Can simply drinking more water help you lose weight?

Everyone has heard the recommendation of drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day.  And water is an essential nutrient and we should be drinking water every day.  But can drinking water help you lose a few unwanted pounds?  If so, how?

Relatives and friends often send me blog suggestions.  This week my daughter sent me an interesting article in Medical News Today, Can water help you lose weight?  The article describes 6 ways just drinking more water can promote weight loss.

As noted in previous blog posts, water is important for many reasons including staying hydrated (How to stay hydrated this summer) and to help prevent kidney stones (Kidney stones and prevention).  How does water help with weight loss?    

        1.  Drinking water can help suppress your appetite

Drinking some water before a meal can fill up your stomach so you feel fuller and less hungry.  A 2014 study of 50 overweight females who drank water 30 minutes before breakfast, lunch and dinner for eight weeks found all women lost weight, lost some body fat and noted they had suppressed their appetites. 

2.  Drinking water can increase calorie burn

Can just drinking water increase the calories you burn up?  How can just drinking a glass of water help you burn up some calories? 

A study in 2013 of 50 overweight girls had participants drink about 2 cups of water before each meal for eight weeks.  Study participants lost weight and body fat.  They wanted to test the hypothesis that drinking water actually increases one’s metabolic rate.  They found the simple act of drinking water may increase energy expenditure.  You may have heard people say that eating celery burns up more calories than the celery has.  This may or may not be true but there is something to the studies that have found drinking zero calorie water, may indeed burn some calories by increasing your metabolic rate, at least temporarily.

     Another study in 2014 of 12 people found that drinking about 2 cups of cold or room temperature water actually increased energy expenditure by 2-3% for up to 90 minutes after drinking the water.  Medical News Today states, Water may also temporarily increase the body’s resting energy expenditure, or the number of calories burned while resting.  And drinking cold water is even better as it takes some calories for your body to heat up the water as it is being digested.   

     3.  Water helps prevent dehydration and promotes waste removal.

When your body is dehydrated you are not efficiently removing waste in your urine or feces.  Water helps your kidneys filter out waste but keeps the electrolytes and nutrients your body needs.  Staying hydrated also helps prevent constipation. 

4. Drink water instead of sugary drinks and you cut back on calories

So easy to pile on the calories with sugary drinks.  Some of my students drink sweetened tea many times a day.  Or, someone stops to get a 20 ounce or more bottle of soda.  A 20-ounce Coca Cola soda packs in 240 calories.  Drink two 20-ounce sodas a day and you are looking at nearly 500 calories of added sugar.  Drinking 100% juice is healthy.  But choose a juice drink such as Sunny D and you again are packing in the added sugar calories.  One student was drinking high calorie sports drinks thinking these are a healthy choice.  Once he realized how much added sugar he was drinking, he switched to a sports drink much lower in added sugar.  A study in 2012 found that people who gave up two or more sugared drinks for calorie-free drinks like diet soda or water, every day for 6 months lost an average of 2-2.5% of their weight. 

5.  Fat burning needs water

Your body needs water to metabolize fats and carbs.  You need water to break up the fat into smaller particles to be digested.  Medical News Today notes, “Drinking enough water is essential for burning off fat from food and drink, as well as stored fat.”  

6.  Working out?  Drink more water.

Almost everyone recommends adding exercise to any weight loss regimen.  When you exercise your body needs water to help your joints, muscles, and connective tissues move properly.  Having adequate water intake lessens your chances of fatigue or muscle cramps.  Personal trainers recommend drinking water before, during and after your workout. 

Choose water in a glass bottle, not plastic.

How much water do you need to drink?

The National Academy of Medicine recommends:

  •  Adult women:  drink 9 cups of water a day
  • Adult men:   drink 13 cups of water a day

More water is needed if it is hot or you are working out.  This is a general guide and not a daily target.  At a doctor’s office I saw an elderly man and woman drinking from water bottles with each of their names on the water bottle.  I asked why and they said every morning they put in 8 water bottles in the fridge for each of them with their names on the water bottles.  Then at the end of the day, they know if they drank enough water that day.  This couple was serious about their water intake.  But plastic bottles lead to plastic ingestion so put your water in a water bottle made from metal – a much healthier choice. (How much plastic are you eating?)  At Costco I buy the Perrier water either in a can or in glass bottles.  I try to avoid water packaged in plastic bottles. 

How can you up your water intake this week?  Try to drink a glass of water before meals.  Even if you don’t need to lose weight drinking water is still good for your health.  I always have some water with me, even driving around doing errands, some fresh water is there with me.  If you get tired of plain water, add some sparking water to your day.  Very refreshing over ice.

Choose a metal water bottle to avoid the plastic. 

 Sources:  Can water help you lose weight?  , How to stay hydrated this summer , Kidney stones and prevention , 2014 study , study in 2013 , states , soda , study in 2012 , notes , Personal trainers , recommends , How much plastic are you eating?    Image sources: Glass of water , Perrier  water  , metal water bottles

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