Learn why water should be your beverage of choice.
Just about everyone of us has heard that we must drink lots of water if we want to lose weight, and not just to lose weight, but to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Do you really know why water is so important, or do you just drink it because you’re told you’re supposed to?
A goal to shoot for with water consumption is half of your body weight in fluid ounces. For example, if someone weighs 200 pounds, they should shoot for drinking 100 fl. oz. of water per day.
To start out, in order to be at your peak potential, you need to be getting all your vitamins and minerals. There are two types of vitamins, water-soluble and fat soluble. Water-soluble vitamins are your B-vitamins (i.e. riboflavin, folate, etc.) and vitamin C. Obviously, without water, these vitamins won’t break down properly. Besides these vitamins, water also helps break down minerals, amino acids, glucose, etc.1
Another benefit of water is that it transports nutrients throughout our body by bringing nutrients to the cells and taking away the by-products of the cell reactions. (It keeps our cells alive.) It also gets rid of the wastes that clog our system (for example, the nitrogen wastes that result from breaking down proteins into amino acids), it lubricates the joints, it acts as a shock absorber for the body, it helps maintain the correct body temperature, it helps complete the different chemical processes that go on inside the body, such as the ones used to make energy for us, and it helps keep us cool by allowing the body to sweat.1
Though having to do more with weight loss than fat loss, drinking plenty of water allows your body to release the stored water it has in it. Basically, if you don’t drink much water during the day, it’s just like eating; your body will hold onto the water that it gets, and as a result, you may see a few extra pounds on the scale. When you start to drink the amount of water you’re supposed to, your body realizes that it’s finally getting the amount of water it needs, and it’s willing to let go of the stored water it has. That’s why you’ll be running to the bathroom so much when you first start increasing your water intake; your body is releasing all that stored water. After a while, though, you’ll notice that you won’t have the urge to relieve yourself as much because your body is getting all the water it needs and doesn’t have to store excess amounts of it.
Diet pop, coffee, tea; none of them are true sources of water.
Another cause of seeing a few extra pounds on the scale is due to things such as eating salty foods and drinking alcohol or caffeinated beverages. These types of decisions cause the body to pull water from different areas, such as the mouth, causing dehydration, increases in water weight on the scale, and more trips to the bathroom.
Probably the most important reason to drink water, when you’re trying to lose fat, has to do with the way your liver functions. Your liver is the organ that’s responsible for breaking down fat and using it for energy. So when talking about fat loss, a properly functioning liver is essential. (This is why you may have heard of different liver-cleansing techniques; they’re basically “oil changes” for your liver.) The problem with not drinking enough water is that if the kidneys don’t get enough water, their performance starts to decrease. When this happens, the liver has to pick up the slack.
Imagine your sprinting as fast as you can down a gym floor. Now, let’s say you have to add in dribbling a basketball while sprinting. What happens? Well, obviously the efficiency of your sprinting isn’t nearly as good as it was. The same happens with the liver. When the liver has to take on the responsibilities of the kidneys, as well as its own, you can imagine that the liver can’t break down fat as fast. If this happens, more body fat is stored up, and your weight loss efforts will start to produce slower results.2 The good news is by drinking the proper amount of water, you can avoid this problem from happening.
OK, so you may be saying, “Alright Dan, I get it, but how much water should I drink?”
A goal to shoot for with water consumption is half of your body weight in fluid ounces. For example, if someone weighs 200 pounds, they should shoot for drinking 100 fl. oz. of water per day.
“Wow, that’s a lot!”
It definitely is, but one thing I suggest to people is to play a little game with your water consumption. One thing you can do is get a drink at every drinking fountain you see. Keep track of how many drinking fountains you stopped at in a day, and then try to either maintain that number or stop at one more the next day. Another technique is to buy a Nalgene-type water bottle that has the number of fluid ounces printed on the side. This can give you a visual picture of how much you need to drink in a day’s time. If you can only drink one bottle-full the first day, try and drink that plus a little extra the next day, and so on. Another technique is to do something like 1-10 pushups for every fluid ounce that you didn’t drink in order to get to your goal. (That will motivate you real quick to get enough water.) If none of these work, adding an artificial flavor, such as Crystal Light, can make the task of drinking enough water more flavorful and not as monotonous.
I know there’s the argument of whether diet drinks are okay or not. (Some research has shown weight gain attributed to the consumption of artificial sweeteners.) Plus, many diet drinks have ingredients that you can’t even pronounce … those definitely can’t be ideal for the body. On top of that, many diet drinks, as well as coffee and tea, have caffeine, and we all know the importance of avoiding caffeine when talking about water intake. (Even though caffeine is said to aid in fat loss efforts, I would never recommend this technique for anyone.) My point is nothing can replace the benefits of water. Diet pop, coffee, tea; none of them are true sources of water.
I realize it’s hard for some to break the habit of drinking those drinks you like, but my feeling is when trying to lose the most amount of fat, the benefits of drinking pure water far outweigh any benefit or taste that you get from having something else to drink. It definitely isn’t counterproductive to fat loss, so it only makes sense to drink water. By making the simple switch of replacing whatever you drink now with nothing but water, you’ll take another smart step toward reaching your fat loss goal even faster.
References:
1 Sizer, F., & Whitney, E. (2003). Nutrition concepts and controversies, (9th ed). Belmont, Ca.: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
2 The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), 2001.
Dan Falkenberg is the cofounder of Your Live Trainers. He can be reached at DanFalkenberg.com.
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