Drinking Water to Lose Weight:
The Importance of Hydration

Drinking water to lose weight is one of the simplest, yet most overlooked ways to aid in your fat-shedding quest.

Since your body is made primarily of water (about 60-70 percent), it is no surprise that good old H₂O is essential to a healthy life. However, most people simply don't get enough water, including many body and health conscious individuals as well as those who couldn’t tell the difference between potatoes and French fries.

However, this article is about drinking water to lose weight and is on MyWeightLifting.com. Therefore, I won't focus on the general, non-fitness population. Instead, I will address the topic of hydration for those who are trying to get ripped and see the muscles under the jiggly stuff.

Note: Hydration is needed for any weight lifting goal, not just the goal of fat loss. So, if you're trying to gain muscle mass, this information is still highly relevant to you. Read on!

On this page, you'll find:

• How and why drinking water to lose weight works
• How much water you should drink per day
• How to avoid dehydration using easy-to-track indicators
• What you should know before increasing your water intake
• Tips that make drinking water to lose weight easier

So, let's get to it.

Drinking Water to Lose Weight: How It Works

Drinking Water to Lose Weight and Get Shredded. Proper hydration is a key player in any sound diet plan. Drinking enough water allows you achieve weight and fat loss, not because of some magic fat-burning secret ingredient, but because of several indirect factors that are a "side effect" of being hydrated. Below, you will find an explanation for each of the 5 factors:

1. Increases Metabolism of Fat. Drinking the right amount of water ensures that your body has the proper environment for important functions to take place; namely the process of metabolizing ("burning") fat for energy. This process involves the liver and kidneys. In the simplest terms, this is what happens:

   The liver metabolizes body fat, while the kidneys act as the body's main filtration system for waste and toxins. However, the kidneys require proper hydration to work efficiently (water helps to make the toxins less concentrated and easier to process).

   If the body is dehydrated, then the kidneys must "outsource" some of the functioning to the liver. Therefore the liver can't work at full fat burning capacity because it is "busy" helping the kidneys filter out waste.

2. Washes Excess Toxins Away. This is obviously related to the above factor. When you are dieting and burning fat at a higher rate, there are more toxins than usual due to the increased volume of waste byproducts.

   So proper water intake is doubly important when drinking water to lose weight because you need enough for the initial fat burning process as well as cleaning up after that process.

3. Reduced Food Cravings. Water, like anything you can consume, will fill up empty space in your stomach. Therefore, it dulls hunger sensations and help to keep your mind off food, although this is only temporary.

   This is especially helpful if you are drinking water to lose weight, since the hunger pains can be quite strong on a calorie restricted plan. I was on a low calorie diet recently, and can attest to water being a true lifesaver for this reason.

4. Reduced Chance of Overeating. The habit of drinking water with a meal and/or before meals can help control how much you eat. This relates directly to the above point, but is more effective because the reduced cravings are obvious when you're eating and have food in front of you. This is a great technique if you have trouble with overeating at mealtimes when you're dieting.
5. Reduced Water Weight. You hold a lot of extra pounds in water weight if you're dehydrated. This is because your body doesn't know when it will get more water, and it must retain the water to keep a balanced water-to-electrolyte ratio. And so, you excrete this excess water weight when you properly hydrate yourself, which decreases the bloated look and may increase your muscle vascularity.

Now that you know why drinking water to lose weight makes sense, you're probably wondering "How much water should I drink to lose weight?" Lucky you, I answer that right below:

How Much Water You Should Drink

You've Been Lied to...Again. The traditionally recommended water intake has always been “Eight glasses of eight ounces each.” But, if you didn’t already know from reading the rest of this site, "official" nutrition recommendations tend to be low for our purposes.

The lab geeks that came up with the "8x8" recommendation probably weren't considering the goal of drinking water to lose weight; and they definitely didn't consider adding weight lifting to the equation.

So no, 8 cups of water just doesn’t cut it unless you're an average Joe Couch-Potato, whose only form of physical activity involves reaching for heavily buttered-popcorn, clicking the remote, and the occasional "forearm workout" with the help of Baywatch re-runs.

• Disclaimer: If there are any self proclaimed Joe Couch-Potatoes reading this, don't take it personally. I warmly invite you to enjoy this site! :-P

Drinking Water to Lose Weight – Consumption Guidelines. The majority of people will be fine aiming for about 1 gallon of water per day. However, this amount can vary based on the following personal considerations:

1. Bodyweight. The more you weigh, the more water you will need. Try using the baseline calculation of (bodyweight in lbs. ÷ 2 = the number of ounces of water to drink). Then, consider points two and three below.
2. Replace What You Lose. You must replace the fluids you lose through perspiration (sweat and the moisture from breathing) to be properly hydrated. Consider the following two subcategories.
   • Activity Level. Your body needs almost 24 ounces (3 cups) of water to replace every pound of bodyweight lost through strenuous activity (e.g., intense lifting, running, working, etc). You can try weighing yourself before and after a typical exercise/activity session. Or you can just use the simple method: the more you sweat, the more you should drink.
   • Climate/Physical Environment. If you're outside on hot days for long periods of time, you should drink more water because you'll be losing more fluids. Likewise, you should increase your intake if you're inside and it's hot.
3. Drink at a controlled pace. Whatever your actual water intake amount is, it is best to drink it at a relatively consistent pace, rather than downing large quantities at once. You should increase the pace as well as the amount of water consumed before, during, and after strenuous activities and while in hotter environments.

All You Need is a Ballpark Estimate. Don’t stress yourself about being precise; it's impossible to be truly exact, and it is only necessary to have a "close enough" estimate. If anything, just try out the one gallon per day general recommendation. You can then calibrate it using the following hydration indicators.

How to Avoid Dehydration

Strive for Clear Pee! The color of your urine can be a great indication of dehydration. Clear pee means your body has enough water at the moment. Yellow usually means you're dehydrated. The only exception to this rule is that taking a vitamin can turn urine a bright shade of yellow even if you're sufficiently hydrated.

Avoid Getting Thirsty. The sensation of thirst is your body's way of telling you that it needs to be replenished with water in order to function properly. Therefore, you are already dehydrated if you are thirsty. So, if you're thirsty right now, stop reading and get to drinking.

Avoid Getting Cramps. Cramps are yet another signal that you should increase your water intake. The most common time you'll get these is during a workout session, and is likely being caused by lack of water. However, this indicator is not as clear cut as the previous ones because there are other variables (electrolytes/sodium, low-carb diets) that could be the cramp culprit. But generally, poor hydration is a safe bet.

Before Increasing Water Intake, Know This…

You'll Have More Frequent Bathroom Trips. It’s important to realize that upping your water intake takes some getting used to. Simply put, you'll have to pee a lot more often. But once your body adapts to an increase in water, the desire to piss your face off will cease.

It takes a few days before you get back on a more normal, "socially acceptable" urination schedule, which is a necessary evil when drinking water to lose weight and improve your fitness. Look on the bright side, though – you have a legitimate excuse for leaving the room, which is key if you go to school or have a boring job.

• How to Avoid This. Although I didn’t personally use this method, you could probably avoid this whole situation by gradually increasing water intake. My way of thinking is that it's easier (for me) to just jump straight into a habit.

Don't O.D. on Water. Yes, it is to possible to overdose on water, although technically, it is a condition called hyponatremia (water poisoning). It is extremely rare to hear about this happening to people because it requires drinking a whole lot of fluid during a short amount of time. Nonetheless, it can occur and it can be fatal. Practically speaking, though, you should be fine unless you plan on having water-chugging contests with your friends.

4 Tips For Drinking Water to Lose Weight

Yes, I realize you know how to drink water (and if you don't, you probably can't read this, anyway), so these tips aren't about the logistics of lifting a glass of water to your mouth and drinking it.

Rather, these tips make it easier to get your daily water intake and build a habit of staying hydrated. I know it can sometimes be a pain in the ass to drink and/or remember to drink enough water. Below are some ideas to help you in your aquatic endeavors:

1. Always Stay Strapped…with a Water Bottle. If you're anything like me, you get a bit aggy whenever you have to stop what you're doing for something tedious. So, I always remember to sport a (rather sizable) water bottle to avoid the inconvenience of several trips to the water cooler – that would actually require exercise.
2. Recycle Your Milk Containers. Recycled milk jugs make drinking water to lose weight easier to do and it's great for the environment! Since you'll be needing about a gallon of water a day, you'll only have to fill up your milk jug once. It's also an easy way to track how much you've drank throughout the day. However, you probably don’t want to carry your milk jug in public unless you're going for the weirdo/creepy guy look.
3. Keep Sipping. The best way to stay hydrated is to spread water consumption evenly over the day, rather than a few giant chug-sessions. So, make it a habit to sip on your water throughout the day. This will be easy if you use either of the previous two tips – just reach for your container and take a quick gulp; you can even use a straw if you like.
4. Add Flavor. You'll be more motivated to drink water if it tastes good. You can add lemons or limes, use Crystal Light, drink flavored waters or even diet sodas. If you are drinking water to lose weight, you should note that some people tend to crave food more if they drink flavored beverages. And if you want to be on the safe side, you should use the artificial stuff in moderation (the jury's still out on whether it's "bad" or not).

Start the Habit – Now! If you didn’t do it already, go and get yourself a nice tall glass of water so you can really put this advice to use. There's no reason to put it off, even if you actually are Joe Couch-Potato. Drinking water to lose weight may be the best benefit of hydration, but it's just one of many. Get ready to enjoy all of H₂O's benefits and use the tips if you're having trouble with being consistent.

Share |

^Top of Page