How important is water?

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jessjess210
jessjess210 Posts: 91 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ok I know water is super important not just for weight loss but for our health in general. I try to drink as much as I can. The problem is that I have to remind myself throughout the day to drink. What's everyone's experience when it comes to water and weight loss? Could it be the missing link. I am very precise with my weighing and measuring of food. I also have a Fitbit charge hr which helps me determine how many extra, or sometimes fewer calories I should be burning. Doing stronglifts twice a week, and seeing my trainer twice a week. And no change in weight. In fact it keeps creeping up. I took 6 week progress shots and my belly looks even bigger now!

I guess I'll get my answer if I make water a bigger part of my life. My trainer have me the idea to buy a bunch of large refillable water bottles and keep one all over the house...kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom. Anywhere I spend time so I keep reminding myself. Any thoughts would be appreciated

Replies

  • Headtothemountains
    Headtothemountains Posts: 36 Member
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    For me, water has been huge. My weight loss is noticeably more drastic when I'm super hydrated. As well, it helps me feel awake. I start every morning trying to drink a tall glass, before breakfast or coffee time. As well, I drink several pots of tea a day and always have the refillable bottles around. I make sure to drink another tall glas at night.
  • TheSurge0n
    TheSurge0n Posts: 113 Member
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    3-4 liters is basic for everyone, if you going fo long cardio then addup 2 l more.
    In summer at least 5L / day is good. If you are in air conditioning gyms then 3 will do.
    For weight, try measuring in morning. Might notice some changes.
    Don't giveup, belly fat take loooong time to get rid .
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,978 Member
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    Water bottles in every room of the house? Drink when your thirsty and all liquids contribute to a persons hydration, not just water.
  • WitchofWashington
    WitchofWashington Posts: 158 Member
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    I try to get my water in when I have meals. 1.5 liters of water every meal, when I make my smothies that's how much water I put in, at dinner time I usually just have a glass, and through out the day I'll have water as well. Best thing though, just make sure you drink a big glass at your meals.
  • jessjess210
    jessjess210 Posts: 91 Member
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    neanderthin wrote: »
    Water bottles in every room of the house? Drink when your thirsty and all liquids contribute to a persons hydration, not just water.

    Yes but the problem is I never really feel thirsty,unless I'm super dehydrated. Need reminders
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    Not-drinking cannot make someone in a deficit gain weight. Your problem isn't water, it's your food.

  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 9,978 Member
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    jessjess210 wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    Water bottles in every room of the house? Drink when your thirsty and all liquids contribute to a persons hydration, not just water.

    Yes but the problem is I never really feel thirsty,unless I'm super dehydrated. Need reminders
    Your constantly dehydrated then? More of a 3rd world problem imo

  • JiveDoc
    JiveDoc Posts: 284 Member
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    Remember that everything you drink and eat contains water and counts towards your hydration status. Even coffee and tea, as long as they are not consumed in excess (more than 4-5 cups) are hydrating (contrary to popular belief). I'm amazed by people who drink liters upon liters of water a day...like how do you stay out of the bathroom? Amazing.
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
    edited March 2015
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    I have an app on my android called "Water Your Body" I put in my weight, it calculates how much water I should be drinking, then throughout the day, if I fall behind in logging my water, it sends me an alert reminding me to drink.

    I drink water when I wake up, with every meal, also...if I have to use the bathroom, I finish off whatever water I have first, then afterwards, refill my bottle to sip on. I do count tea in with this, but not coffee and def not my beer :blush:

    Ideeeealy! LoL okay, so thats the plan, and I stick to it quite well. Sometimes, like now, even with the app, I fall behind on my water. But still..HUGE improvement over 5 weeks ago when I didnt drink any water *at all*

    And yeah, I think it is super important. When I dont drink water my watch and fitbit sit so tight on my wrist that they leave a mark. Its like an immediate indicator that Im not drinking enough water and retaining. When I am staying hydrated though, both my watch and my fitbit are litereally spinning around my wrist to the point of annoyance.

    And I know its not just my wrist, my whole body is bloated from retention..Id like to not be bloated. So I try to keep up on my water intake.
  • PinkandBlack87
    PinkandBlack87 Posts: 41
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    I use a styrofoam cup and carry it with me everywhere. I put lots of ice in my water along with lemon. I love it so much, I drink it without realizing it. So maybe try adding fruit to flavor your water
  • jessjess210
    jessjess210 Posts: 91 Member
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    So just wanted to give an update. For the last few days I've been making a point to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day. And sure enough this morning I was down 2.5 lbs! Finally got to experience the whoosh! I've become a believer of the magic of water...definitely going to make it a part of my day!
  • Dragn77
    Dragn77 Posts: 810 Member
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    Nice update!!!! Congrats on dropping those 2.5! Water weight (and the bloat it causes) is a pain. But also, I just really believe it helps to flush the body, keeps you regular, all that fun stuff that helps with overall weight loss.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    I love the whoosh :bigsmile:

    Congrats (*) :+1:
  • emily9423
    emily9423 Posts: 42 Member
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    That's great! I was just going to say when I first started switching over to a healthier lifestyle the first thing I started doing was getting a regular nights sleep in addition to drinking between 15-20 cups of water per day. I dropped just over 8 pounds in the first month without changing my diet or exercise! Stay hydrated and sleep well!
  • Katgan
    Katgan Posts: 22 Member
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    Do you add your Fitbit calories? I steadily lost 1-2 pounds per week and was near my goal weight when I got my Fitbit. At first I thought I should add my Fitbit calories, but then realized that I wasn't taking more than I was before I got my Fitbit and adding calories would slow my weight loss. I've since heard of other who added their Fitbit calories to MFP and started gaining.
  • jessjess210
    jessjess210 Posts: 91 Member
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    I felt like I had gained on it the first week or two. But that was also around the time I upped my calories from 1200 to 1500. I found I was really cranky on days I only ate 1200. I set MFP manually to 1500, which is my TDEE from an online calculator. It's set at .5 lbs, lightly active, and checked off the box for negative calorie adjustments. I don't log any workouts on MFP, only what it carries over from Fitbit. Took a few weeks after the change (and the water intake) to finally see a change.
  • landfish
    landfish Posts: 255 Member
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    Drinking water also helps improve exercise recovery by flushing waste products out of your muscles. My wife is a massage therapist and fusses at me if I don't drink enough.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    jessjess210 wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    Water bottles in every room of the house? Drink when your thirsty and all liquids contribute to a persons hydration, not just water.

    Yes but the problem is I never really feel thirsty,unless I'm super dehydrated. Need reminders

    I'm the same way - I'll drink coffee all morning, maybe have a few sips of water here and there, and then suddenly around dinner time or slightly after, I feel incredibly thirsty, so I drink a bunch of water...and then I'm up two or three times during the night because I have to pee. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

    I'm a take-my-water-bottle-with-me-everywhere gal now. I have several refillable Contigo bottles - leak-proof, dishwasher safe, operate with one hand, fits in my car cup holders, come in great colors - love them! My whole family uses them, we each have our own colors so they don't get mixed up, and we fill them from the filtered water on the fridge door. I have them in 24 and 32 oz sizes, and I never go anywhere without one.

    This has made a huge difference in how I feel and perform - I'm well hydrated throughout the day, get fewer headaches, things, uh, move better in the plumbing department if you catch my drift....all around it's better for me. I find that in winter, I'm good with 7-8 cups a day, depending on my activity level, and in summer I get 10+ most days because I live on the sun (Fresno). And I go by how I feel, and by urine color - keep it pale yellow mostly - if it's really yellow, I know I need more water, super pale to clear, I can back off a bit.

    You can find various models of the Contigo bottles at Target, OSH, Costco has some, or go online.

    This is the one I use - default_08-1060-2013.jpg

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