your basic metabolic functions. You need water to live, but it can come in forms other than H2O. That said, if you routinely drink your calories (=soda, juices, etc.) and do not pay attention to how much you consume that way, your weight loss will be difficult.

On a final note, I drink a barn-sized bucket of coffee every day. It has not deterred my fat loss. I probably drink about a gallon of liquid (water, coffee, etc.) on a daily basis, but not the standard "8 glasses a day" that you see on all those sites that just repeat what all the other sites have said.

There is no proof that drinking lots of plain water helps weight loss.

God why the hell is everything related to weight loss a myth?! I've ran across more myths than cold hard facts while losing weight. This leads me to believe weight loss is a completely random and arbitrary phenomenon

Seriously though any care to counter the argument I quoted?

This one isn't so much a myth as an oversimplified rule of thumb. 8x8 was easy to remember and about what the average person needed.

Teaching people to judge their hydration level by the color of their urine just isn't as catchy.

i don't know about for weight loss but since i've started drinking 8 cups a day and more, my hair, nails, and skin have made radical change for the better! plus it helps you feel full longer

I agree with other posters that it helps to flush your body out.

If you're making sure to get your daily fiber in (which is a good idea, since the fiber helps with weight loss and feeling full), the water helps it do its job. It gets that insoluble fiber through your system more efficiently, meaning less bloating and gasiness.

Also, one of the big things that makes the scale fluctuate is water retention. Drinking more water is one of the ways that you can reduce water retention (aside from reducing sodium). This makes sense when you consider that your body will hold onto water when you're dehydrated.

Most of the stuff that I just posted is stuff that I learned here on the forums and reading online articles combined with a little common sense.

In MY OWN personal experience:
~I lost 5 lbs by making the switch from pop and juices to mostly water alone, and was the first healthy lifestyle change that I made. Its a small step, but it makes a big difference.
~My dentist said that he noticed my teeth are a lot cleaner since I switched
~Not drinking all that extra acid and sugar has made my stomach less irritable and the water helped clean everything out. I feel a lot healthier than I did before.
~The water/fiber combo has noticeably made a difference in my weight loss. It helped push me through a couple weight stalls.

So yes, I would say that water is really important. You can probably lose the weight without doing the 8 c. water / day thing, but try to at least increase the amount that you're getting, even if its a single glass with each meal. Sorry for the long post. -.-;

i don't know about for weight loss but since i've started drinking 8 cups a day and more, my hair, nails, and skin have made radical change for the better! plus it helps you feel full longer

I've noticed this as well!! My nails used to take forever to grow and were really gross looking. Now they're starting to look healthy! (though, that may also be the fact that I've been more consistent with taking my multivitamins, lol) My skin is a lot clearer now too.

i don't know about for weight loss but since i've started drinking 8 cups a day and more, my hair, nails, and skin have made radical change for the better! plus it helps you feel full longer

I've noticed this as well!! My nails used to take forever to grow and were really gross looking. Now they're starting to look healthy! (though, that may also be the fact that I've been more consistent with taking my multivitamins, lol) My skin is a lot clearer now too.

to each his own, but for myself, i love the effects of water. clear skin, moisturized skin, and a satiated feeling in my tummy. I love it! I was also a person who didn't like water, but now I feel really good.

Water does NOT directly affect fat loss. It DOES affect weight loss in that, the amount that you retain from day to day can fluctuate thus affecting your weight. Water is the mayo of your sandwich, without it, everything gets stuck, dried out, and pretty crummy(crumbly :bigsmile: ). Anyway, it helps your body work more efficiently and in doing so, helps your metabolism, which directly affects the rate at which you will burn fat. Also it increases the amount of waste you secrete, getting rid of the toxins that might slow you down. Furthermore, it is needed to rebuild muscle. Muscle helps burn fat, and also helps in a small way.

Yeah water is ridiculomositistly important.