What did one water bottle ask the other water bottle?
Water you doing today?
Pretty funny, huh? Okay, back to what you came here for.
Adequate water intake is something many people take for granted; however, it can help you lose weight in many different ways.
In this article, I’ll go over 5 ways drinking more water can help you lose weight and how to make sure that you are getting enough.
1. Suppresses Your Appetite
One way that drinking more water can help you lose weight is by naturally suppressing your appetite.
There are many actions in your body that serve as satiety signals (signals of fullness), one of them is the stretching of the stomach.
Drinking water will make the stomach expand and send satiety signals.
Studies (1) showed that dieters who drank water before meals lost 44% more weight than those who didn’t have anything to drink before eating.
Another reason you may feel weak, dizzy, or hear your stomach growl constantly might be not because you’re hungry, but because you’re dehydrated.
So consider drinking a glass of water before going for a high-calorie and not so filling snack.
2. Helps You Consume Fewer Calories
Many people take for granted how many calories are in sugary drinks, such as fruit juices and sodas.
Having these drinks is an easy way to pack extra calories, not fill full, and gain weight.
Fruit juices are often labeled as “healthy,” but contain lots of added sugars and calories.
That’s why I recommend to always read nutrition labels before buying a food or drink labeled as “healthy.”
To put things into perspective, a glass of orange juice (around 8 oz) has 112 calories. In order to get 112 from something like broccoli, you would have to eat almost 4 cups of it. Crazy, right?
Studies (2) have shown that people who drink water consume 194 fewer calories per day than those who drink juice or sodas.
So consider switching those sodas and fruit juices for a glass of water.
If you want to have something with taste, try infusing your water with watermelon, cucumber, or other fruits or vegetables.
You could also opt for ginger tea or a high-protein coffee (without the creamers or sugar).
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3. Helps You Make Better Food Choices
Studies (3) have shown that people who drink more water typically make healthier food choices and consume more fruits and vegetables than those who drink more soft drinks.
Other studies (4) suggest that people fed a healthier diet from an early age have a higher IQ than those who aren’t.
People who are conscious about their health and know what’s best for their well-being tend to make better food choices.
4. Better Hydration = Better and Harder Workouts = More Calories Burned
Not only does drinking enough water will help you prevent cramps, but research (5) shows that it will increase performance and recovery.
This increase in performance will ultimately lead to more calories being burned.
It’s been shown that biochemical reactions needed for cell health happen more frequently in cells that are well hydrated.
5. Flushes Out Toxins
Many companies try to sell into the idea that you need to drink detox teas or pills to flush out toxins.
Truth is, those products don’t do anything to remove toxins.
But… lucky for you, your kidneys take care of detox process. All your kidneys need to function optimally is water.
Water is also crucial for gut health and keeping your digestive system in check. It will help you prevent constipation and bloating.
How Much Water Should I Drink Per Day?
There are two ways you can make sure you’re getting enough water per day.
- 1/2 oz of liquid per pound of body weight per day
The first way is to go by the general guideline of drinking 1/2 oz of liquid per pound of body weight each day.
For example, if you way 200 lb, you’d be drinking 100 oz of liquid.
The problem with this approach though, is that it doesn’t take into account how active you are or where you live.
For example, someone who lives in a more tropical place might need more fluids than someone who lives in a colder place.
Also, someone who exercises more will obviously need to replenish fluids more than someone who doesn’t.
That’s why I prefer to use this second method.
- Checking the color of your urine
In order to see if you’re getting enough water in your day, you should check the color of your urine.
Bright yellow indicates that you are not drinking enough water, while super clear urine indicates that you might be drinking too much.
A light yellow color in your urine will indicate that you’re properly hydrated.
note: Supplementing with multivitamins may cause your urine to come out bright yellow even if you’re well hydrated. In this case, make sure that you use a combination of both ways mentioned above to measure your hydration levels.
All of these things (and more) are the reason why I recommend drinking enough water each day.
I hope you loved this article about how drinking more water can help you lose weight!
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