Drinking more water to help you lose weight faster

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Guitar1969
Guitar1969 Posts: 33 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I am already drinking at least the recommended 8 glasses of water a day while losing weight, and concentrating on drinking at least 2 cups before each meal. I have been losing 1.5 lbs a week.

For the last few days I have been trying to drink even more;,closer to 16 cups and it seems my weight loss is speeding up even more - Now about 2.5 per week. I am still consuming about the same amount of calories and same diet - lower quality carbs - maybe 100grams a day.

I do know drinking too much water can be harmful too (removes too much sodium from your body - Can't remember the scientific name for it at the moment).

Is there any scientific support for drinking even more water to speed up weight loss - No speculation please. Just medical/scientific evidence. I googled it and seem to get the broad answer that water improves weight loss, but not about drinking even more.

I know losing too much weight too fast can be bad, but I still have about 40 lbs to go and would like to stay on this trend at least for the next few months till I get a bit closer to goal.

Thanks,
Michael
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Replies

  • LoganAnthony6
    LoganAnthony6 Posts: 164
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    Bump because I too would like to see the responses to this!
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    No. Drinking more water than your body needs does nothing to speed up weight loss, aside from possibly helping you feel fuller and thus less likely to overeat. Water does not help cells get rid of fat. It does not speed up your metabolism (some people claim that if you drink cold water, your body has to heat it up, but that will really only work out to a few calories a day, so it doesn't really have any affect on weight loss). It may help you to retain less water, which can contribute to weight (but not fat) loss in the short term. I'm sorry, I don't have any studies to quote for you.

    I'm guessing there is something else that is causing your weight loss to pick up a bit.

    ETA: the "8 cups" rule is pretty arbitrary. Many people need more, especially if they are exercising. So it could be that you're now drinking "enough" and are losing water that you've been retaining. How long has this increased weight loss been happening? :wink:
  • Guitar1969
    Guitar1969 Posts: 33 Member
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    I believe that I was already drinking enough beforehand - well over 8 glasses - more like 12 a day. Now I am trying to increase that dramatically - Over the last 4 days with my increase of water I am about 2.8 lbs lost for the week - I have not changed anything else in my diet or routine.

    One thing I consciously do is drink 4 cups - 32 oz before each meal, so I don't eat as much as well.

    Well science or not, its working for me at the moment.
    No. Drinking more water than your body needs does nothing to speed up weight loss, aside from possibly helping you feel fuller and thus less likely to overeat. Water does not help cells get rid of fat. It does not speed up your metabolism (some people claim that if you drink cold water, your body has to heat it up, but that will really only work out to a few calories a day, so it doesn't really have any affect on weight loss). It may help you to retain less water, which can contribute to weight (but not fat) loss in the short term. I'm sorry, I don't have any studies to quote for you.

    I'm guessing there is something else that is causing your weight loss to pick up a bit.

    ETA: the "8 cups" rule is pretty arbitrary. Many people need more, especially if they are exercising. So it could be that you're now drinking "enough" and are losing water that you've been retaining. How long has this increased weight loss been happening? :wink:
  • tonyrocks922
    tonyrocks922 Posts: 172 Member
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    in your example, it doesn't "help with weight loss" as much as it "helps with compliance" to your weight loss plan
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
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    It helps your body digest and lubricated... haters are going to hate.
  • HealthWoke0ish
    HealthWoke0ish Posts: 2,078 Member
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    ETA: the "8 cups" rule is pretty arbitrary. Many people need more, especially if they are exercising. So it could be that you're now drinking "enough" and are losing water that you've been retaining. How long has this increased weight loss been happening? :wink:

    I'm going with this. When I drink 8-10 cups a day, my pee is still too dark. (yeah...that's what I go by...pee color. Haha).

    A good water day for me is at least 12 cups. Either way...good luck. Sounds like something is working. :)
  • melindasuefritz
    melindasuefritz Posts: 3,509 Member
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    its supposed to make u feel fuller
    and is 0 calories so u arent drinking calories
  • sassafrascas
    sassafrascas Posts: 191 Member
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    So you fill you stomach with water so you do not eat as much, what happens in between meal when you pee all that water out are you not hungry? I am a huge grazer snack in bewteen meals and I struggle to get my water in. So this question is just pure curiosity.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
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    Drink water until you notice that your urine is light in color. If you are taking multivitamins, you may still have bright/darker urine even when you are hydrated well.

    All that water doesn't magically help, but it doesn't hurt either.
  • RoseTears143
    RoseTears143 Posts: 1,121 Member
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    drinking too much water is called water intoxication and is extremely dangerous to your health. Now while drinking 12-16 8oz cups of water isn't going to cause any trouble, I can't see how you would need much mroe than that in a day unless you literally spend all day sweating due to a very humid climate. The kidneys are very adept at filtering your body out, so in order to basically drown from the inside in your own fluids from drinking too much water, you would have to chug a ton of water in one sitting which would be very hard to do.

    Hyponatremia is another issue that can come about from drinking too much water - too little salt in the blood basically.

    The best thing to do: drink when you are thirsty and stop when you are not. Don't force your body to drink too much because diluting your stomacha cid to a point where your body can't even properly digest your food to absorb nutrients won't do you any good. It sounds like what you are doing now is great. Don't fix something that isn't broken.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp
  • jlswbes
    jlswbes Posts: 9 Member
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    This may seem like a stupid question but i am new to this. When they ask for your water consumption are they considering it in 8 or 16 oz since most bottles are 16 oz. At least the ones i drink.
  • CountryDevil
    CountryDevil Posts: 819 Member
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    This may seem like a stupid question but i am new to this. When they ask for your water consumption are they considering it in 8 or 16 oz since most bottles are 16 oz. At least the ones i drink.

    8oz = 1 glass or 1 cup of water.
  • KaleidoscopeEyes1056
    KaleidoscopeEyes1056 Posts: 2,996 Member
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    ETA: the "8 cups" rule is pretty arbitrary. Many people need more, especially if they are exercising. So it could be that you're now drinking "enough" and are losing water that you've been retaining. How long has this increased weight loss been happening? :wink:

    I'm going with this. When I drink 8-10 cups a day, my pee is still too dark. (yeah...that's what I go by...pee color. Haha).

    A good water day for me is at least 12 cups. Either way...good luck. Sounds like something is working. :)

    Everybody should go by the color of their urine. It should be a light yellow unless you are taking vitamins (in which case it will be a more neon yellow). As another poster has mentioned, there is a way to drink too much water and it causes water intoxication, which is fatal. Although, I don't believe that most people could get that much water in a day.
  • Rocknut53
    Rocknut53 Posts: 1,794 Member
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    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060818122557AATQISa

    "Water intoxication is a medical condition (also known as hyperhydration) in which an individual's intake of water is excessive. A person with two healthy kidneys can rid themselves of about 1.5 litres of water per hour at maximum filtration. The main consequences of overconsumption are hyponatremia (decreased plasma sodium, due to dilution) and suppression of the production of antidiuretic hormone. Extreme hyponatremia (with plasma sodium levels less than 100 mmol/L) frequently leads to cerebral edema, seizures, coma, and death.

    First, the body's sodium levels drop, due to the loss of electrolytes when sweating (sodium is an electrolyte). Next, the excess water is absorbed into the bloodstream and eventually the lungs, and the victim will suffer from dyspnea and nausea. If allowed to progress without treatment, the victim will develop pulmonary adema, or filling of the lungs with a bodily fluid, and will face more serious complications."
  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
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    drinking too much water is called water intoxication and is extremely dangerous to your health. Now while drinking 12-16 8oz cups of water isn't going to cause any trouble, I can't see how you would need much mroe than that in a day unless you literally spend all day sweating due to a very humid climate. The kidneys are very adept at filtering your body out, so in order to basically drown from the inside in your own fluids from drinking too much water, you would have to chug a ton of water in one sitting which would be very hard to do.

    Hyponatremia is another issue that can come about from drinking too much water - too little salt in the blood basically.

    The best thing to do: drink when you are thirsty and stop when you are not. Don't force your body to drink too much because diluting your stomacha cid to a point where your body can't even properly digest your food to absorb nutrients won't do you any good. It sounds like what you are doing now is great. Don't fix something that isn't broken.
  • NikiChicken
    NikiChicken Posts: 576 Member
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    No. Drinking more water than your body needs does nothing to speed up weight loss, aside from possibly helping you feel fuller and thus less likely to overeat. Water does not help cells get rid of fat. It does not speed up your metabolism (some people claim that if you drink cold water, your body has to heat it up, but that will really only work out to a few calories a day, so it doesn't really have any affect on weight loss). It may help you to retain less water, which can contribute to weight (but not fat) loss in the short term. I'm sorry, I don't have any studies to quote for you.

    I'm guessing there is something else that is causing your weight loss to pick up a bit.

    ETA: the "8 cups" rule is pretty arbitrary. Many people need more, especially if they are exercising. So it could be that you're now drinking "enough" and are losing water that you've been retaining. How long has this increased weight loss been happening? :wink:

    This absolutely. Water doesn't make you lose weight faster, but it's great to keep your body hydrated, sodium flushed from your system, kidneys functioning well and your skin looking nicer.
  • DottieNewton
    DottieNewton Posts: 112 Member
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    I read some advice a few weeks ago about fluid consumption..it said you needed to take your weight and divide it by 2 and that is the amount of fluid you need in ounces. Plus you are to add another 8 ozs for every 20 mins of activity. So, being very overweight I am drinking around a gallon( 128 oz) a day of water. Thought it would be very hard in the beginning but I started putting my water into a gallon jug in the morning and drink on it all day..so, I always know how much more I need to drink that day.
  • yag1630
    yag1630 Posts: 92
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    Nice to read all the post, there are a lot of information that will help and will not. Good Day everyone.
  • choochoobell
    choochoobell Posts: 147 Member
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    Bump! Seems like water increase is working for me too:)

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