Drinking Water to Lose Weight

60% of the human body is composed of water. However, fat tissue does not have as much water as lean muscle; therefore, people with more fatty tissue have less water. Water is needed to dissolve substances in our bodies that our cells use to attain valuable nutrients and minerals. Water is essential to survive, but does drinking water help you lose weight? Many studies have shown a positive correlation between increased intake of water and weight loss. Read on to learn more about drinking water to lose weight.

 

 

The Breakdown of Drinking Water to Lose Weight

 

1. Appetite Suppression

Sometimes a person thinks they are hungry when they are thirsty. Drinking a full glass of water just before a meal can help you feel fuller, so you end up taking in less overall calories. Dr. Helen Parretti, NIHR Clinical Lecturer at the University of Birmingham, stated, “The beauty of these findings is in the simplicity. Just drinking a pint of water, three times a day, before your main meals may help reduce your weight.”

• When the stomach senses it is full, it sends signals to the brain to stop eating.
• Since water takes up so much space in the stomach, it makes sense that it would lead to a feeling of fullness, thereby reducing hunger.

In a 2014 study, 50 overweight females drank 500 milliliters (mL) of water 30 minutes before each meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner for eight continuous weeks. This drinking water to lose weight study resulted in a reduction in body fat, body weight, body mass index, as well as appetite suppression.

 

 

2. Increased Calorie Burning

In another 2014 study, 12 people that drank cold and room temperature water experienced an increased energy expenditure, which resulted in burning 2-3 percent more calories than usual during the 90 minutes following the water intake.

• Each time you eat or drink, your body has to work and burn calories to process whatever is coming in.
• By drinking water, you can increase your total energy expenditure by up to 100 calories per day.

 

3. Hydration and Energy

When you are dehydrated, it leads to fatigue because it impacts the flow of oxygen to the brain. This process then results in your heart having to work harder to pump oxygen to all the organs in your body, which leads to feeling more tired, when you stay hydrated it gives you more energy.

• Water helps hydrate the body, especially the muscles during exercise.
• Being hydrated also reduces the risk of muscle cramps and fatigue.

 

4. Detox and Water for Weight Loss

Water assists with the detoxification process

Water cleanses the body of toxins by flushing them out. I believe that fat cells are a primary site for toxin storage, and to expedite fat loss, it is essential to open up the detox and drainage pathways. If a person does not have proper detoxification, fat loss will be slowed down. The body does not want to dump toxins if you’re unable to get them out. It’s like cleaning and dusting your house, but yet the windows are closed, and the dust falls back to the floor after cleaning. The body does not want to breakdown fat cells that contain toxins, which further slows down a person’s ability to lose fat.

“If the body does not have sufficient water, then metabolic wastes will not be removed as efficiently as they should,” explains Amy Hess-Fischl, RD, CDE, of the University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center. “In essence, the body would be holding in toxins instead of expelling them, as is required for proper health.”

According to research done by Paul Arciero, an exercise scientist at Skidmore College, environmental pollutants and other toxins are stored in fatty tissue. During weight loss, the fat breaks down, and toxins are released into the bloodstream.

“Although weight loss typically leads to improved health, we know that in those who are overweight and obese — and, therefore, storing excessive toxins — there is the potential for the release of toxins to impact the body in negative ways,” Arciero explained. Allowing these toxins to remain in the body may lead to other health conditions such as hormone disruption and even heart disease.

• Drinking more water assists with the detoxification process by helping to rid the body of these roaming toxins.
• You can also facilitate detoxification through diet and movement.
• Drinking more water will help facilitate the body to eliminate toxins more efficiently.

Water is necessary for fat-burning

Water is essential for the fat burning process.

• One of the first steps that occur when the body metabolizes fats, also called lipolysis, is hydrolysis.
• Hydrolysis is when water molecules interact with fats to break them down into fatty acids.
• A 2016 study found that increasing water intake leads to an increase in lipolysis and a loss of fat.

 

5. How Much Water Do You Need

Many factors come into play when it comes to water requirements, including:

• Health status
• Activity level
• Sun exposure

But, as a rule of thumb, you should drink half your weight in water in ounces.

 

 

6. Constipation, Toxins and Bowel Movements

For those of you that have problems with constipation, water is one of the most important factors for bowel movements.  When the body is dehydrated, it literally sucks the fluid out of stool so that it can recycle that fluid back in your body.  This drying out effect of stool, makes it really hard to poop and not pooping increasing the overall toxicity of the body and a huge increase in putrification (the toxic build up of stool sitting in your intestines too long basically rotting).  For constipation, do the following:

• 60 minutes of movement per day
• Drink half your body weight in ounces per day
• Eat a lot of fiber 30 to 50 grams per day, make sure you track this on an app.  The average American only gets 8 to 10 grams of fiber per day, bad for poopies!

Top 3 Tips to Stay Hydrated for Your Health Daily:

The following tips will help incorporate more H2O into your daily life.

1. After each bathroom break, drink a full glass of water.
   • Since you are already getting up, you might as well stop by the water cooler.
   • The more water you drink, the more bathroom breaks you’ll need, which creates a positive chain of events.
2. Download a water app on your phone.
   • Set reminders to alert you to drink more water
   • The app will also help to keep track of your daily intake.
3. Purchase colorful weight loss water bottles that are marked with ounces and times of the day.
   • Seeing your progress can help motivate you to continue.
   • It will be easier to monitor if you see it in front of you.

 

Losing weight doesn’t have to be a struggle, just let H2O lighten the load, and learn to make healthier choices by signing up for my free grocery list to help get you started! For more tips on improving your health, contact me today, and hydrate your way to a healthier body now!

 

Biography: Shawn Phillips is a well-known Holistic Personal Trainer in Los Angeles and Certified Nutrition Coach specializing in body sculpting, nutrition, lab testing, and exercise coaching. For a FREE consultation call him at (310) 720-8125.