How Drinking More Water Can Help You Lose Weight
How drinking more water can help you lose weight
Can drinking more water really help you lose weight?
If you’ve ever gone through a period of weight loss you’ve probably wondered how important drinking water actually is to your goals.
After all, that bland taste of water, who would want to drink that, right?
And if we can get away with not drinking much of it because we “feel fine” without it, then who cares?
Does any of this sound familiar?
The reality is that most of us would benefit from drinking more water, especially when it comes to weight loss. We are constantly losing water from our body through sweating, breathing, and urine, to name just a few. Water is involved in every type of cellular process in your body and In order to prevent dehydration, because all of these processes run less efficiently when we’re dehydrated, we need to drink enough of it.
However, if you’re already hydrated and getting plenty of water then getting more water into your diet just for the sake of it won’t make much of a difference.
But how do we know if we’re drinking enough?
How much water should you drink per day?
The answer to this really depends on the individual as there are many factors that affect this. Health authorities commonly recommend eight 8 ounce glasses per day which equates to roughly 2 liters.
However, some of you will need less and some will need more.
For example, a 100kg male who is involved in strenuous exercise 5 days per week will need to drink a lot more water than a 50kg female who only walks from time to time.
I know this leaves you a little confused and you want me to tell you exactly how much water you should drink. Instead I have a better idea. How about I teach you how to judge for yourself? So you can tell whether or not you need more? doesn’t that sound better?
That way you’ll never need to go searching for help on this again. All it’s going to take is for you to inspect your urine! Unless you want me to inspect for you? No, didn’t think so…….
How drinking more water can help you lose weight
Now that you know how much water you should be drinking, let’s get back to how drinking more water can help you lose weight. Remember when I said being dehydrated results in all the cellular processes in your body running less efficiently? Well that goes for your metabolism too.
Your metabolism consists of the build-up of substances (anabolism) and the breakdown of substances (catabolism). Basically all the biochemical processes that occur in your body. Being even slightly dehydrated can cause a significant drop in metabolism. So drinking more water, if you are below the amount your body needs, will boost your metabolism and aid with your weight loss.
It’s also possible that some of your hunger could be due to dehydration. You see it’s very difficult for your body to tell the difference between hunger and thirst. So the next time you’re feeling the onset of hunger, try drinking a glass of water instead!
Research has also shown that drinking a glass of water before a meal can help reduce the amount you eat by making you feel more full and you actually end up eating less.
Don’t believe me? Why don’t you give it try for yourself and let me know how you get on! You may only eat a little less at each meal but just think how many meals you eat in one week? One month? One year? It will all add up over time and you’ll be on your way to achieving all the weight loss you envisioned when you started this journey!
What’s more, adequate water intake has a number of other health benefits.