How Drinking More Water Can Help You Lose Weight

Drinking water can help burn calories and reduce hunger cravings. Replacing sugary drinks with water can also lower caloric and sugar intake. But drinking water alone is not enough for major weight loss.

For a long time, drinking water has been thought to help with weight loss.

In fact, 30–59% of US adults who try to lose weight increase their water intake (1, 2).

Many studies show that drinking more water may benefit weight loss and maintenance (3).

Read on to understand how drinking water can help you lose weight.

Drinking Water Can Make You Burn More Calories

Most of the studies listed below looked at the effect of drinking one, 0.5 liter (17 oz) serving of water.

Drinking water increases the amount of calories you burn, which is known as resting energy expenditure (4).

In adults, resting energy expenditure has been shown to increase by 24–30% within 10 minutes of drinking water. This lasts at least 60 minutes (5, 6).

Supporting this, one study of overweight and obese children found a 25% increase in resting energy expenditure after drinking cold water (7).

A study of overweight women examined the effects of increasing water intake to over 1 liter (34 oz) per day. They found that over a 12-month period, this resulted in an extra 2 kg (4.4 lbs) of weight loss (8).

Since these women didn’t make any lifestyle changes except to drink more water, these results are very impressive.

Additionally, both of these studies indicate that drinking 0.5 liters (17 oz) of water results in an extra 23 calories burned. On a yearly basis, that sums up to roughly 17,000 calories — or over 2 kg (4.4 lbs) of fat.

Several other studies have monitored overweight people who drank 1-1.5 liters (34–50 oz) of water daily for a few weeks. They found a significant reduction in weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and body fat (8, 9, 10).

These results may be even more impressive when the water is cold. When you drink cold water, your body uses extra calories to warm the water up to body temperature.

Bottom Line:

Drinking 0.5 liters (17 oz) of water may increase the amount of calories burned for at least an hour. Some studies show that this can lead to modest weight loss.

Drinking Water Before Meals Can Reduce Appetite

Some people claim that drinking water before a meal reduces appetite.

There actually seems to be some truth behind this, but almost exclusively in middle-aged and older adults (11).

Studies of older adults have shown that drinking water before each meal may increase weight loss by 2 kg (4.4 lbs) over a 12-week period (4, 11).

In one study, middle-aged overweight and obese participants who drank water before each meal lost 44% more weight, compared to a group that did not drink more water (4).

Another study also showed that drinking water before breakfast reduced the amount of calories consumed during the meal by 13% (12).

Although this may be very beneficial for middle-aged and older people, studies of younger individuals have not shown the same impressive reduction in calorie intake.

Bottom Line:

Drinking water before meals may reduce appetite in middle-aged and older individuals. This decreases calorie intake, leading to weight loss.

Drinking More Water is Linked to Reduced Calorie Intake and a Lower Risk of Weight Gain

Since water is naturally calorie-free, it is generally linked with reduced calorie intake.

This is mainly because you then drink water instead of other beverages, which are often high in calories and sugar (13, 14, 15).

Observational studies have shown that people who drink mostly water have up to a 9% (or 200 calories) lower calorie intake, on average (16, 17).

Drinking water may also help prevent long-term weight gain. In general, the average person gains about 1.45 kg (3.2 lbs) every 4 years (18).

This amount may be reduced by:

• Adding 1 cup of water: Increasing your daily water consumption by 1 cup may reduce this weight gain by 0.13 kg (0.23 lbs).
• Replacing other drinks with water: Substituting a serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage with 1 cup of water may reduce the 4-year weight gain by 0.5 kg (1.1 lbs).

It is especially important to encourage children to drink water, as it can help prevent them from becoming overweight or obese (17, 3).

A recent, school-based study aimed to reduce obesity rates by encouraging children to drink water. They installed water fountains in 17 schools and provided classroom lessons about water consumption for 2nd and 3rd graders.

After one school year, the risk of obesity had been reduced by a whopping 31% in the schools where water intake was increased (19).

Bottom Line:

Drinking more water may lead to decreased calorie intake and reduce the risk of long-term weight gain and obesity, especially in children.

How Much Water Should You Drink?

Many health authorities recommend drinking eight, 8-oz glasses of water (about 2 liters) per day.

However, this number is completely random. As with so many things, water requirements depend entirely on the individual (20).

For example, people who sweat a lot or exercise regularly may need more water than those who are not very active.

Older people and breast-feeding mothers also need to monitor their water intake more closely (21).

Keep in mind that you also get water from many foods and beverages, such as coffee, tea, meat, fish, milk, and especially fruits and vegetables.

As a good rule of thumb, you should always drink water when you’re thirsty, and drink enough to quench your thirst.

If you find you have a headache, are in a bad mood, are constantly hungry or have trouble concentrating, then you may suffer from mild dehydration. Drinking more water may help fix this (22, 23, 24).

Based on the studies, drinking 1-2 liters of water per day should be sufficient to help with weight loss.

Here’s how much water you should drink, in different measurements:

• Liters: 1–2.
• Ounces: 34–67.
• Glasses (8-oz): 4–8.

However, this is just a general guideline. Some people may need less, while others may need a lot more.

Also, it is not recommended to drink too much water either, as it may cause water toxicity. This has even caused death in extreme cases, such as during water drinking contests.

Bottom Line:

According to the studies, 1–2 liters of water per day is enough to assist with weight loss, especially when consumed before meals.

Take Home Message

Water can be really helpful for weight loss.

It is 100% calorie-free, helps you burn more calories and may even suppress your appetite if consumed before meals.

The benefits are even greater when you replace sugary beverages with water. It is a very easy way to cut back on sugar and calories.

However, keep in mind that you’re going to have to do a lot more than just drink water if you need to lose a significant amount of weight.

Water is just one, very small piece of the puzzle.

Yes, drinking more water may help you lose weight

By
HR NewsWire

/

Published

Jan 15, 2020

This content is provided to Johns Hopkins employees through a partnership with WW.

Can drinking more water really lead to weight loss?

While no one’s saying you’ll wake up lighter simply by sipping water before bed (or any other time of day), evidence supports the water–weight loss connection: After all, 60% of your body is composed of water, meaning that the clear, calorie-free liquid plays a role in just about every bodily function. The more hydrated you are, research suggests, the more efficiently your body works at tasks that range from thinking to burning body fat.

Science suggests that water can help with weight loss in a variety of ways. It may suppress your appetite, boost your metabolism, and make exercise easier and more efficient, all of which could contribute to results on the scale.

While countless factors, behaviors, and predispositions can affect your body weight, if your goal is long-term, moderate weight loss, making sure you’re hydrated could be a good place to begin.

Seven reasons drinking more water may help you lose weight:

1. Water may naturally suppress your appetite.

When you realize you’re hungry, your first impulse may be to find food. But eating may not be the answer. “Thirst, which is triggered by mild dehydration, is often mistaken for hunger by the brain,” says Melina Jampolis, an internist and board-certified physician nutrition specialist. “You may be able to decrease appetite by drinking water if you are, in fact, low in water not calories.”

What’s more, drinking water can promote satiation because it passes through the system quickly, stretching the stomach. “This sends messages to your brain signaling fullness,” Jampolis says.

Elizabeth Huggins, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at Hilton Head Health, adds that though the results are temporary, “consuming water shortly before eating may help decrease food intake.” Research supports the theory: People who drank two glasses of water immediately before a meal in a small 2016 study ate 22% less than those who didn’t drink any water prior to eating.

About two cups should fill your stomach enough for your brain to register fullness.

2. Drinking water may stimulate your metabolism.

It’s possible that drinking water stimulates your body’s metabolism and energy expenditure, ultimately helping with weight management, according to Huggins.

In an eight-week study published in 2013, when 50 girls with excess weight drank about two cups of water half an hour before breakfast, lunch, and dinner without any additional dietary changes, they lost weight and saw reductions in body mass index and body composition scores.

It’s not magic: Drinking water appears to stimulate thermogenesis, or heat production, in the body, particularly when it’s chilled. The body has to expend energy to warm the fluid to body temperature, and the more energy expended by your body, the faster your metabolism (the process by which your body converts what you eat and drink into energy) runs. Specifically, drinking about two cups of 71°F water led to a 30% average increase in the metabolic rates of 14 healthy adults in a small 2003 study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Before you fill your glass and load your plate, though, keep in mind that the effects of thermogenesis probably won’t create substantial calorie deficits that result in weight loss. “Even if the effect is negligible, it is important to stay hydrated,” Huggins says, noting that there are few, if any, downsides to drinking more water.

3. Drinking water could help reduce your overall liquid calorie intake.

Because water contains no calories, filling your glass with h3O instead of higher calorie alternatives such as juice, soda, or sweetened tea or coffee can reduce your overall liquid calorie intake. Choose water over the standard 20-ounce vending machine soft drink, and you’ll drink 250 fewer calories, Huggins points out.

As long as you don’t “make up” for those calories—i.e., walk out of the coffee shop with a muffin and water instead of your usual flavored latte—the calorie savings can add up quickly, she says.

Also interesting: Although diet soda contributes no calories, replacing diet beverages with water may be a factor that contributes to weight loss in certain groups of people. Overweight and obese women who replaced diet beverages with water after their main meal showed greater weight reduction during a weight-loss program in a 2015 study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The researchers noted that the extra weight loss in those who drank water could be attributed to consuming fewer calories and carbohydrates, but more research is needed. All that said, since many diet beverages still hydrate and reduce calorie intake when used as a replacement for sugary beverages, they may help certain individuals lose weight.

4. Drinking water helps during exercise.

Water is essential to the body during exercise: It dissolves electrolytes—minerals that include sodium, potassium, and magnesium—and distributes them throughout the body, where their electrical energy triggers muscle contractions required for movement, Jampolis explains. An electrolyte imbalance can lead to cramping, but that’s not the only side effect of drinking too little.

“When muscle cells are dehydrated, they break down protein (aka muscle) more quickly and build muscle more slowly, so your workouts are much less effective,” she says.

What’s more, the body loses fluids more quickly during exercise because it generates heat that’s shunted to the skin’s surface, where perspiration and subsequent evaporation (a cooling process) help with temperature regulation.

Staying properly hydrated also helps maintain your blood’s volume, so you can optimize the expansion of blood vessels at the skin’s surface to release heat, Jampolis says.

“If your body can’t dump excess heat via sweating, you’re setting yourself up for heat exhaustion or worse,” she says. “Being adequately hydrated can improve your workouts by decreasing fatigue, which can allow you to work out longer and burn more calories.” That’s why it’s so important to hydrate before and throughout your workout, not just when you start to feel thirsty.

5. Water helps the body remove waste.

Drinking water facilitates the production of urine, which is largely made up of water, and the movement of feces, since water keeps stools soft. In other words, the more hydrated you are, the easier it is for your system to move things along and the less likely you are to suffer from constipation and bloating.

In addition, adequate hydration promotes kidney function, flushes harmful bacteria from the urinary tract, and prevents kidney stones, which can occur with more concentrated urine, according to Huggins.

6. The body needs water to burn fat.

Upping your water intake may increase lipolysis, the process by which the body burns fat for energy, according to a 2016 mini-review of animal studies published in Frontiers in Nutrition. “We’re not certain of the mechanism, but mild dehydration decreases lipolysis, which may be due to hormonal changes,” says Jampolis, who was not associated with the review. Another theory posed in the animal studies: Water expands cell volume, which could play a role in fat metabolism. However, it remains unproven among human subjects.

7. Water may improve motivation and reduce stress.

When you’re dehydrated, you may experience symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, and confusion—and who makes healthy decisions under those conditions? Dehydration, the researcher of the 2016 mini-review found, also may be linked to sleepiness and reduced alertness. And another study, published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, found that dehydration increases your body’s production of cortisol, the stress hormone.

“These symptoms could affect your motivation to exercise, cook at home, and make better food choices,” Jampolis says.

Other health benefits of drinking water

Remember, your body is made up of 60% water, so weight loss isn’t the only bodily process affected by proper hydration. These are just a few examples of what else water can do:

Water keeps your skin bright.

Scientists still don’t know the exact mechanism, but given water’s important role in the majority of your bodily functions, it makes sense that it would be instrumental in skin health, too. In a 2015 study published in the journal Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, researchers found that increasing water intake would affect the skin the same way as a topical moisturizer and could positively impact normal skin physiology, including elasticity (the loss of which is related to sagging and wrinkles).

Water boosts your brainpower.

Just like the rest of your body, your brain depends on h3O to work most efficiently—water actually composes 73% of the brain. Even slight levels of dehydration (as little as 2% water loss) impair your performance in tasks that require attention, cognitive functions, physical movement, and immediate memory skills, according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

Water regulates blood pressure.

“Water plays a major role in keeping the blood flowing effectively,” Huggins says. “When you’re dehydrated, the plasma/blood cell ratio changes in a way that makes the blood thicker and more viscous. This makes it tougher for blood to flow where it needs to flow, increasing the stress placed on the heart.”

In addition, when your body’s cells don’t have enough water, the brain secretes a chemical that constricts the blood vessels, which can lead to hypertension or high blood pressure, which in turn can increase the risk of stroke and heart disease. Staying hydrated keeps your blood vessels from constricting so blood can flow normally.

How much water should you drink?

You’ve probably heard the common “eight 8-ounce glasses per day” rule, but the reality is, the amount of water needed varies greatly depending on age, gender, health, physical activity, tendency to sweat, and more. The majority of healthy people adequately meet their daily hydration needs by letting thirst be their guide, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, or NASEM.

The average American adult drinks nearly five cups of water a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The general recommendation from the NASEM is approximately 91 ounces (about 11 cups) of water each day for women and approximately 125 ounces (about 15 and a half cups) for men. About 80% of the recommended fluid intake comes from drinking water and beverages, while the other 20% comes from water-rich foods.

One way to determine whether you’re drinking enough water is to peek in the pot after you pee. “It’s best to go by the color of your urine,” Jampolis says. “If it’s dark yellow, you aren’t drinking enough. Aim for light yellow.”

The upshot: Water and weight loss

The science does show that drinking water may facilitate weight loss and encourage other positive health outcomes. “Water is critical in every cellular activity of our body from head to toe,” Huggins says. “Staying hydrated helps the body run more efficiently and helps us feel better.”

But drinking more water should be only one small part of your wellness journey. “Drinking water is not going to have a huge weight loss effect, and without calorie restriction and/or exercise, just drinking water is not likely to lead to significant weight loss,” Jampolis says. As always, she says, it’s important to embrace a more comprehensive and sustainable approach.

Johns Hopkins University partners with WW (formerly Weight Watchers) to offer benefits-eligible employees more than 50% off digital or digital plus in-person workshops. To purchase your discounted WW membership, or for more information, visit the Benefits & Worklife website.

Posted in Health+Well-Being

Tagged hr newswire

How to drink water for weight loss, schedule

Date of publication: 08/12/2020

ObesityMedicines for weight loss in capsulesFat burners

Author of the article

Shatrova Natalia Ivanovna,

Nutritionist

All authors

Article content

• Why Is it important to drink water when losing weight?
• How to drink water for weight loss?
• Drink water by the clock for weight loss, schedule
• How much water should you drink to lose weight?
• What kind of water should be drunk for weight loss?
• Ask an expert on the topic of the article

Why is it important to drink water when losing weight?

The human body is 60-70% water. It affects almost every process in the body. With a lack of water, absolutely all processes slow down, including metabolism. From here it becomes clear why they drink a lot of water for weight loss. The article will discuss how water affects weight loss, how much water you need to drink to lose weight, and what kind of water should be consumed. Those who care about their health are recommended to read to the end.

Doctors and nutritionists agree that water is important for maintaining a normal weight. But few people understand the mechanism of the effect of water on extra pounds. The fact is that with a lack of fluid in the body, enzymatic activity decreases, as a result of which weakness appears, and efficiency decreases. In addition, water is found in large quantities in the blood, and it delivers nutrients and oxygen to tissues and organs. Accordingly, with a lack of water, the nutrition of cells deteriorates. And one more important fact: water helps to remove toxins from the body, which are precisely the cause of excess weight. In the latter case, it is important to know not only how much water to drink for weight loss, but also how to remove water from the body.

Let’s see why people drink water when losing weight:

• Metabolic activity increases, so the more you drink water, the more calories you burn. If you use half a liter of water at a time, then after about 10 minutes the intensity of metabolic processes will increase. The most interesting thing is that this effect will last at least an hour and in order to continue it, you need to drink a new portion. From here we can conclude how to drink water for weight loss by the hour. If you consume 2000 ml of water per day, then in the end you will lose about 100 kilocalories. They will be spent by the body on the absorption and excretion of fluid. Approximately the same amount of energy is spent during a calm swim in the river or for 45 minutes of a slow walk along the alley of the park.
• Water reduces the number of calories digested. This is the main fact that explains why water is needed for weight loss. It is the best thirst quencher. If you drink two or more liters a day, then you no longer have to quench your thirst with juices, lemonades, compotes, and so on, so fewer calories will be consumed. In addition, the brain can equate the feeling of thirst with the desire to eat, because the body receives a certain part of the liquid from food. According to American scientists, a person who loves to drink water consumes 200 kcal less per day than someone who does not drink enough water.
• Water reduces fat accumulation and reduces appetite. It was experimentally shown that if you drink a glass of water half an hour before a meal, then in 8 months the weight is reduced by 1.5 kg. The thing is that water, filling the stomach, partially interrupts the appetite, and food, in this case, is eaten less than usual.

A particularly difficult question concerns how much water to drink to lose weight. The norms that experts indicate include not only clean water, but also soups, tea, and even fruits. Therefore, the calculation of volumes should be approached especially carefully.

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How to drink water for weight loss?

You should not constantly think about how much water you need per day for weight loss and how to use water correctly. This habit should be formed naturally. For starters, you can accustom yourself to take a glass of water every morning after waking up. This will wake up the body and start the fat burning process.

It is also recommended to look at some rules:

• Drink only pure water without any additives.
• Drink water half an hour before meals and one hour after meals.
• Do not drink excess liquid during meals.
• In the evening, after 20:00, the amount of water consumed decreases.
• The simplest option would be to drink water at room temperature, but it would be good to find out what temperature the water should be, as the effect of the drink will be different.
• The average daily intake is 1.5-2.5 liters, depending on the initial weight.

Within a couple of weeks, the habit of drinking water will become automatic.

You may be interested in: Sagging belly: how to remove it?

Drink water by the clock for weight loss, schedule

How much water should I drink to lose weight?

Having figured out how water affects weight loss, you need to find out how many liters to drink every day. Despite the fact that fluid is important for the body, the “more is better” approach is not appropriate here.

Excessive fluid intake can adversely affect the functioning of the kidneys and cause serious illness. In addition, important elements are washed out of the body, anemia and metabolic disorders develop. It is possible that the weight will decrease, but the reason for this will be diseases, and not the normalization of the body. Of course, you should not replace food with water, this approach is also fundamentally wrong. The body must receive all the necessary elements, and maintaining the water balance only reinforces the result.

Therefore, it is important to know how to calculate water for weight loss. Otherwise, you may experience swelling, dizziness and other unpleasant symptoms.

Optimal volumes depend on a number of factors, including gender, age, weight, lifestyle and diet. On average, 40 ml of water is needed for every kilogram of weight. You can also divide the total weight by 20 and get the rate of water per day. But in any case, you can drink no more than three liters per day. You can determine whether the norm is correctly selected by the color of urine. Its discoloration indicates an excess of fluid. For convenience, you can use the table that reflects how to drink water for weight loss.

What kind of water should be drunk for weight loss?

Next, find out what water to drink on an empty stomach for weight loss. Ideally, this should be plain clean water. That is, coffee, juices, tea cannot be used to normalize the water balance, although they contain a certain amount of water. Boiled, melted, bottled, filtered water is also suitable.

Separately, we should consider how mineral water is used and which is better for weight loss. There is an opinion that carbonated drinks are harmful due to the content of carbon dioxide. But here we are talking about mineralized drinks, that is, artificially created. Water from natural sources contains carbon dioxide, which helps suppress appetite and quench thirst. Natural gas is not hazardous to health. True, you need to drink such water less than the indicated norm, in addition, it has its own contraindications.

The effect of weight loss depends on the composition of the drink and its temperature. Therefore, let’s consider the most common questions regarding water:

• How to drink hot water for weight loss? To do this, it is enough to drink a glass of water at a temperature of 40 degrees after waking up. Additionally, you can drink water before bed.
• How to drink water with lemon for weight loss? To do this, add 50 grams of citrus juice to a glass of water and take the drink half an hour before meals.
• How to take water for weight loss if there is an increased acidity of gastric juice? To do this, just add a spoonful of natural honey to the water. When hot, the drink reduces acidity.
• How to prepare water for weight loss and immunity strengthening? To do this, it is enough to add 10 g of ginger in the form of shavings or powder from the root to 200 ml of water to 50 ml of lemon juice.
• How to expel water from the body for weight loss? Reduce salt intake and drink water with lemon juice.

Water is the most important element for the body, and its lack negatively affects all systems. If you already have chronic diseases, it is recommended to consult a doctor about how to drink water in the morning for weight loss and what supplements to use.

Ask an expert about the topic of the article

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Is it worth drinking water for weight loss

Likbez

Health

November 21, 2022

We found out what scientists think about it.

Is it worth drinking water for weight loss

Yes, many scientific experiments have proven the relationship between the amount of water consumed and weight loss.

Consider, for example, the Stanford study of over a hundred overweight women.

Scientists selected those who drank less than a liter of water a day and simply changed their drinking regimen, increasing the amount of fluid they consumed to approximately 2 liters. The observation lasted exactly one year. During this time, the subjects’ weight and waist circumference were regularly measured. In the final, the researchers found that each woman, without changing her lifestyle, lost up to 2 kg of weight and lost up to 2 cm at the waist.

Another study was conducted in German schools. Drinking water fountains have been installed in 32 educational institutions so that children can quench their thirst at the earliest opportunity. And the schoolchildren were given several lectures on how useful water can be. At the end of the school year, regular drinking was found to reduce the risk of being overweight by 31%. Almost 3,000 children of primary school age participated in the experiment.

Why water makes you lose weight

Studies show that water has a whole range of properties that can speed up weight loss or keep you fit if you are not overweight.

1. Water increases calorie expenditure

It is enough to drink 500 ml (about two glasses) of water – and after 10 minutes the metabolic rate will increase by 30%, and the effect will last at least an hour. If you consume 2 liters per day, this will be equivalent to losing approximately 100 kcal. That’s about how much you’d spend half an hour swimming at a leisurely pace, 40 minutes walking, or a little over half an hour mopping. If you drink cold water, the calorie consumption will be even greater, since the body has to spend energy on heating the incoming moisture to body temperature.

2. Water reduces calorie intake

If you quench your thirst with water, then you do not quench your thirst with other drinks that can be much more caloric: lemonade, sweet tea, juices, fruit drinks, milk. It seems like a trifle, but in fact the difference is quite significant: on average, as studies show, a water lover consumes almost 200 kcal less per day than someone who does not control what they drink.

3. Water reduces appetite and body fat

To prove this, scientists selected 50 overweight women and asked them to drink 500 ml (2 glasses) of water three times a day: half an hour before breakfast, lunch and dinner. More subjects were not limited in anything.

After eight weeks, it turned out that the women’s appetite had decreased: in order to get enough, they needed less food than before. That is, they consumed fewer calories and lost those extra pounds. The average weight loss over 8 weeks was approximately 1.5 kg.

How much water to drink for weight loss

Just because water does help you lose weight or keep fit doesn’t mean that the more you drink, the better the results will be.

Approximately 3.7 liters per day for men and 2.7 liters for women is recommended.