How important is water intake?

I'm terrible at keeping up with my water intake. Any words of wisdom? How important is water intake to weight loss?
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  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
    I'm terrible at keeping up with my water intake. Any words of wisdom? How important is water intake to weight loss?

    It is highly important that you stay hydrated. The way you know you are hydrated is if your second trip to the restroom of the day and later yields strawish color urine. If that is the case you are fine.

    I do not track my water. I drink when I am thirsty and if I see that my hydration level is low.

    Only if I am sick (stomach flu, food poisoning), drinking alcohol, or sweating profusely do I drink large amounts before waiting for thirst.

  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    Water intake is important to your health, in general, and also for weight loss.

    I drink about 80 ounces a day because I tend to dehydrate easily.

  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    Having it close by is pretty important. Carry a water bottle with you, and make sure you finish it. I add fruit, crystal light or mio occasionally when I feel i need some flavour. I get drowsy and even get stomach aches if I don't drink enough (probably because I drink too much coffee and get dehydrated)
  • MsSmith832019
    MsSmith832019 Posts: 12 Member
    Having it close by is pretty important. Carry a water bottle with you, and make sure you finish it. I add fruit, crystal light or mio occasionally when I feel i need some flavour. I get drowsy and even get stomach aches if I don't drink enough (probably because I drink too much coffee and get dehydrated)

    I drink 2 12 oz cups of coffee in the morning before any pure water intake. Might have to pack a bottle with water in my lunch bag, I hardly find the time to fill my desk cup.
  • kenyonhaff
    kenyonhaff Posts: 1,377 Member
    Drinking water helps avoiding sugary and/or calorie filled drinks (even and sometimes especially fruit drinks!)

    It helps digest the food you are eating better and more fully and can help with satiation.

    It gives you something to do besides snack.

    It can become a new break routine -- going to get water rather than scavenge for candy at the receptionist desk.

    There is sometimes a lot of "woo" around water, and the truth is you don't need to drink ridiculous amounts of water unless you're training for the Iron Man run across the lava fields of Hawaii. Even the "8 glasses of water" MFP encourages your to drink is based on not-entirely-scientific guidelines. But, saying that -- increasing water intake has some really good benefits.
  • ellie117
    ellie117 Posts: 293 Member
    I love drinking a glass of cold water to curb cravings. It fills me up and keeps me from reaching for a high-calorie snack. So in that sense, it helps with weight loss.

    You should drink water for your overall health, regardless of weight loss goals. The "gallon challenge" is probably too much for most people, but I drink around 80oz per day.

    I'd suggest getting a reusable normal-size water bottle and drinking 1-2 per work shift and maybe another 1 when you get home. Having it with you will help keep you accountable and remind you to drink it.
  • Cricketmad88
    Cricketmad88 Posts: 415 Member
    I have a 1.5l bottle which I drink at work, then when I get home I refill it and drink that during the evening and finish it in the morning, then fill it up for work and repeat.
  • Pipsqueak1965
    Pipsqueak1965 Posts: 397 Member
    I have a glass as soon as I go downstairs in the morning, then a cup of tea. When I get to work I have a small cafetiere of coffee. Then water all day - I keep a refillable litre bottle on my desk and just use it to fill my glass. Every time I stop working to think/whatever I try to have at least half a glass. I don't drink so much after about 7-8pm, as I don't want to be waking up to wee!
  • ElizabethKalmbach
    ElizabethKalmbach Posts: 1,415 Member
    I drink 2 12 oz cups of coffee in the morning before any pure water intake. Might have to pack a bottle with water in my lunch bag, I hardly find the time to fill my desk cup.

    I have a quart jar with a straw on my desk at work for drinking because I get annoyed having to refill a little tiny cup every hour. It's easier to log 4c of water when I refill my jar than it is to remember to log every single little glass. >_<

    I have very low blood pressure (90/55), and without sufficient water, I tend to get a bit... "fainty."

    So, fluid intake is more important to some than to others, but in general it's a thing your body needs to move stuff around. I used to drink a lot of coffee and it hydrated me just fine, though I find that I don't have to visit the bathroom quite as frequently since switching up some of that intake to plain water.
  • RovP6
    RovP6 Posts: 108 Member
    I'm terrible at keeping up with my water intake. Any words of wisdom? How important is water intake to weight loss?

    It's not terribly important as most of your food is water (even meat, like human tissue, is 70% or so water before cooking). Follow your thirst. We live in a culture of unnecessary hyper-hydration. Having said that, dehydration can affect athletic performance but is unlikely to be a problem unless you're extremely dehydrated. Too much water can (in extremely rare cases of hyponatremia) kill you.

    I think most nutritionists and good PT would disagree with you there. Water is very important to your overall body function and can help enormously in weight loss. For one thing it can fill you up to the extent that you no longer feel hungry. I drink 4 litres a day (about a gallon) spaced out throughout the day. Drink a pint as soon as you get up in the morning because you lose a lot of water through breathing while asleep. Don't take my word for it though...

    https://instagram.com/p/BYtjQ3_n9W5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
  • ladyzherra
    ladyzherra Posts: 438 Member
    Drinking water is difficult for me, too. I find myself dehydrated sometimes just because I am so busy with things that I might pour myself a glass of water and never drink it.

    Water can be important for weight loss when considering that staying hydrated can decrease hunger. For some, drinking water a short time before a meal can "fill up" the body so that less food is eaten.
  • PTA4LYF
    PTA4LYF Posts: 87 Member
    I'm terrible at keeping up with my water intake. Any words of wisdom? How important is water intake to weight loss?

    It's not terribly important as most of your food is water (even meat, like human tissue, is 70% or so water before cooking). Follow your thirst. We live in a culture of unnecessary hyper-hydration. Having said that, dehydration can affect athletic performance but is unlikely to be a problem unless you're extremely dehydrated. Too much water can (in extremely rare cases of hyponatremia) kill you.

    i have to take issue with this because water is extemely important. research shows from dr Agatston that for your major organs to function properly and maintain normal function of your body that an individual should drink half their body weight in ounces when drinking water. so if you weigh 150 you should drink 75 ounces a day. as for helping with weight loss it helps decrease water retention so the more we drink the more we expel and are able to dispose of the toxins in our body and most hunger pains are not caused from hunger but from dehydration.
  • misclaire81
    misclaire81 Posts: 33 Member
    Water is important, but more so if you're doing keto, because your kidneys work harder on keto. I don't have a problem staying hydrated, but some times the water infusion bags are a nice alternative
  • latincoffee
    latincoffee Posts: 187 Member
    I'm terrible at keeping up with my water intake. Any words of wisdom? How important is water intake to weight loss?

    Water is definitely important to stay hydrated and it also very vital in assisting with fat loss, organs fuel from water, among other things :)
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    Water itself is important regardless of fat loss or otherwise. Just drink enough of it. One of the fundamentally important things for fat loss is a calorie deficit.
  • flotek72
    flotek72 Posts: 500 Member
    Water is important for hydration like people have said above. It also has other purposes that are beneficial for working out. An example would be taking a look at what creatine does and why they recommend drinking extra water while taking creatine.

    A good rule of thumb is to check the color of your urine. If it is clear or pale straw colored, then you are good.
  • ItSnOtUrDaYoK
    ItSnOtUrDaYoK Posts: 13 Member
    I will give you 6 reasons why drinking plenty of water is essential for weight loss.

    1. Water is a natural appetite suppressant.

    2. Water increases calorie burning.

    3. Water helps to remove waste from the body.

    4. Drinking water can reduce overall liquid calorie intake.

    5. Water is necessary to burn fat.

    6. Water helps with workouts.

  • Pipsqueak1965
    Pipsqueak1965 Posts: 397 Member
    And it can sometimes help a little with weight loss, as thirst and hunger signals can be easily confused.
  • nighthawk584
    nighthawk584 Posts: 2,023 Member
    ceiswyn wrote: »
    Who are these people who find that drinking makes them less hungry, and how do I become one?

    And how do I stop people suggesting it to me for the millionth time as though it’s a brilliant new idea that I might never have heard before?!

    you mean your water doesn't have fat chunks in it? :-P