You must have heard that drinking plenty of water promotes healthier life; but have you heard about weight loss benefits offered by water? The following article throws light on the relationship between ‘drinking water and weight loss’. Read on to know various uses of water…
Body cells function well when they are provided with ample amounts of water. Only a well-hydrated body can function efficiently. Water enables the glands and the organs in the body to work properly and quickly. All chemical processes occurring within the body involve energy metabolism. Drinking plenty of water helps boost your metabolic rate and make you feel more energetic. Increased metabolic rate results in weight loss. This is the simple explanation for water and weight loss myth.
Drink Water and Lose Weight Fast
Metabolism Booster: Water fasting for weight loss is one of the best ways to lose weight fast. You can follow it for 1- 40 days. You may start with one day per week. You are not supposed to eat any solid food when on fast. Water fasting for 10-15 days, once or twice a year helps maintain both the health and the weight. Water fasting promotes aggressive cleansing of the body and improves the rate of metabolism.
Appetite Suppressant: Drinking plenty of water helps reduce the quantity of frequent snacking. By drinking water, you feel satiated for a longer period. Drinking more water before meals may develop a sense of fullness in the person, which can make him consume less calories. Here, water plays the role of an appetite suppressant.
Detoxifying Agent: While burning calories, toxins are created in the body. Air and water pollution leads to excessive exposure to poisonous substances. We tend to ingest/inhale certain toxins every day. As toxins accumulate in the body, the rate of metabolism slows down. Water plays a vital role in flushing the unwanted toxins out of the body. This helps speed up the metabolism.
Hydration and Fitness: Dehydration (scarcity of water in the body) leads to several health complications. Proper hydration of cells helps reduce muscle and joint soreness when exercising. Water helps improve muscle tone too. If you perform intensive exercises regularly and if you do not drink sufficient water, then you may suffer from serious disorders. So, you should drink ample water if you want to lose weight fast.
Water Retention and Removal of Water: Your body has a tendency to store more water if you consume low amounts of water. Water retention leads to weight gain. You can curb this body tendency to some extent by a regular supply of excess water. You should drink ample water daily. This would help release the stored water, and you would be able to see the signs of weight loss. As you start losing weight, initial weight loss is mostly due to loss of water and so you need to drink more water to avoid the risk of dehydration.
Hunger or Thirst?: A person often misinterprets thirst pangs for hunger pangs. A glass of drinking water can actually help you stop such cravings. If you drink plenty of water, your food intake automatically gets reduced, which helps lose weight fast. As seen above, lack of water slows down the process of metabolism, resulting in excess weight. Lack of water can lead to hunger pangs and you might be tempted to eat more. This can cause weight gain.
Recommended Daily Intake of Water: The daily requirement of water may vary from person to person depending on the sex, age, physical activity, weather, overall health and weight of the person. An overweight person needs to drink more water than a normal weight person; if he wants to lose weight. It has been estimated that one who wants to lose weight by drinking plenty of water should consume 0.5 to 0.64 ounce of water per pound of lean body mass.
Water Overdose: Remember, overdose of water can prove to be harmful for the brain and the body. The condition known as ‘water poisoning’ or ‘water intoxication’ is often noticed in marathon runners, athletes, people who follow fad diets, and people who take part in water-drinking contests. Water overdose can cause severe headache, nausea, shortness of breath, weak muscles, cramps in muscles, low heart rate, seizures, irreversible brain damage, and coma. If the person is not treated promptly and properly, then the condition may eventually lead to death of the person.
Water Consumption Tips
Doctors and dietitians suggest that you should consume at least eight glasses of water every day.
You should consume cold water instead of warm water if you want to lose weight fast. Some calories are burnt to bring the water to body temperature. If you find it difficult to drink plenty of cold water, then you may drink water at room temperature.
Water consumption should be evenly spread out throughout the day. It’s not healthy to drink too much of water at one time. You may have a big glass of water, three or four times a day and you may sip in between.
Never let yourself get thirsty. Thirst indicates that the body is dehydrated. You should drink water even when you’re not thirsty.
Drink water after vigorous physical activities and after every visit to the toilet.
Incorporate healthy liquids like milk, milkshakes, fruit juices (without sugar), soups, fruits like watermelon and vegetables like cucumber in the diet.
Avoid drinking alcohol (alcohol contains sugar and alcohol abuse affects the function of liver and kidneys), soda and other carbonated drinks.
Which Type of Water is Good for Weight Loss
These days, various types of water are available in the market. Tap water, mineral water, vitamin water, distilled water, flavored water, etc. Water fasting tips suggest that you should not use tap water for drinking purposes. If you want to drink plenty of water to lose weight fast, then you should consume distilled water. It is best for body cleansing, because it inherits magnetic properties. Distilled water has the ability to absorb and remove large quantities of toxins from the cells. It promotes easy and fast flushing of toxins. Mineral water is not recommended for drinking, if you are thinking of losing weight by following a ‘water diet’. If distilled water is not easily available, then spring or filtered water should be consumed.
Coconut Water for Weight Loss
You can lose weight naturally with the help of coconut water. Coconut water is a wonderful gift of nature. Studies show that coconut water is next to water in its natural form and it offers the same benefits as water. Coconut water enhances the rate of metabolism, it is not high in sugars and it promotes healthy thyroid function, which in turn helps speed up the metabolism.
Health Benefits of Water
Apart from natural weight loss, sufficient intake of water helps improve your digestive health by preventing constipation and other health problems.
Water offers you smooth and glowing skin.
Drinking plenty of water helps maintain proper blood volume. This ensures sufficient supply of oxygen to all parts of the body.
Lack of blood and oxygen affects the function of kidneys. (Kidneys help get rid of excess water and unwanted toxins from the body).
In case of dysfunction of kidneys, liver tries to assist the kidneys. So, the original function of liver (to burn fats) is neglected and fats get deposited in the body.
Drinking water helps improve the function of the kidneys and the liver. Fast removal of toxins from the blood helps improve metabolism and encourages weight loss.
If you’re seriously thinking of losing weight and becoming leaner and healthier, drinking plenty of water is an absolute must. But, if you are thinking of water fasting, then you should consult your physician first. Water fasting may seriously affect the health of the people who are diagnosed with blood sugar level problems, chronic heart diseases or certain other diseases.
By Leena Palande
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