Have you ever asked a friend the secret to their glowing skin and get the response “I only drink water”?
Annoying right?
While you’re looking forward to learning about new skincare they just started, they hit you with that.
That also goes for weight loss.
Try this, ask any of your friends who used to weigh or look fatter than they now do, how they lost weight. I guarantee you, that provided the weight loss was intentional and not as a result of a medical problem or financial insufficiency (SAPA), the words you’ll get after “I worked out” or “I cut down on my carb intake” will be “I drank lots of water”.
And they won’t be wrong, but we both know you won’t believe them and that could be pretty much why you just typed “role of water in weight loss” on your browser.
Lucky for you, my article popped up. In this article, I’ll be buttressing your friend’s response by explaining the role water plays in weight loss, how it works, the overall benefits of drinking water, how much water you need to lose weight, and the best time to drink water for weight loss.
Keep reading!
Water And Weight Loss: How It Works
Water is one of the simplest essentials of life, but because of its availability and affordability, not much value is placed on it, especially in today’s society.
We’d rather drink a cold beer when we return from work, drink juice when we’re exhausted, or take a soda with a meal.
Your argument now might be “well 70% of that stuff is made with water”.
You may not be wrong, but the point is we’ve gradually replaced clean, pure, plain water with highly rich sugar-containing, chemically processed water, and that takes away the natural value of water.
Our bodies are composed of about 60% of water, and research has it that the more hydrated we are, the more our bodies will be able to carry out bodily functions such as metabolism.
Now don’t get me wrong. Nobody is saying that by merely increasing your water intake, you’ll lose weight. What I’m saying is that water helps in several ways to achieve that.
How?
First of all, let’s establish the fact that plain water contains no calories, as opposed to other liquid alternatives, which makes it perfect for weight loss because, in the first place, the reason you have extra weight you want to put off is that you have a load of extra calories that your body doesn’t need or hasn’t exhausted.
So by re-replacing all the juices, soda, beer, wine, and whatever other replacements you made in the past with water, you have tackled one angle of your increased calorie intake.
And this, provided you don’t replace it by consuming more food, takes you a weight down the scale.
Another terrific way water plays a role in weight loss is by speeding up your metabolism. Just as we’ve said earlier, more water, faster metabolism.
Now you’re probably wondering “how can faster metabolism help with weight loss?”
Metabolism is basically the building up or breaking down of food, to provide us with energy.
Looking at it from the breaking down aspect, a 2016 mini-review showed that increasing your water intake can increase the process of lipolysis – the process by which the body burns fat for energy.
Not just fat, sugar, and proteins, digestion takes place faster with increased water intake, making it possible for your body to take what it wants to convert to energy and get rid of what it doesn’t need at a fast rate.
Finally, for this article, the role of water in weight loss can be linked with the role it plays in suppressing appetite.
When you cultivate the habit of drinking about 2 full cups of water before any meal, you’ll notice a decrease in your appetite, hence making you eat in smaller portions, which will eventually lead to weight loss.
Overall Benefits of Drinking Water
The role of water is not restricted to weight loss only. There are several other functions water plays or helps to play in our bodies, such as:
- Regulates blood pressure
Again, we need water to carry out bodily functions. Less water intake can affect blood flow as our blood become more viscous and thick, making it difficult for it to pass through our veins and capillaries, but when we stay hydrated, we take off the load of having to pump thick blood, from the heart, hence blood pressure is regulated.
- Improve skin appearance
Just like your friend told you, drinking enough water is the basic skin care regimen to achieving fine glowing skin.
Have you ever taken a look in the mirror when you’re dehydrated?
Your skin looks dull, it’s like the day you go out without applying a moisturizer, but life comes back to your skin when you hydrate, literally.
- Boosts brain power
I tell my friends to drink water first, before taking any pill if they have a headache, and every time, it works like a charm.
This is because, of all parts of our bodies, our brain is the least likely to survive an hour of dehydration. Our bodies may be composed of 60% water, but our brain is composed of 73% water, and a slight decrease in that will affect how we walk, talk and think.
- Boost workout performance
You may drop some weight by drinking more water instead of soda, but the fastest way to lose weight with water is by using it in your workout sessions.
A myth I’ve heard regarding water and exercising is that when you drink water between reps, you tend to get tired.
Well, that’s all it is, a myth. The fact is, we lose electrolytes when we workout, by drinking water, not only are we refreshed, we’re replenished because water dissolves electrolytes and distributes them throughout our body, even making us energized to carry on.
Plus, you’re less likely to run out of breath or have cramps while working out if you’re hydrated.
How Much Water Do You Need to Lose Weight?
The amount of water you need to lose weight depends on how much weight you want to lose. So if you want to lose a lot, then you have to drink a lot. However, regardless of your body type, size, or health condition, an average adult will need 12 – 16 glasses of water daily.
During the dry season, or after vigorous exercise, adding another 12 glasses of water can be helpful in your weight loss journey.
Best Time to Drink Water for Weight Loss
You get to enjoy the role of water in weight loss when you drink water first thing in the morning. Starting your day with a full glass of water will not only boost your metabolism for the day, but it’ll also help you establish the habit of increasing your daily water intake.
Another time to drink water to help with your weight loss journey is before a meal. As water is a natural appetite suppressant, drinking 2 full glasses of water before a meal will help with portion control, so don’t end up eating too much.
However, drinking water as soon as you feel thirsty will also help with weight loss, because sometimes when you think you’re hungry, you may be just thirsty, and this helps you to grow a disciplined attitude toward food.
FAQ
Does Drinking Water Burn Calories
Naturally, our bodies burn calories even when we’re resting, but by increasing our water intake, we speed up this process since water makes bodily functions a lot easier.
Does Warm Water Burn Fat
As opposed to popular beliefs, drinking warm water will not melt fat in your body as fat is water-insoluble, both within and outside your body, however, it has been proven that drinking warm water raises your metabolism and helps you healthily lose weight.
Can Water Be Too Much?
Yes, water can be too much. Your body constantly tries to stay in balance, so when you drink more water than you need, especially when you eat less, your water intake might become more than your body’s salt composition and when this happens you risk having a heart attack or it could even result in death.
Takeaway
Water plays a huge role, not just in weight loss, but in our general well-being, hence drinking more water daily is a step toward healthy living.
Sources
Yes, drinking more water may help you lose weight | Hub hub.jhu.edu
How Much Water Should You Drink To Lose Weight? healthmatch.io
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