Why is tons of water important?

allows the body to build more muscle, burn more fat, intake more nutrients including enableing protein synthesis (muscle building process) to work better.... also fills you up more if you are trying to eat less and are in a caloric defecit... it also clears up skin and makes you look better overall.. the benefits are endless when it comes to water.

So, is it truly beneficial to drink a trough of water everyday?

Not really, not supported by evidence. Drinking before eating may reduce the amount you eat but after that you just need to be adequately hydrates which isn't measured in gallons.

Give or take, 60% of your entire body is water. You can go weeks/months without food and not die. You go a few days without water and it's death. Water is vital for every system in your body to function healthily. I live by the axiom, if your ever thirsty, it means you are ALREADY dehydrated.

As long as you do not have a health condition (congestive heart failure, etc) drinking more water is always a good idea.

It's not as magical as some think, but it is important to stay well hydrated.

Drinking water is beneficial on days that you are working out, because you are losing water when you sweat. However, on days that you rest; it is not neccessary that you drink a lot of water. Matter of fact, you only have to drink when you feel thirsty on your rest days. There is no scientific evidence to support that drinking a lot of water will help your body.

Reference
(Per my SCI 241 nutrition class that I just completed) got an A+)

Oddly enough, if you don't drink enough water, your body retains water which can leave you feeling bloated or even increase the numbers on the scale.

If you are having a tough time getting in your water, try MiO. It's a liquid water enhancer sold in grocery stores usually with the Crystal Light and the Kool-Aid. It is calorie free and you can adjust the taste by how much you squirt into your water bottle. I can't drink water without it. The strawberry watermelon is awesome!

Just a side note on MiO, and this is just my experience, but when I put it in my water, it actually stalled out my weight loss. I was still eating the same things and working out etc, but no movement. For a month. I quit using it and started losing again.

Again, just my experience, but it might save someone who is frustrated.

Oddly enough, if you don't drink enough water, your body retains water which can leave you feeling bloated or even increase the numbers on the scale.

If you are having a tough time getting in your water, try MiO. It's a liquid water enhancer sold in grocery stores usually with the Crystal Light and the Kool-Aid. It is calorie free and you can adjust the taste by how much you squirt into your water bottle. I can't drink water without it. The strawberry watermelon is awesome!

Just a side note on MiO, and this is just my experience, but when I put it in my water, it actually stalled out my weight loss. I was still eating the same things and working out etc, but no movement. For a month. I quit using it and started losing again.

Again, just my experience, but it might save someone who is frustrated.

Really? I haven't had that experience... Well, at least I don't think I have. Maybe I should stop using it and see if I lose weight quicker!

I think it might have had something to do with the artificial sweetner in it. I keep seeing people praise MiO and thought I would throw that out there.

Drinking water is beneficial on days that you are working out, because you are losing water when you sweat. However, on days that you rest; it is not neccessary that you drink a lot of water. Matter of fact, you only have to drink when you feel thirsty on your rest days. There is no scientific evidence to support that drinking a lot of water will help your body.

Reference
(Per my SCI 241 nutrition class that I just completed) got an A+)

I understand what you are trying to say (and congrats on the A+) but you have to be careful what you write on here because people may take it the wrong way. As silly as it sounds, "A lot" of water to some people might mean more than 1 or 2 glasses.

You mean to say there is no scientific evidence that drinking a huge surplus of water above an adequate amount to keep you properly hydrated will help your body.

I don't think people need to go ahead and drink two gallons of water a day, but you would be surprised how little water people drink. I hate drinking water. There may be some days where I don't consume a liquid all day! And I've blacked out from dehydration before. I got really thirsty, drank 9 glasses of water at this bar/restaurant but by then it was too late. My heart rate skyrocketed and I couldn't speak, got really dizzy. Not fun! "Not dying" is enough "scientific evidence" for me haha

It's not. New studies have come out to disprove this theory. Google it, I'm too lazy to provide the links.

You get most of what you need from the food you eat. You do not need to force feed yourself water if you don't want to drink it.

Ok lazy. I can't find these "studies" so if you can find some links that would be great (to the actually journal articles) Did they actually compare people drinking water vs. not drinking water and a variety of diets. What about people who don't eat fruits and vegetables - do they need water? There are a lot of factors - I worry that by posting vague statements without a thorough explanation of the controls and variables of each study is going to make people misinterpret what you say and believe things without the full story.

Thanks.

Not surprisingly much of the so-called hydration research has been funded by the makers of sports drinks (no conflict of interest there......)

Adequate hydration is important for overall good health and extremely important (more from a performance point of view) for athletes. Many people do overlook the fact that much of what we eat is, like our bodies, mostly water and a considerable amount of your fluid needs can be met through eating.

If you're consuming large quantities of water on a daily basis I would suggest supplementing your electrolytes. Remember grade 10 science and that class on osmosis? That happens in your body and too much water will deplete electrolyte levels and (the movie Idiocracy notwithstanding) your body needs adequate levels of electrolytes to function properly.

http://www.healthtoheart.com/electrolytes-electrolyte-imbalance.htm

It's not. New studies have come out to disprove this theory. Google it, I'm too lazy to provide the links.

You get most of what you need from the food you eat. You do not need to force feed yourself water if you don't want to drink it.

Ok lazy. I can't find these "studies" so if you can find some links that would be great (to the actually journal articles) Did they actually compare people drinking water vs. not drinking water and a variety of diets. What about people who don't eat fruits and vegetables - do they need water? There are a lot of factors - I worry that by posting vague statements without a thorough explanation of the controls and variables of each study is going to make people misinterpret what you say and believe things without the full story.

Thanks.

If you read the book Freakonomics they talk about how it's never been based on any science.

This is just a news article but it basically covers it.
http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/05/12053524-let-go-of-the-water-bottle-youre-plenty-hydrated-people?lite

I would need to see the article and the protocol they used. It sounds like all they are saying is that the 64 oz we are told to drink is not proven. I can't tell what the study actually compared, the population and what it controlled for until I see the actual article. I would never trust a news article like that as these studies often get misinterpreted.

I was not in a lab and I'm no science doctor but when I started "forcing" myself to consume ridiculous amounts of water everything started working better and weight loss became much easier.

I was already working out and paying close attention to what I was eating.

It's not that I wasn't drinking water...I didn't always remember to drink. I would sometimes go through my whole work day w/out drinking. Now I drink 8lbs of water while I'm at work, a couple before and a couple after work. The before and after are simply because I'm thirsty but during work I'm forcing myself to drink. I will not stop because I have never felt better and the weight loss has only slowed down when I have had a series of several days where I skipped or drank much less while at work.

I am a skeptic by nature but my personal experience has me voting in favor of water.

So, is it truly beneficial to drink a trough of water everyday?

Not really, not supported by evidence. Drinking before eating may reduce the amount you eat but after that you just need to be adequately hydrates which isn't measured in gallons.

Depends on the person. I know during my workouts or when I do yard work, etc I am a huge sweat ball. It's not uncommon for me to sweat off 4+ lbs in an hour or so working out. So I always shoot for 1+ gallons of water daily. Now granted, for some that's overkill. It just depends on your body, some can be just fine on 64 ounces or less. I know for me, at half a gallon my mouth is dry, i'm thirsty cranky and my muscles get sore.

same for me....must have something to do with weight. I do a gallon a day.

I would need to see the article and the protocol they used. It sounds like all they are saying is that the 64 oz we are told to drink is not proven. I can't tell what the study actually compared, the population and what it controlled for until I see the actual article. I would never trust a news article like that as these studies often get misinterpreted.

If the studies have been misinterpreted, they've been pretty universally misinterpreted. But you're right, if you don't buy it you should definitely get on your university library web site or Google Scholar and read the studies yourself and draw your own conclusions. You're probably right that all they're saying is the '8x8 is just a random, almost baseless recommendation and hydration depends on many things, not just how many glasses of water you've had'.

Barbara Rolls has done interesting work regarding the water in foods and how it affects satiety (whereas beverage liquids don't). You should check those out while you're in there.

I would need to see the article and the protocol they used. It sounds like all they are saying is that the 64 oz we are told to drink is not proven. I can't tell what the study actually compared, the population and what it controlled for until I see the actual article. I would never trust a news article like that as these studies often get misinterpreted.

If the studies have been misinterpreted, they've been pretty universally misinterpreted. But you're right, if you don't buy it you should definitely get on your university library web site or Google Scholar and read the studies yourself and draw your own conclusions. You're probably right that all they're saying is the '8x8 is just a random, almost baseless recommendation and hydration depends on many things, not just how many glasses of water you've had'.

Barbara Rolls has done interesting work regarding the water in foods and how it affects satiety (whereas beverage liquids don't). You should check those out while you're in there.

Yea I agree with what you say - it's just hard to tell if someone is comparing drinking water vs. eating foods with high water content is better for health, weight loss, or what without seeing the articles. I have no idea what they were measuring. What if it only studied drinking 64 oz vs drinking 200 oz and its effect on weight loss. Then one person reads that accidentally interprets the results and then everyone assumes its true.

In the end it could just be that drinking more water levels out any water weight gain from a high sodium intake and less scale fluctuation freaks people out less and they are more inclined to stick to their diet. It might not actually have anything to do with the water itself.

Personally I have experienced the effects of severe dehydration even though I eat a ton of fruit and veggies and I feel a lot better when I drink more water (even though I hate drinking it) It seems to help me sleep better too. Drinking 8 glasses a day certainly can't hurt!