Does drinking only water help lose weight

By: E.C. LaMeaux

You’ve probably heard or questioned it yourself more than once: does drinking water help you lose weight? The short answer is yes, drinking water helps boost your metabolism, cleanse your body of waste, and acts as an appetite suppressant. Also, drinking more water helps your body stop retaining water, leading you to drop those extra pounds of water weight. How many cups of water should you drink to lose weight? What can you do to make sure you’re drinking the recommended eight to ten eight-ounce glasses per day to keep yourself hydrated and encourage weight loss?

Step 1: Drink water before you eat

Because water is an appetite suppressant, drinking it before meals can make you feel fuller, therefore reducing the amount of food you eat. Health resource website WebMD states that drinking water before meals results in an average reduction in intake of 75 calories per meal. Drinking water before just one meal per day would cause you to ingest 27,000 fewer calories per year. Do the math: You'd lose about eight pounds per year just from drinking water! Now imagine if you drank it before each meal. Our Gaiam Stainless Steel Water Bottle is a great way to make sure you are getting the right amount of water before a meal.

Step 2: Replace calorie-filled drinks with water

Ditch the sodas and juice and replace them with water to help you lose weight. If you think water tastes boring, add a slice of lemon. A glass of water with lemon is a recipe for successful weight loss because the pectin in lemons helps reduce food cravings. Think water doesn’t really help with weight loss? Give up those sugary drinks for just a few weeks and see the difference.

Step 3: Drink water ice cold

According to the editorial staff at WebMD, drinking ice cold water helps boost your metabolism because your body has to work harder to warm the water up, therefore burning more calories and helping you to lose weight, just by drinking water. Plus, ice cold water is just so much more refreshing than water that’s room temperature. Our new 32 oz. Stainless Steel Wide Mouth Water Bottles merge style with functionality and can ultimately give you the tools you need to start losing weight and boosting your metabolism.

merge style with functionality and can ultimately give you the tools you need to start losing weight and boosting your metabolism.

Step 4: Hit the gym

Because drinking water helps prevent muscle cramps and keeps your joints lubricated, you can work out longer and harder. Just another way that proper hydration helps you lose weight. Whether you prefer Rodney Yee’s calm guidance or Jillian Michaels’ intense push, we have plenty of options to make your weight loss strategy fit your busy lifestyle.

Step 5: Make sure you drink enough water

If you really want the water you drink to help you lose weight, you should follow the “8x8” rule recommended by most nutritionists: Drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day for weight loss and to maintain an ideal weight. You might need to drink more water if you exercise a lot or sweat heavily, or less water if you drink other beverages like herbal tea (make sure they are decaffeinated).

Trent Nessler, PT, DPT, MPT, managing director of Baptist Sports Medicine in Nashville, says the amount of water you need depends on your size, weight, and activity level. He adds that you should try to drink between half an ounce and an ounce of water for each pound you weigh, every day.

How do you know if you’re getting enough water? A general rule is to check the toilet after you’ve gone to the bathroom. You’ll know you’re well-hydrated if your urine is clear or very light yellow in color. The darker your urine, the more water you need to drink, especially if weight loss is your goal. Try this Water Intake Calculator to see if you're staying hydrated enough for your weight loss goals!

Water is a useful tool in your weight-loss arsenal, but drinking it has no direct effect on stomach fat. To lose the stomach jiggle, you need to embark on an overall fat-loss plan to slim your entire body; then, your stomach will shrink proportionately. Before starting a new diet and exercise routine, check with your doctor to ensure safety.

Water Before Meals

Water is calorie-free, and may help you eat less at your meals. One study, published in Obesity in 2015, found that drinking water before eating helps promote weight loss. The researchers found that people who drank 2 cups of water before each meal lost about 3 pounds more — over a 2-week period — than people who didn't drink water before their meals. And while there's no such thing as spot reduction — so the study subjects lost weight from all over, not just their midsection — losing weight will flatten your stomach, too.

Water and Weight

Appetite-suppressing effects aside, water can help you lose weight if you drink it instead of sugary sodas, juices or alcoholic drinks. If you normally consume two cans of cola per day, substituting plain or sparkling water can spare you about 270 calories daily. A pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, so that can make the difference of half a pound of weight loss per week. Water also keeps you hydrated, which may prevent overeating -- people often confuse thirst for hunger, reaching for a snack when they really need fluid.

Planning for Fat Loss

To lose fat, burn more calories than you eat. To estimate how many calories you use each day, multiply your body weight in pounds times 15. At 160 pounds, you expend 2,400 calories if you live a relatively active lifestyle -- fewer if you have a high body-fat percentage or are sedentary. Subtract 500 from the number of calories needed for maintenance, and eat that amount of calories each day to shed a pound every week. For faster results, add regular exercise to your routine.

Losing Stomach Fat

A large waistline -- more than 35 inches for women or more than 40 inches for men -- signifies high levels of visceral fat, which pads abdominal organs. This type of fat is especially dangerous, contributing to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and colorectal cancer, according to MayoClinic.com. Visceral fat responds more readily to diet and exercise than the subcutaneous fat just under the skin. To get rid of visceral fat, Harvard Medical School recommends eating a diet rich in calcium, avoiding trans fats, managing stress and sleeping about eight hours per night -- but no more than that.

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