How important is water intake?
MsSmith832019
Posts: 12 Member
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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Replies
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MsSmith832019 wrote: »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.
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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.
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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)
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riffraff2112 wrote: »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.4 -
MsSmith832019 wrote: »I drink 2 12 oz cups of coffee in the morning before any pure water intake.
Same. Also, thirsty sometimes feels like hungry. Feeling peckish but don't know what you want? Try drinking some water.5 -
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.2 -
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.3 -
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.2
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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!2
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MsSmith832019 wrote: »riffraff2112 wrote: »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.
The coffee counts for hydration as does water from food. You don't need pure water for hydration.13 -
MsSmith832019 wrote: »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.8 -
MsSmith832019 wrote: »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.2 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »MsSmith832019 wrote: »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
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I absolutely agree with this. As in many areas of weight loss and nutrition , when it comes to water intake, people tend to go overboard . No pun intended. I've seen challenges posted here to drink one gallon daily, or even more. That's foolish and unnecessary .BrianSharpe wrote: »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.
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It's not important to weight loss at all.
Obviously it is important to health, but as NovusDies said, that doesn't mean drinking a specific amount of water (or other liquid and you also get hydration from food), it means getting enough for your needs, which the urine will reflect.
I've always been someone who drinks water (or coffee) all day, so maybe I have a blindspot here, but I find it incredibly hard to believe that the average person in a society with plenty of safe liquid available to drink would be dehydrated, would not just naturally drink when they needed hydration, unless they are not naturally going to drink when (or soon after) exercising or outside on a hot day.
The focus on drinking water for weight loss I think is something of a myth based on the idea that if people are focused on drinking a lot they will do that instead of eating when they otherwise might, but I think the promotion of drinking enormous amounts of water is sometimes unhealthy (you can drink too much, and I have definitely seen the attitude that more is always better and it's such an easy thing to do, just drinking water). Beyond that, I think it encourages a "must take these magical steps" approach to weight loss and takes the focus off calories and the real simplicity of how it works.9 -
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.4 -
Water might "fill you up", but it has never curbed my cravings (temperature is irrelevant). If it works for you to drink water to avoid eating empty calories, that's great. Doesn't work for everyone. Definitely does nothing for me. Hungry means hungry. Thirsty means thirsty. My brain never mixes them up.7
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BrianSharpe wrote: »MsSmith832019 wrote: »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.2 -
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 alternative1
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MsSmith832019 wrote: »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
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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.2
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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.3 -
BrianSharpe wrote: »MsSmith832019 wrote: »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.
So if I weighed myself in stone, I would only need about 11 oz of water a day. Thanks for the advice. Good to know.
ETA -- whoops. Forgot to halve it. Five and a half oz of water a day. Good thing I caught that. I might have hurt myself with that extra five and a half ounces.7 -
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.
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Rickster_FL wrote: »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.
The body can burn fat in a state of mild dehydration. Otherwise each time I have gotten a stomach flu or food poisoning I would have never had the energy to hydrate again. If you get so dehydrated you cannot burn fat you are likely dead or close to it.
Adequate hydration is essential to feeling good and operating overall in an optimal way. In this way it can be indirectly responsible for increased NEAT and calorie burning.
I am generally over hydrated which I find to be annoying. I blame the coffee and the high volume of vegetables I eat each day. I might burn more energy with my extra trips to the restroom but I view those extra trips as extra interruptions to my day which for me is a negative.5 -
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?!16 -
And it can sometimes help a little with weight loss, as thirst and hunger signals can be easily confused.3
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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?!
I was wondering about that too. I think it helps me at a meal to register being full faster but I see no discernible appetite benefit otherwise. In fact, drinking water when I am really hungry makes me feel slightly nauseous and it makes me want to put some food in fast. I just went through this yesterday when I was fasting for an early afternoon blood work and I was trying to stay well hydrated so my veins would be easier to stick. I could not get to a fast food joint afterwards fast enough.
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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? :-P1 -
I get the sense that the people insisting that drinking water is oh so important for fat loss think there's no middle ground between being seriously dehydrated and carefully counting and drinking a specific number of oz or more of water per day, as if that would magically cause weight loss with no deficit.
Fact is, it's not very hard to consume sufficient liquid to be properly hydrated. At least not for most people who live in areas where drinkable water is available.
Personally, I've always enjoyed water and consumed more than I need for hydration, and yet I managed to gain weight when doing that, so it's hard for me to believe in any of these magical effects. Should one avoid dehydration? Sure, that ought to go without saying.9
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