fitnan
New member
If a year ago somebody had told me I could lose pounds just by drinking water I would probably have said
“Yeah sure what about eating chocolate éclairs, will that work too?”
Well sadly the chocolate éclairs don’t work but the water does. Around three months ago I was listening to a talk on weight loss and heard that drinking water could help and the reasons given seemed to make sense. This led to some reading where I discovered it was all true.
The first reason seemed obvious when I thought about it. If we drink a glass of water before a meal we will need to eat less to feel full. We can also drink water when we start to feel hungry between meals as often dehydration can be misinterpreted as hunger.
The second reason I found quite interesting. If we don’t drink enough water our brain interprets this as a drought situation and so it instructs our bodies to pass less urine and retain fluid. Conversely if we drink plenty of water our brain perceives this as a situation where there is plenty of water and instructs our bodies to stop retaining fluid. Fluid is heavy so as we release water we lose weight.
Thirdly water helps our digestive systems to work more efficiently by making waste material easier to expel which even makes us feel ‘less heavy’.
The bonus is that the water flushes out toxins making us feel fitter and more alert and energised. To get the most benefit we need to drink around eight glasses a day. Now I’ve never been a great water drinker and the idea of gulping down eight glasses a day filled me with horror. However when I started I just added the glass before each meal, that got me nearly half way without really trying followed by a glass at my morning break. If I had a glass of water when I got in from work it helped get rid of the urge to ‘nibble’ while I prepared dinner (two birds with one stone). The rest came from always having a glass of water on my desk, coffee table or bedside table and taking regular sips whenever my mouth felt dry (by the way thirst is a sign that we are already slightly dehydrated).
It’s so easy there’s really no reason not to give it a try you have everything to gain and only ‘unwanted pounds’ to lose.
“Yeah sure what about eating chocolate éclairs, will that work too?”
Well sadly the chocolate éclairs don’t work but the water does. Around three months ago I was listening to a talk on weight loss and heard that drinking water could help and the reasons given seemed to make sense. This led to some reading where I discovered it was all true.
The first reason seemed obvious when I thought about it. If we drink a glass of water before a meal we will need to eat less to feel full. We can also drink water when we start to feel hungry between meals as often dehydration can be misinterpreted as hunger.
The second reason I found quite interesting. If we don’t drink enough water our brain interprets this as a drought situation and so it instructs our bodies to pass less urine and retain fluid. Conversely if we drink plenty of water our brain perceives this as a situation where there is plenty of water and instructs our bodies to stop retaining fluid. Fluid is heavy so as we release water we lose weight.
Thirdly water helps our digestive systems to work more efficiently by making waste material easier to expel which even makes us feel ‘less heavy’.
The bonus is that the water flushes out toxins making us feel fitter and more alert and energised. To get the most benefit we need to drink around eight glasses a day. Now I’ve never been a great water drinker and the idea of gulping down eight glasses a day filled me with horror. However when I started I just added the glass before each meal, that got me nearly half way without really trying followed by a glass at my morning break. If I had a glass of water when I got in from work it helped get rid of the urge to ‘nibble’ while I prepared dinner (two birds with one stone). The rest came from always having a glass of water on my desk, coffee table or bedside table and taking regular sips whenever my mouth felt dry (by the way thirst is a sign that we are already slightly dehydrated).
It’s so easy there’s really no reason not to give it a try you have everything to gain and only ‘unwanted pounds’ to lose.
