WATER FOR WEIGHT LOSS
You may have come across hearing; drinking more water will help you lose more weight. But does water really help weight loss? Let us explore the answer to this question. The short answer is yes. Drinking water helps boost your metabolism, cleanse your body of waste, and acts as an appetite suppressant.
Also, drinking more water helps your body stop retaining water, leading you to drop those extra pounds of water weight. What can you do to make sure you’re drinking the recommended eight to ten eight-ounce glasses per day to keep yourself hydrated and encourage weight loss?
Drink water for weight loss
Here are some techniques you require to follow to achieve the maximum result of drinking only water safely to lose weight within a few weeks.
Drink before you eat
Because water is an appetite suppressant, drinking it before meals can make you feel fuller, therefore reducing the amount of food you eat. Drinking water before meals results in an average reduction in intake of 75 calories per meal.
Drinking water before just one meal per day would cause you to ingest 27,000 fewer calories per year. Do the math: You’d lose about eight pounds per year just from drinking water! Now imagine if you drank it before each meal.
Replace calorie-filled drinks with water
Ditch the sodas and juice and replace them with water to help you lose weight. If you think water tastes boring, add a slice of lemon. A glass of water with lemon is a recipe for successful weight loss because the pectin in lemons helps reduce food cravings.
Drink more water and stop consuming high-calorie beverages. By the end of those two weeks, you could be a few pounds lighter. Think water does not really help with weight loss? Give up those sugary drinks for just a few weeks and see the difference.
Drink it ice cold
Water
Drink water ice cold. Drinking ice cold water helps boost your metabolism because your body has to work harder to warm the water up, therefore burning more calories and helping you to lose weight. Plus, ice cold water is just so much more refreshing than water that’s room temperature.
Drink water before you hit the gym
Because of drinking water helps prevent muscle cramps and keeps your joints lubricated, you can work out longer and harder. Just another way that proper hydration helps you lose weight.
Sip When You’re Hungry
Sometimes hunger is mistaken for thirst. Your brain tells you that you need something in your belly, but in reality, you’re just a bit dehydrated. The next time you get those mid-afternoon hunger pangs and feel tired, drink a bottle of water, do a short task, and then see if you’re still hungry.
You might not really need a snack, after all, helping you shave a few calories from your diet for the day. If you can skip your usual 250-calorie vending-machine snack just by staying hydrated, that helps to lose up to 3,500 calories, or 1 pound, after two weeks.
Make sure you drink enough water
If you really want the water you drink to help you lose weight, you should follow the “8×8” rule recommended by most nutritionists: Drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day for weight loss and to maintain an ideal weight.
You might need to drink more water if you exercise a lot or sweat heavily, or less water if you drink other beverages like herbal tea (make sure they are decaffeinated).
Don’t Go Overboard
You can certainly drink more than this amount, but just don’t go overboard. When attempting to lose weight, avoid using water to replace food. Water contains no valuable nutrients, making it an unsuitable substitute for food. Using water as a food replacement can lead to serious health problems.
MayoClinic.com lists anemia, bone loss, and heart problems as consequences of food deprivation. In addition, drinking too much water can cause an imbalance of electrolytes in the body, which may result in death by water intoxication, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Symptoms of water intoxication include headache, confusion, nausea, and changes in behavior. Although it’s rare, it is possible for you to consume way more water than you need. This can lead to a condition called hyponatremia, which causes your blood to become diluted, minimizing your electrolyte levels. In severe cases, hyponatremia can affect your heart and muscle functions, possibly leading to a coma.
The amount of water you need depends on your size, weight, and activity level. He adds that you should try to drink between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound you weigh, every day.
How do you know if you’re getting enough water? A general rule is to check the toilet after you have gone to the bathroom. You’ll know you’re well-hydrated if your urine is clear or very light yellow in color. The darker your urine, the more water you need to drink, especially if weight loss is your goal.
