Drink Water to Lose Weight
How to Increase Your Water Intake and Your Weight Loss
Suggestions on how much water you should drink, ways to drink more water, and how water can help you lose weight.
How much water should a person drink? Will drinking more water result in weight loss? How can a person who doesn't like water increase his or her water intake? These and other questions are the subject of this article.
Drinking more water instead of other high-calorie beverages will improve your health and help you lose weight. Of course, as with any health and wellness article, it is important to consult with your physician before making any changes to your diet.
How Much Water to Drink
When you were growing up, you were probably taught to drink at least eight glasses of water a day. According to Kathleen Zelman over at WebMD, that isn't necessarily the best advice.
"[T]he latest recommendations say that we no longer need to worry about drinking specific amounts of water. Instead, we can simply satisfy our thirst with any beverage," says Zellman. "Of course, water -- clean, refreshing, and calorie-free -- is the ideal beverage of choice."
What's important is that you get enough fluid into your body to maintain your health, and your thirst mechanism is the best gauge for that.
Zelman quotes David Perlow, an Atlanta-based urologist, as saying: "If you follow your thirst, you won't go wrong. Pre-modern man never ran around sipping on a water bottle. A dry mouth indicated it was time to run to the stream for a drink."
Of course, factors such as the amount of physical activity play into this equation. The more physical activity you engage in, the more water you will probably need. Your thirst mechanism and solid medical advice on your particular situation are your best guides for the amount of water you need.
Will More Water Help With Weight Loss
Replacing alcohol, soda, and other high-calorie drinks with water will certainly make a difference in weight loss. High-calorie drinks put the pounds on. Low-calorie and zero-calorie drinks help take the pounds off. It's that simple. And water is zero-calorie.
When it comes to food, water can also help. Dr. Zelman recommends replacing high-fat and high-calorie foods with high-water foods. Yes, there are foods with high water content. Lettuce and watermelon are among the foods with the highest water concentration.
Ways to Increase Your Water Intake
Drinking straight water (provided it's clean and safe, of course) is naturally the easiest and simplest way to increase your water intake. However, for those who don't find water too tasty or appealing, there are other ways.
First, consider eating more foods with high water concentration. Eat more watermelon, grapefruit, and apples. These foods can count toward your body's fluid intake.
Second, mix a low-calorie fruit juice or some light lemonade in with your water. Take an 8-ounce glass. Fill it with approximately 2-3 ounces of juice or lemonade - and then let the rest be water. This author does this all the time. The result is that, after several glasses of this, you're dramatically increasing your water intake -- and it tastes good! If you can, try just 1 ounce of juice and 7 ounces of water. That is even better.
These suggestions, implemented with the consent of a professional physician and with any additional steps he or she may recommend, should have you on your way toward increasing your water intake and meeting your weight loss goals.
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For more information, consult your local physician and....
"The Wonders of Water" - an article by Kathleen Zelman at WebMD
