is water really that important for weight loss??

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?

For what it's worth, confirmation bias seems to be massive in nutrition, dieting, and weight lifting "advice"/journalism/broscience on the internet. From Wiki:
"Confirmation bias (also called confirmatory bias or myside bias) is a tendency of people to favor information that confirms their beliefs or hypotheses.[Note 1][1] People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way. The effect is stronger for emotionally charged issues and for deeply entrenched beliefs. For example, in reading about current political issues, people usually prefer sources that affirm their existing attitudes. They also tend to interpret ambiguous evidence as supporting their existing position. Biased search, interpretation and memory have been invoked to explain attitude polarization (when a disagreement becomes more extreme even though the different parties are exposed to the same evidence), belief perseverance (when beliefs persist after the evidence for them is shown to be false), the irrational primacy effect (a greater reliance on information encountered early in a series) and illusory correlation (when people falsely perceive an association between two events or situations)."

I've learned a lot about nutrition and diets since I made the decision to drop fat and try to work on body recomposition, but it's been very difficult for me to learn much since one can, almost literally, find anything on the internet that confirms or refutes any diet "advice", guidelines, or "best practices". There is enough medical research and are enough studies that one can very easily cherry-pick the information he/she sees fit to fit one's "program" (see confirmation bias). Obviously, moderation is almost always the best method in these cases (eat a lot / eat a little, fast a long time / eat every 3-4 hours, do a lot of cardio / do no cardio, lift at 10-15 reps per set / lift at 4-5 reps per set, etc.), but there's also a "truth" out there that may or may not be extremely nuanced and complex. I've found a few folks whom I've come to refer for pretty objective, science-based observations for these topics (Alan Aragon, for example). Since I'm not an expert in this field, I will always end up having to refer and defer to others, which is tough since there's a lot of money being made with special diets, exercise routines, etc., that can very easily mask junk science and real science.

Water is important for hydration; hydration is important for nutrient absorption; nutrient absorption is important for overall health and well being. Suck it up and drink your water...I swear, first world problems are the most annoying.

We are made from mostly water. It aids in most of our biological functions such as food absorption, waste elimination, air conditioning (sweat). Every physical fitness, athletic and health site, book, magazine, I've seen recommends drinking enough water.

My experience is that I drink it constantly all day long. When I'm hydrated I feel energetic and powered up. Since I workout regularly, my body needs more than the rule of thumb eight glasses. Bottom line: I drink it. I feel good :drinker:

if your pee is clear or just slightly yellow than you've sufficient amount of water in your body, if it's yellow or dark yellow than you're extremely dehydrated. Now drinking 8 glasses of water does help reduce chances of getting certain cancers and diseases according to studies (some studies done by water companies are bogus a lot of the time), water does clean toxins out of your body. The amount of water you need varies on your weight and how much you exercise, water also does aid in weight loss because it reduces appetite. Drinking enough water can only help you, it won't hurt you, but not drinking enough can damage your organs and especially your kidneys.

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

Good to meet you.

I don't force myself to consume anything I don't want to consume. What people forget is that food has water in it, too. I'll have a glass now and then, but really, if I'm not thirsty I don't drink it.


Edited because I wanna make sure everyone knows I'm not anti-water. It's good for you. I'm just saying for the majority of my weight loss I haven't had a lot of water...so obviously water does not equal weight loss, and a small amount of water does not equal no weight loss.

you admitted that you drink water!!!! lol!!! what i meant is that you have to have some water within your diet so your body doesn't 'dry up'. you can get water from the fruits and veggies you eat. watermelon and cucumbers are awesome!

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

Sorry if it wasn't quite right...its just what I was told- I thought it was sound advice since they go to school for years :S

drink drink drink.. then try water!

I am a water hater as well. I have lost plenty of weight in the past (and put it back on, thanks yo-yo diets!) without drinking water. The LIQUID you take in everyday counts as water. An average water intake for an average person is 2.5 liters a day, but only 60% of that comes from liquids. 30% is from food and 10% is by products of the krebs cycle. Our bodies are made of about 60% water, so drinking non-alcoholic beverages is important, it just doesn't have to be water. (Just finished the electrolyte chapter in Anatomy and Physiology 2 )

Yes, liquids are important. Will never disagree there. It doesn't have to be water though. Most say plain water because there is no sodium, calories, caffeine, or sugar in water. Those things can inhibit weight loss. My dietician professor last semester said water is best, but if you are going to drink more by drinking low sodium, low calorie drinks, that was fine too. Coffee, tea (green especially) and naturally flavored water are the best. But anything you drink counts! Don't get down about not drinking plain water.

You don't need to drink water to lose weight. But, your kidneys need it to flush. I hate water and don't drink enough. I am going back to diet sodas at least I will be getting some liquid in me.