Weight-Loss Water - Let Thirst be Your Guide!

Weight-Loss
does drinking water help you to lose weight

I have been testing out an idea that drinking more water, improves your health.
I intended to experiment on myself and partner by drinking two litres of still bottled drinking water per day for a week, on top of what we normally drink and adding a little lemon juice to each drink.
I knew my partner did not drink enough water, she starts work at 8am, and returns home by 4pm, and during that time only has one cup of tea. Often she feels very tired and will also complain of a headache.
I started the experiment and by 10am I had drunk two glasses of water. The first thing I noticed apart from having to visit the toilet was that my energy levels had increased.
By early afternoon I noticed my moral was better, I had an urge to do more, my conversation had got better, and I felt quite witty and humorous, and even quite happy. In fact I felt quite "hipped up", as if I had taken a drug.
I thought that perhaps it was just what I had eaten on this day, however the next day I felt the same way, much better.
My partner also agreed that she had felt much better, and did not feel tired.

There is no doubt in my mind that drinking two litres of water extra on what I normally drink per day has health benefits. I know that it enhances mood, and increases energy levels. What I would like to know is what effect it has on my body organs, blood ect.
 
Hi there,
In answer to your origenal question I have heard that your brain can sometimes misinterpret 'thirsty' messages from your body as 'hungry' messages which can lead you to over eat, so taking plenty of water can only cut down on that problem. Also if you have more energy youre more likely to exercise which could also lead you to lose weight.
If you dont drink enough water im pretty sure it badly effects your digestive system and can lead to headaches.
Hope that helps!
[edit: i mean it can cause poor digestion and headaches seperatly, not that bad digestion could give you a headache... er you get what I mean]
 
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Does this count for my daily water intake?

I've been drinking more unsweetened green tea and water for my diet, and want to know if I can count tea as water.
I wasn't sure because I heard that the caffeine in green tea is what speeds up weight loss, however I also heard that caffeine makes you dehydrated (same site also RECOMMENDED drinking more green tea?!)
 
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Any liquid, in fact, any food containing water counts toward your water intake. This is what a lot of people don't understand about water, when they perpetuate the myth that you must have 8 x 8 oz. glasses of water a day, and water only. Part of this myth is that coffee and tea dehydrate you. The fact is that if you are a regular coffee / tea drinker, the dehydration effect is absolutely minimal.

So drink coffee and tea to your heart's content.

Personally, I think it's very easy to exaggerate the effects of a lot of these "weight loss tips" - things like eating six meals a day, drinking lots of water, the thermal effect of food, not eating after 7 pm, etc.

The real value of most of these tips is that they help you deal with your urges to eat more than you need, thus putting yourself into a calorie surplus, which is the real cause of gaining weight. Anyone who relies solely on these "tricks" is in for a rude surprise.

Don't get me wrong, I do all of them myself. But they're helpers in the struggle, not make it or break it things to do.
 
Caffeine in green tea DOES NOT HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT. The weight loss factor of green tea is the phytonutrients (plant nutrients) that some studies show may boost your metabolism anywhere from 1-5%, thats 100 calories at the most if your resting metabolism is 2,000. This is also in consideration of drinking study doses of green tea which, if I'm not mistaken about 40oz a day, is much more than the average person who makes tea a part of their life style would consume a day.

The secondary weight loss effect of drinking tea, is that you aren't drinking caloric beverages like soda or milk. A recent study showed that the average American drinks 1/3 of their caloric needs.

You may count tea and coffee if consumed in moderation. If you drink a lot then the amount of caffeine will act as a diuretic. When you're dehydrated you will hold water weight and this could give the illusion of weight not being lost. If you're someone who drinks 5 cups of coffee a day every day to keep going, then yes the dehydration factor may come into play.

I agree with TomO, things like these help curb your hunger. but a healthy lifestyle can't be built on a wobbling tower of tips and gimmicks.
 
pimpinpurplepon said:
(same site also RECOMMENDED drinking more green tea?!)
Click to expand...

Thats because green tea is fairly high in a component known as "catechins" (Flavanol monomers) Which is basically an Anti-oxidant.
While green tea is considered a "Health" food/drink. It does have two downside Its high in Fluoride. And its anti-oxidant protection has been shown in studies to fade with high consumption.

Stick with about 2-3 glasses a green tea a day.
 
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Drinking Water to Lose Weight

I was just wondering how much water I should drink to lose weight, along with dieting and exercise.
 
I think there is a specific number, depending on your weight, for how much you should drink. I don't know it, but I usually drink 8 glasses a day (it's always recommended by water bottles, tv, everything), so stick with that until someone replies with the answer!
 
the consistant formula I've seen is basically 1/2 your body weight in ounces a day - but that doesn't take into consideration foods that have water in it.

A better reccommendation, though a little grosser, is to notice the color of your urine, it should be a pale yellow - if it's a dark yellow, that's an indication that you are dehydrated.

Some vitamins, especially B vitamins can also change the color of it but if you note the color during the day you shoudl see a consistancy.
 
I always have a bottle of water in my hand. I drink about 2-3 liters a day and I've been loosing weight at a decent pace. All I drink is water, unless every once in a while, I'll have a Chrystal lite.
 
Its not really so much a matter of "drink x amount of water to lose y amount of weight". The effect is more indirect. Staying properly hydrated helps pretty much everything in your body function better. Also, substituting calorie free water for other calorically dense liquids will reduce overall energy intake (assuming you dont make up the reduction elsewhere).

Funny this question came up, I just happened to be going back through my college nutrition textbook today on the subject of water. The recommended amount of water that you should drink is a function of how many calories you consume per day. They recommend between 1 and 1.5 mL of water per calorie consumed per day. This is for the average mostly sedentary person, and includes all sources of water (for instance, eat a cup of watermelon and you basically just drank about 3/4 cup or more of water). For a 2000 calorie/day diet, it comes out to between 8 and 12 cups of water per day. Which does not mean you have to go out and drink 8 glasses of water each day to stay hydrated, you should intake 8-12 cups from all sources. This is my own educated speculation, but that probably means you only need to actually drink around 4 cups of water per day to stay hydrated. IF you are the average sedentary person eating 2000 calories a day.

However, it should be noted, or rather strongly expressed, that the amount increases dependant on other factors. Primarily, these factors are activity level and how much you sweat. They are related in most cases, but sometimes seperate. For instance, you sweat on a hot day outside even though you may just be laying in your hammock all day. Also, you may be doing some activity and not neccesarily sweating, but breathing more and thus losing more water through respiration.

For most people, just satisfying your thirst should be enough to stay hydrated. However, it has been known that sometimes thirst is mistaken for hunger, so it is often a good idea to have a drink of water and see if that makes your "hunger" go away. It also doesn't hurt to play it safe and take in a little more than you may need. It is far harder to get too much water and hurt yourself than it is to get too little and cause damage.

Hope that helps clear things up with the concept of water. oh, and just to be a good academic, i should probably citate the text i was referring to, lol. It is called: Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies 9th edition, by Sizer and Whitney, copyrighted 2003.
 
What I do is just get into the habit of drinking water all throughout the day. Always have a bottle or glass next to you (I prefer bottled water to avoid dust particles :p but alway keep your body hydrated. Especially if your exercising often :)

dugo
 
Water!?

Alright drinking lots of waters helps you be healthy and lose weight but does it still count if its the flavored bubbley kind that you can get at Wal-mart for like 75 cents?
 
pretty much any liquid counts towards your hydration goal... when you're drinking stuff that's not straight water, though, keep an eye oon he calorie counts - becaue they do count.

and some fizzy drinks have a good bit of sodium in that so you might want to keep an eye onthat as well...
 
Take a look at the ingredients. Aspartame is not good for you and some of the other additives may be on the "probably should try to avoid" list.

I would also talk to your dentist. A lot of sports drinks are abrasive to your teeth.

But if you tire of drinking plain water, you are faced with a trade-off between taking in extra calories or drinking some additives you probably should avoid. Not always easy to draw the line, but in general, the greater proportion of plain water you drink, the better.
 
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