Can drinking more water lead to weight loss?
No one says that you can wake up lighter simply by sipping water before bed (or every other time of day). But some study supports a water–weight loss connection. After all, 60% of your body is made up of water. It means that clear, calorie-free liquid plays a role in just about everybody’s activity. The more hydrated you are, evidence shows, the more effective your body is working on tasks that range from thinking to body fat burning.
Science shows that water can assist with weight loss in a range of ways. It will:
- Suppress your appetite
- Improve your metabolism
- And make exercise simpler and more effective
Countless causes, habits, and predispositions will affect your body weight. But if your target is long-term, moderate weight loss, making sure you’re hydrated is a good place to start.
Now we will talk about the top 7 reasons why you should drink more water:
1. Water increases the burning of calories
Some research has shown that drinking water can help to burn calories.
In a 2014 survey, 12 people who drank 500 mL of room temperature water experienced a rise in energy expenditure. In the 90 minutes after drinking water, they burned between 2 and 3 percent more calories than normal. Water can also temporarily increase the body’s number of calories burning while resting.
Drinking cold water will further improve water’s calorie-burning benefits. Since by heating up the water for digestion, the body expends energy or calories.
2. Water is a natural appetite suppressant
When you know that you’re starving, your first instinct may be to find food. But it may not be the answer to eat. Thirst, caused by mild dehydration, is frequently mistaken for hunger by the brain. You will be able to suppress your appetite by consuming water if you are simply low in water, not calories.
What’s more, drinking water will promote dehydration, as it flows through the system quickly, stretching the stomach. This sends messages to your brain that signal fullness.
Although the effects are temporary, drinking water shortly before eating will help to reduce the consumption of calories. Research supports the theory that people who consumed two glasses of water immediately before a meal in a small 2016 study ate 22% less than those who did not drink any water before eating.
3. Water helps to remove waste from the body
If the body is dehydrated, it cannot properly remove waste such as urine or feces.
Water helps the kidneys filter contaminants and waste as the organ retains vital nutrients and electrolytes. The kidneys retain fluid while the body is dehydrated. Dehydration can lead towards rough or lumpy stools and constipation. Water prevents waste from moving by softening or loosening hardened stools. Water also helps the body heal from digestive problems, such as diarrhea and indigestion.
When waste builds up in the body, people will feel bloated, swollen, and exhausted. Bloating is going to add inches to a human’s waist.
Staying hydrated is a safe way to reduce waste retention, which can add a few extra pounds.
4. Drinking water can reduce overall liquid calorie intake
Most people often ignore how many calories they eat in sports drinks or alcoholic beverages. Replacing even a few high-calorie beverages regularly with water or other non-calorie drinks, such as herbal tea, can have long-term weight-loss advantages.
The 2012 study authors found that replacing two or more high-calorie drinks with non-caloric beverages per day for 6 months resulted in an overall weight loss of between 2 and 2,5% for women with obesity.
In a 2015 report, female participants drank 250 mL of water per day after lunch while attending a 24-week weight loss program. They lost 13.6 % more weight than the women in the same program who consumed the same amount of dietary drinks after lunch.
A large-scale survey found that men and women who replaced one serving of sugar-sweetened drink with water or a low-calorie drink every day for 4 years gained 0.49 kilograms (kg) less than a similar group who won’t make any changes.
The same study showed that adults who replaced at least one helping of fruit juice with water or a low-calorie drink got 0.35 kg less than their counterparts.
5. Water is needed to burn fat
Without water, the body cannot properly metabolize accumulated fat or carbohydrate.
The process of fat metabolism is called lipolysis. The first step of this process is hydrolysis. This process happens when water molecules interact with triglycerides (fats) to produce glycerol and fatty acids.
Drinking enough water is essential for fat burning from food and drink, as well as stored fat. A 2016 mini-review showed that increased water consumption resulted in increased lipolysis and fat loss.
6. Water may improve motivation and reduce stress.
When you are dehydrated, you can feel symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, and confusion. And who makes healthier choices under those conditions? The 2016 Mini-Review showed that dehydration is associated with sleepiness and decreased alertness. And another study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine showed that dehydration raises cortisol production. It is the stress hormone in your body.
These symptoms can affect your motivation to exercise, cook at home, and make healthier food choices.
7. Water helps with exercises
During exercise, water is important for the body. It dissolves electrolytes and minerals that include sodium, potassium, and magnesium. And water also distributes them across the body, where their electrical energy activates muscle contractions required for movement. Electrolyte imbalance can contribute to cramping, but this is not the only side effect of drinking too little.
When muscle cells are dehydrated, they break protein (a.k.a. muscle) faster and build muscles more slowly making workouts even less effective.
The body loses fluids more quickly during exercise. Because it produces heat that is shunted to the skin’s surface, where perspiration and resulting evaporation (cooling process) help control the temperature.
Staying well-hydrated also helps preserve the volume of your blood so that you can optimize the extension of your blood vessels to the surface of the skin to release heat.
If your body can’t dump extra heat by sweating, you’re setting yourself up for heat exhaustion or worse. Being well hydrated can boost your workouts by reducing fatigue. It will help you to perform longer and burn more calories. That’s why it’s so important to hydrate before and after your workout, not just when you start feeling thirsty.
The Bottom Line
Water can be beneficial for weight loss. It is 100% calorie-free, helps you burn more calories, and can also suppress your appetite if you drink it before meals. The advantages are much greater if you replace sugary drinks with water. It’s an effortless way to cut down on sugar and calories.
However, please keep in mind that you’re going to have to do a lot more than just drink water if you’re going to have to lose a lot of weight.
Water is just one, very little piece of a puzzle.
