Water and Weight Loss - How Much Water Do I Need To Drink

Making sure to drink enough water is one of the most basic and simple things to do to maintain a healthy body and also aid weight loss but unfortunately, many people today go around chronically dehydrated and always feeling tired and hungry.

Although the benefits of water in aiding weight loss are often overlooked by many people seeking to lose weight, the fact as it stands today is that it is not that you have to but that you "must" drink sufficient amount of water if you are really serious about losing weight.

Essentially, water helps you lose weight through several mechanisms amongst which are: assisting with proper food digestion; aiding in detoxification of the body; increasing metabolism; suppression of appetite; and also the prevention of body water retention.

Although some people have come to realize the importance of drinking sufficient amount of water in their bid to lose weight, many simply have no idea about how much water they need to drink and therefore fail to drink an adequate amount on a daily basis to reap the benefits of this regimen.

How Much Water Is Enough?
Failing to regularly drink sufficient amount of water can lead to dehydration with symptoms such as thirst, dark and reduced urinary output, dry mouth, lightheadedness and poor concentration, dizziness, and headaches.

However, consuming excessive amounts of water can lead to a condition known as hyper-hydration which can be fatal if it degenerates to hyponatremia - a situation where the sodium levels of the body becomes too diluted. The goal of rehydrating yourself should therefore be to drink just about enough water to replace any amount lost to perspiration.

Also, a number of factors have to be taken into consideration when determining the daily amount of water that needs to be consumed for optimal weight loss, proper digestive function, and provision of extra energy. Some of these factors include your exercise and fitness level; temperature of the environment, whether cold or hot; your diet, whether it is high in fruits that have high water content; your body size and fat composition; and if you have any special condition such as a kidney problem, diarrhea or fever.

The generally recommended amount of water to drink is about eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day and which is considered by most dietitians and nutritionists to be a reasonable starting point. However, to achieve significant weight loss considering the above mentioned points, it is highly recommended to drink about 250ml of water per 10 kilograms of body weight per day. There is also the recommendation of simply aiming to drink between 1.5 to 2.0 liters of water per day.

To make it easier to drink this volume of water daily, it is best to try spacing out the intake over the course of your regular day. However, you will need to give yourself some time to adjust to the regimen because when you increase your daily water intake, the hypersensitivity of the bladder to increased body fluids will make you to start frequenting the bathroom as your body begins to flush out its stored water content.

Once this can be developed as a routine and your body gets to its breakthrough point and stops flushing out its stored water, drinking this amount of water eventually become a second nature.

Water and Other Beverages
Although it is a fact that you can get water by consuming fruit juice, soft drinks, and either coffee or tea, there is equally the fact that they contain substances such as simple sugars and caffeine.

Apart from the fact that most beverages contain extra calories that need to be factored into your overall daily calorie consumption, there is also the problem of most of these beverages making you lose your taste for water. Consequently, if you intend to use water as a means of achieving permanent weight loss, then it is recommended to use pure "plain" water!

In summary, drinking adequate amount of water will help you to suppress your appetite, increase your energy levels and also boost your metabolism and fat burning capability. Taking into cognizance the fact that water has absolutely no calories, you can now better appreciate why it should become an integral part of any sensible weight loss initiative.

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How Much Water Should You Drink a Day to Lose Weight?

If you're anything like me, you probably prefer drinking diet soda or diet Snapple over water. Unfortunately, not drinking water will cause health problems. So the question is how much water to drink a day to lose weight? First, I'll give you a run down on why H20 is important for your overall health. Then I'll answer the question as to how much you should drink per day.

The Function of Water and Our Body
Scientific studies indicate that 55% to 78% of our bodies are comprised of water. So roughly, two thirds of our body is made up of water. Obviously, we need to stay hydrated if we are to keep our bodies running smoothly.

Breakdown of Tissue and Organs
To understand how important the consumption of water is to keeping our bodies running smoothly, here is a breakdown of the percentage it plays in our tissue and organs. Our muscles consist of 75% water. 90% of our brain is made up of water. Our bones are made up of 22% water. Our blood is made up of 83% water.
Still doubt the importance of drinking water? Here are some more fun facts as to how our body uses H2O to run smoothly.

How Water Makes Our Body Function
Water does a myriad of things. It gets rid of impurities in our system, protects our vital organs, regulates our body temperature, is responsible for the transportation of oxygen and nutrients to cells, speeds up our metabolism, and keeps our joints lubricated.

Water is Liquid Gold
With all the benefits water provides, I'd call it liquid gold. If you have a headache for instance, simply drinking a glass of water will subdue your headache. Why? Because your brain is 90% water, if you don't get enough water in your body, your brain cannot function well. You become dehydrated and fatigued.

How Much Should We Drink a Day?
So exactly how much water should you drink per day? The standard answer is that we should drink eight 8 oz glasses of per day. But many experts beg to differ. We lose at least that amount of water daily when we perspire, urinate, or exercise. So the consensus is that you should drink half your weight in water.
For instance, if you weigh 200 pounds, then you should drink 100 ounces - that comes to roughly 12.5 eight ounce glasses of water. If you exercise, you should drink at least 3 to 4 more glasses.

Symptoms of Dehydration
How do you know if you're not getting enough water? Here are some symptoms that suggest your intake of water is inadequate: constipation, muscle cramps, fatigue, headache, very dark urine, hunger, and dry skin.

Drinking Too Much Water
When is drinking water too much of a good thing? There is such thing as having too much of a good thing. While water is essential to good health, if you over do it, you can send your body into shock through water intoxication. Your body needs a certain amount of sodium to function. Excess water can dilute the needed sodium in your body. So stick with the recommended daily dosage.

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Water and Weight Loss

Water is the single most important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off. Almost one-half of Canadians are either obese or overweight; in the United States a staggering 70% are overweight. These statistics corroborate other studies, which show that most North Americans do not drink nearly enough water. Proper hydration (8 - 8ounce glasses of water/ day) is critical to any weight loss program. You should also drink an extra glass of water for every 25 pounds of excess weight. Even mild dehydration will slow down the metabolism by as much as 3% causing fat deposits to increase.

Some nutrition counselors and fitness professionals use whole body, bio-impedance, body composition analyzers that can provide accurate readouts of body fat, lean mass and body water as part of their recommendations for a weight loss or fitness program. In order to effectively implement a weight loss program it is critical to accurately monitor these elements in order to achieve long- term results. Many diets will result in loss of body water or a combination of a loss of body water and loss of lean muscle mass. This will lower the metabolism, resulting in a reduced caloric intake requirements for weight loss maintenance.

 As it becomes more and more difficult to maintain this lowered caloric intake, the weight is ultimately regained, usually in the form of excess fat. Other health problems may also be experienced due to lack of proper hydration. An effective weight loss program should combine plenty of water, aerobic and anaerobic exercise and a moderate, well-balanced caloric intake that is not less than your basal metabolic rate.

 This type of regime will result in a gradual loss of fat while building lean mass and maintaining proper hydration. Regular body composition testing during the weight loss program will ensure that fat is being lost, while proper hydration maintained and muscle mass increased.

Water assists weight loss in the following way:
• Suppresses appetite
• Assists the body in metabolizing fat - if the kidneys are overloaded due to insufficient water, the liver, which normally metabolizes fat, must take over the kidney's job
• Reduces fat deposits in the body
• Relieves fluid retention problems
• Reduces sodium buildup
• Helps maintain muscle tone
• Rids the body of wastes and toxins
• Relieves constipation
When you are dehydrated, the body is forced to draw whatever water it can from the intestines and bowel, causing constipation. In addition, if the kidneys do not have enough water to dissipate waste, the liver will assist in the job. Normally the liver functions to metabolize stored fat. However, when the liver helps the kidneys function, some fat will not metabolize, which then contributes to weight gain. One of water's most important roles is to aid in the elimination of waste from the body, which is a substantial task during fat metabolism, as toxins tend to accumulate quickly. Ensuring that the body is well hydrated helps the colon function properly, which in turn supports fat loss.

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. Cravings are often misinterpreted as food cravings, when they are really thirst cravings. If you are not drinking enough water over an extended period of time your thirst mechanism shuts down, especially as you grow older. As you increase your regular water intake this thirst signal reactivates and lets you know the difference between a water and a food craving. It will also be easier to drink more water thereafter. In a University of Washington study it was found that a glass of water would suppress hunger pangs for 98% of dieters. It keeps the taste buds cleansed of flavours that could otherwise trigger cravings, and keeps your stomach feeling full.

Cold water, below 60 degrees, is absorbed by the body more quickly than room temperature water. In addition, cold water results in fat calories being burned to bring the water temperature up to internal body temperature of 98.6 degrees F. Your body will burn 31 calories bringing a quart of icy water to body temperature. Some people find that they may experience stomach cramps from this, so experiment to see if your body will adjust to this.

Many dieters do not drink enough water because they fear that it will lead to water retention. The opposite is actually the case. When the body gets insufficient amounts of water, it senses this as a threat and holds on to every drop. This results in swollen feet, legs and hands. Studies show that when you drink enough water, the body eliminates excess fluids. When your body is breaking down fats it needs even more water to help eliminate the extra waste that is produced.

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone, which in turn aids proper muscle contraction and prevents dehydration. It also helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss. Shrinking cells are buoyed by water which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and resilient.

The American College of Sports Medicine notes that drinking an extra 2 liters of water per day while dieting will maximize the loss of fat as a percentage of total weight loss. Drinking more water will prove to be the simplest, least expensive, most powerful and longest lasting key to long-term fat reduction.

Further information about water, as it pertains to your health, can be found at:
http://www.verawatersolutions.com/water-university
Contact: christine[@]verawatersolutions[dot]com

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How Much Water Should You Drink A Day To Lose Weight? On Water and Weight Loss

A lot of time, thought, and effort is put into losing weight, changing dietary habits and re-shaping body composition. Are you one of the thousands trying to eat less, control appetite, reduce cravings and lose body fat? Most people try very hard and the whole effort to lose weight just gets too hard. The good news is that you don't need to change your work ethic or will-power, in most cases you just need to work on your water and nutrient intake, with emphasis on both the quantity and quality of the water you drink.

Water Quantity:

So, how much water SHOULD you drink a day to lose weight? Studies and opinions on this vary but one of the most popularized concepts over the past 10 years (in terms of water consumption quantity) has been to drink eight, 8 oz. glasses of water every day. This guideline is based upon people of average weight and therefore you should adjust your intake according to your own weight.

For example, if you are a 225 lb. person, your recommended daily consumption would be more like ten, 8 oz. glasses of water per day while if you only weight 95 lbs., then six, 8 oz. glasses of water should be sufficient.

Taking in a satisfactory quantity of water every day is important because water helps your body perform a large number of tasks, including its ability to metabolize food and carry waste nutrients out of your body - important factors in losing or maintaining your weight.

Water Quality:

However, when trying to lose weight, perhaps even more important than the quantity of water you drink is the quality of the water! Simply put, drink waters (and eat foods) that are high in natural nutrients and you'll lose weight naturally.

Our primary reason for eating and drinking is to acquire nutrients. Your body craves the nutrition it needs to keep our bodily processes running 24 hours a day for the length of your lifetime. So, if the water you drink and food you eat are basically lacking in nutrition, your body will continue to seek it through continued hunger, cravings, and more eating.

It's not your fault, most bottled waters and tap waters have been through a filtration or reverse osmosis process and are lacking natural minerals and nutrients, while our foodstuffs are continually losing their nutritive value due in part to poor farming and environmental practices, not to mention processing and preservatives. So, your body ends up not getting the nutrients it wants and needs. You end up deficient in life's necessary materials.

You can easily correct this dietary deficiency by choosing to drink and eat right - for your body and life longevity. Choose fresh, organic fruits and vegetables and choose drinking water that is a natural well water with dietary elements and dietary compounds like calcium, magnesium, potassium and even alkaline substances like sodium bicarbonate.

Organic fruits and vegetables are now in much bigger supply and easier to find. Unfortunately, finding a natural, healthy mineral water here in the United States is not easy to do. We are fortunate in Texas to have one of the best natural water alternatives nearby in Mineral Wells, Texas. This water, with its naturally occurring blend of so many vital dietary elements and compounds, not only hydrates your body with clean, natural water, but also fulfills your body's needs for essential nutrition. With a surplus of natural nutrients through healthy eating and drinking, you body will crave less food and you'll end up with what you want, a leaner and healthier you with much less effort! So count your nutrients and not calories and look and feel your best... and live longer!

Find out more about the health and weight-loss benefits of naturally-occurring mineral water.

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