The Links Between Drinking Water and Weight Loss

Drinking water and weight loss have always been two things that MUST go together. You just can't lose weight if you drink too little water or if you get dehydrated by too much caffeine, alcohol or sweating! So drinking water and weight loss is a key combination.

But does water MAKE you lose weight?

Here's an amazing fact!

Drinking water is essential to weight loss.

If you plan on losing weight and keeping it off, water is most probably the most important element of your weight loss diet. That is an amazing fact, wouldn't you agree, given the amount of money people spend on diets, diet products and diet pills - water costs almost nothing!

I guess most of us take water for granted, but it's a pretty potent catalyst for long term weight control as well as for good health.

But how are drinking water and weight loss linked?

The better you understand the effect of drinking water and weight loss, I think the more you will start to take this on board in your daily habit and become more conscious of how the dehydrating effects of tea, coffee, cola or alcohol are sabotaging your best weight loss efforts!

Firstly, one remarkable truth is that the body cannot metabolise stored fat efficiently without enough water.

Secondly, if you are retaining water, it figures that it's going to show up as excess weight. Although it might seem odd, to get rid of excess water you actually must drink more water to restore the body's water balance.

Here's FIVE really great tips to maximise the effects of drinking water and weight loss.

Tip 1:
Water keeps your appetite suppressed AND helps your body work off stored fat.

Research have shown that reducing your water intake can cause fat deposits to increase while increasing water intake can actually reduce fat deposits.

Here's the science bit on drinking water and weight loss...

The kidneys cannot work very well with insufficient water. When they do not function to their full capacity and so some of the overload is dumped onto the liver. Since one of the liver's primary functions is to metabolise stored fat to give energy to the body, if the liver has to do some of the kidney's work, it cannot work on fat loss.

As a result, it breaks down far less fat than if it was working at its best. The consequence is that more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss grinds to a halt.

 Oh my God! Not what you want, right?

So it's really all about drinking water and weight loss, but if you don't drink enough water, it can stop you losing weight and make fat loss like pushing a bit boulder up a steep hill.

Tip 2:

Drinking water is the best treatment for fluid retention.

When the body gets an inadequate amount of water, it responds as if its survival is being threatened and starts to hang on to every drop, storing it in all the little spaces between the cells. The result is swollen feet, hands, and legs. Diuretics offer only a temporary solution, because they force out stored water but you also lose many essential nutrients into the bargain.

Again, because the body sees this as a threat, it will actually replace the lost water first chance it gets. And then the fluid retention returns. The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give your body what it needs - a bountiful supply of water - so that stored water can be released.

If you continually suffer with water retention, you might want to look at your salt intake - excess salt may be to blame. Your body will tolerate salt only to a certain level. The more salt you eat, the more water your system retains to dilute it. But getting rid of too much salt is straightforward - just drink more water, so it forces the kidneys to flush out excess sodium.

Tip 3:

An overweight person needs more water than a thin one.

The larger you are, the higher your metabolic load. Tip 1 indicates that water is the key to fat metabolism. But water also helps keep up a good muscle tone, providing them the means to contract and by preventing dehydration. It also helps avoid that sagging skin that can happen after you've lost weight. Shrinking cells are buoyed by water which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and radiant.

Tip 4:

Water helps detoxify the body.

During weight loss, the body has quite a stash of waste to get rid of, including all that fat it has broken down. Again, getting enough water helps flush out the waste and toxins. This can actually also start help with any problems you may have had with constipation. When the body gets too little water, it pulls off what it needs from other sources in the body and guess what? The colon is a major drain on water. So if you're not getting enough water, you're destined to get more than a little constipated! Drinking enough water will quickly get you back to a normal bowel function. BLISS!

How much water is enough?

On the average, a person should drink eight (8 oz.) glasses every day - that's around 1.5 to 2 litres. However, if you are overweight, you'll need to add one additional glass for every 25 lbs of excess weight. Obviously, if you are exercising and sweating or if the weather is really hot, you should increase the amount that you drink as well.

There's some debate as to whether these 8 glasses should be pure water. My view is that it doesn't matter if you add a little cordial or fruit juice to give it some flavour. In fact I'd even count tea and coffee as long as it's decaffeinated (although it's not ideal). And certainly natural herbal beverages or infusions would count towards your water intake. Of course, there's also water in some of the foods you eat, so that's just a bonus!!

As a final word on drinking water and weight loss, water should preferably be cold - it is absorbed more quickly into the system than warm water. There's also some evidence that drinking cold water can actually burn calories - the so-called 'thermojetic' effect or "negative calories".

What does reaching a 'breakthrough point' mean?

When your body gets the water it needs to function properly, your fluids are perfectly balanced and you will have reached what is called the "breakthrough point".

• Endocrine gland function improves.
• Fluid retention is alleviated as stored water is lost.
• More fat is utilised because the liver is free to metabolise stored fat.
• Natural thirst returns.
• There is a loss of hunger almost overnight.

SO KEEP TANKING UP ON WATER... and be conscious of the very strong link between DRINKING WATER AND WEIGHT LOSS.

To utilize water most efficiently during weight loss, follow this schedule:

· Morning: 750ml consumed over a 30-minute period
· Noon: 750 ml consumed over a 30-minute period.
· Evening: 750 ml consumed between 5-8 pm.

If you stop drinking enough water, your body fluids will be thrown out of balance again and you may experience fluid retention, unexplained weight gain and loss of thirst.

To remedy this situation, you have to go back and force another breakthrough.

So now if you ask about the relationship between drinking water and weight loss, you have a great understanding. Just live by the tips here, and water will be your best friend. To your success!

So now if you ask about the relationship between drinking water and weight loss, you have a great understanding. Just live by the tips here, and water will be your best friend.

Jay Allyson is founder & CEO of Belanda Consulting & Marketing helping people to achieve their full potential by enhancing their health, life and work through coaching, nutrition and a good dose of entrepreneurship!

Find out how you can work with her at Blog jayallyson.com or inquire about Joining the Challenge.

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