How to Drink Water to Lose Weight

 How to take water to lose weight

Here is what science has to say about whether your water habit can aid in weight loss.

Drinking lots of water is the "holy grail" of health tips, according to experts. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, water makes up to 60% of our bodies and is in charge of several bodily functions, including cleaning away waste and controlling body temperature.

All of the cells, body parts and bodily fluids (such as blood) in the human body contain some amount of water, therefore our bodies are greatly dependent on it.

", says gastroenterologist Albert Do, MD, MPH, who also serves as the clinical director of Yale Medicine's fatty liver program in New Haven, Connecticut. He continues by saying that our kidneys do an excellent job of controlling how much water is in our systems; when we drink more water than we need to, they produce more pee; when we drink less water than we need to, they produce less urine. The body, however, is more susceptible to conditions of dehydration and can seldom last over a week without water.

Water can help you reach a healthy weight in addition to keeping you alive by assisting your body's systems in functioning (which is clearly the largest benefit of staying hydrated!). However, it's not as straightforward as "water in, weight off." Here is what you require.

How Does Hydration Affect Weight Loss, According to Science?

Water can help you lose weight in a number of different ways, according to some scientific research. Dr. Do stresses that it is "not apparent" if drinking water causes weight reduction directly, but the two may be indirectly connected.

Water is only one component of the weight loss equation, and Los Angeles-based board-certified sports dietetics specialist Cynthia Sass, MPH, RDN, advises against using it as your only weight loss strategy. But she adds that since water is essential for many bodily functions, such as healthy digestion, circulation, and waste removal, drinking enough water has additional health benefits.

Drinking more water may lead to eating less food

One small study indicated that drinking water before meals helped naturally lower calorie consumption, which may assist in healthy weight management. It was published in the October 2018 issue of Clinical Nutrition Research.

In comparison to those who drank the same amount of water after a meal or drank nothing at all, participants who drank one and a quarter cups of water before a meal ate less. There is a need for larger, more diverse research because this one only included 15 people, all of whom were between 20 and 30 years old.

Do clarify that drinking water before or with food might reduce the amount of food ingested, which can result in weight loss. Drinking water an hour before a meal may give hormonal satiety signals time to take effect and reduce appetite when it comes time to eat.

He adds that choosing many, smaller snacks throughout the day (instead of three larger meals) or boosting fiber consumption before to meals may have a similar impact.

Increasing Water Intake Could Hasten Metabolism

An analysis of studies from June 2016 found that drinking more water not only boosted weight reduction through "decreased eating," but also sped up metabolism by enhancing lipolysis (the breakdown of fats and other lipids by hydrolysis to release fatty acids).

Water can help rev metabolism, according to research, and while the immediate benefit may be small, it might snowball over time to have a bigger effect, says Sass.

For weight loss, how much water should you drink?

The association between the two hasn't been scientifically established, therefore Do says there isn't a precise amount of water that is advised for weight loss. But he advises adhering to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's recommendations in order to "keep hydration balance": Men are allowed 15.5 cups (3.7 liters or 124 ounces), whereas women are allowed 11.5 cups (2.7 liters or 92 ounces). He believes that this also applies to water and the liquids in food.

If you want to lose weight, when should you drink water?

Prior meals may help reduce your appetite and help you avoid overeating, so drinking water at these times will help you lose weight as much as possible. Consider drinking some water after a meal as it can aid with digestion. Sass advises spreading out your daily water consumption, though.

However, Do adds that some beverages have additives like caffeine that increase pee production. They have the opposite, dehydrating effect, in other words. While you don't have to switch to decaf to stay hydrated, he advises trying to detect when more water intake should be taken into account, such as when you are exposed to hot weather or engage in strenuous activity.

How Can You Increase Your Intake of Water?

Do advise that you may maintain the habit by adding water breaks to your regular schedule, just like you would with other healthy lifestyle practices. This could entail tying drinking water to existing routines (such as drinking a cup of water after brushing your teeth at night) or putting up reminders to do so.

Including more foods that contain water in your diet could be a different strategy. Watermelon and spinach are two foods that are almost entirely composed of water, according to the Mayo Clinic, which also notes that many fruits and vegetables have a high water content.

Sass advises carrying a water bottle with you and setting notifications on your phone to remind you to hydrate. A smart water bottle like HidrateSpark, which determines how much water you should drink and records your intake, is another option.

Sass also advocates flavoring your water to encourage you to drink more of it. If you don't like drinking plain water, she advises adding healthy additions like lemon or lime, fresh mint, cucumber slices, fresh ginger, or slightly mashed chunks of seasonal fruit.

What Is Water Weight (and How Do You Get Rid of It)?

The fluid weight that your body clings to is called water weight, according to Sass. And if you've ever started a diet and seen the numbers on the scale drop practically right away, it was probably due to water weight reduction. Do continues, "body weight from water can fluctuate day to day and depends on one's present hydration condition, food choices other than water, geographic location including weather and altitude, and other factors."

According to Sass, a higher-than-normal consumption of sodium is frequently the source of water weight since too much salt causes fluid retention. She continues, "Water weight can also be retained as a result of hormonal changes." Ironically, "the easiest approach to reduce it is to drink more water, and boost your intake of potassium, which prompts the release of excess sodium and fluid," she says, if the water weight is caused by too much salt. According to the Cleveland Clinic, foods high in potassium include potatoes and sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados, and leafy greens like spinach.

Water retention is not unhealthy from a health standpoint; in fact, the body naturally retains some water. Instead, weight from fatty tissue, commonly referred to as adipose tissue or fat mass, is unhealthy. He says, "Fat mass weight is a substitute measure as the latter is harder to precisely measure. The quantity of fat in the body is a direct contributor to metabolic health problems such as high cholesterol, insulin resistance, diabetes, and cardiovascular and fatty liver disorders.

Can You Lose Weight With Other Dietary Water Sources?

According to Sass, water-rich foods like yogurt and cottage cheese, as well as watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, peaches, oranges, and cucumbers, can supply roughly 20% of your daily fluid requirements. Calculating water intake from dietary sources, however, can be challenging. Do note that because water is present in all foods in varying amounts, it can be challenging to determine how much water a person consumes on a daily basis.

If you're attempting to lose weight, you need also think about each food's nutritional makeup, including its calories, carbs, and protein grams, and how it will affect your diet as a whole.

Is Water Fasting a Good Way to Lose Weight?

A type of fasting called water fasting involves solely drinking water. Sass opposes the technique, particularly when done alone and without proper medical care. (Under specific conditions, your doctor may advise briefly fasting before medical treatment, such as a colonoscopy, or for blood tests.)

Remember that most liquid-based fasts and cleanses, including water fasting, can cause temporary weight reduction. However, there is scant to no scientific proof that this kind of dietary strategy can lead to long-term weight loss. And while the sole possible "benefit" to following water fast may be brief weight loss, the "con" list is rather large. One of the possible negative effects on health? According to Do, symptoms of kidney disease include nutritional deficits, fainting, brain fog, exhaustion, and, in women, changes in hormone levels.

 Last remark on hydration and weight

Given that we are physically dependent on it to live, water is essential to our entire health. But even if drinking water can indirectly aid in weight loss by lowering caloric intake or boosting metabolism, you can't just sip your way to a smaller number on the scale.