Drinking Water Can Help You Lose Weight

Drinking Water Can Help You Lose Weight

Do you know how much water you need to drink? Don’t like the taste of water? Try this Tasty Infused Water!

dark haired woman dressed in white drinking a glass of waterPin

You know most of the benefits of drinking water –  it increases your energy levels and decreases fatigue, flushes toxins, alleviates constipation, boosts your immune system, relieves headaches and cramps and gives you a glowing complexion. You know it also boosts weight loss, but do you know how much water you should drink in a day in order to lose weight and reap the health benefits? Does hot water promote weight loss or does drinking cold water help you lose weight?

Your body is composed of roughly 60% water.  We do not function as well without proper water intake, so how much water is enough?

Drinking Water Can Help You Lose Weight, but how much should you drink?

 

Calculate how much water you should drink a day for both health and weight loss benefits –

STEP 1: YOUR WEIGHT

You need to know how much you weigh in order to know how much water your body requires. Obviously, the more a person weighs, the more water they will need since 60% of our body is composed of water.

STEP 2: DIVIDE IT IN HALF

Next you want to divide your weight by 2 to determine how much water to drink daily. For example, if you weighed 200 pounds you would divide by 2, leaving you with 100 and that is approximately the number of ounces you want to drink daily for weight loss and health benefits. There are 8 ounces in cup of water, so this person would want to drink about 12 1/2 cups of water.

STEP 3: ACTIVITY LEVEL

You will probably want to adjust that number based on how much you workout, because you are becoming more dehydrated the more you sweat. You can add 12 ounces of water for every 30 minutes that you workout.

 

If you are wondering how you are ever going to drink that much water, here are some great tips for staying hydrated:

 

  • Drink 16 ounces of water before every meal

Drinking water before a meal helps you to eat less during meal time and lose weight.  If you eat three meals a day you will consume 48 ounces. If you eat 5 small meals a day you will consume 80 ounces.

 

  • Drink Morning and Night

Start your day with 8 ounces of water and rehydrate your body first thing in the a.m. Drink another 8 ounces about an hour before bedtime, not only for weight loss, but for heart health. Drinking water before bed helps improve circulation during the hours you’re at greatest risk for a heart attack. Want more info about that – click here.

 

  • Check Your Container

Have your water bottle with you at all times. It’s a great reminder to drink. You can get a special water infusing bottle  or you can get a water bottle with an alarm to remind you to drink up.

 

  • Infuse Your Water

Have you tried infusing water with fruit, vegetables, herbs or essential oils that can be taken internally? Try adding berries, lemons, limes, ginger, peppermint essential oil (only oil that is approved to be taken internally), etc. It’s a great way to WOW your water. Check out my video for Cucumber Lime Infused Water or these 5 Flavorful Infused Water Recipes.

 

  • Sparkling Water

If you are into carbonation and are trying to break the soda habit you might try sparkling water. You can create your own with the Soda Stream and kick cola to the curb.

 

 

Drinking Water Can Help You Lose Weight, but how?

Water is an appetite suppressant, so drinking it before meals can make you feel more full causing you to consume less food. WebMD states that drinking water before meals results in an average reduction of 75 calories per meal. If you drink water before all three meals a day for a year you would ingest 82,125 fewer calories. One pound equals 3,500 calories, so that could equal a 23 pound weight loss!

 

Should you drink cold water for weight loss or hot water for weight loss?

 

There are studies to show the benefits of drinking both cold water and hot water in order to lose weight. Truly, I believe drink whatever temperature water you crave. What is the point in forcing yourself to drink cold water if it hurts your teeth or you really dislike it? You might burn 2 more calories? So what. Drink the temperature you like and it will help you to drink more of it.

 

The bottom line is drinking water can help you lose weight, but you have to drink it. Drink it in the morning, before meals, at bedtime, infuse it, carbonate it, make it hot or cold, do whatever you need to it, but drink it.

 

Want to learn more about drinking water for health benefits? Check out these sites:

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