Tip Of The WeeK: Staying Hydrated Helps You Lose Weight

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Can drinking few extra glasses of water per day help you lose weight? Here’s how: According to several studies, drinking more water can help you shed those unwanted weight, especially when combined with a healthy balanced diet and exercise. But why is this?

Drinking water is one of the simplest things you can do to slim down and maintain a healthy weight. It helps curb hunger by filling your stomach between meals. Better to drink some water than down high-calorie beverages and junk food — aka empty calories — that will leave you wanting more a few minutes later. Water gives you more energy to work longer, and speeds your metabolism by as much as 3%(hey, every little bit counts). it's vital for fat loss. Water suppresses appetite and helps body metabolize fat.

But that’s not all. Drinking ice cold water can actually help speed your metabolism, albeit ever so slightly. Metabolism acts like a furnace that must burn fuel to keep the body nice and warm. Luckily, the body’s fuel of choice for keeping warm is “brown fat”. Drinking ice cold water is one of several ways to harness this mechanism for weight loss, since the body must compensate for the sudden temperature drop. One glass (16oz.) of ice cold water can burn up to 17.5 calories, no treadmill required!

"Unlike white fat—which makes up the vast majority of the fat in our bodies and is used to store any excess calories we consume—brown fat actually burns calories to produce heat (under the right conditions). In fact, when fully activated, brown fat generates three hundred times more heat than any other tissue in the body. Just two ounces of brown fat appear capable of burning several hundred calories per day—the equivalent of a 30-minute bout of exercise. Most, and perhaps all, adults, have small pockets of brown fat."  George L. King, MD  in an article on Reader's Digest

In a small 2003 study[3] ,  revealed that the effect drinking 500 ml of cold water had on 14 participants. The researchers concluded that drinking 500 ml of water increased their metabolism ever so slightly – participants burned about 23 calories – due to the increased work the body had to do to warm the water. That might not sound like much, but over the course of a year, those 23 calories add up.

How much water should I drink?

Proper hydration has long been regarded as a vital key to weight loss, but the ideal amount that you should consume is often in debate. There’s really no magic number. Some people will say at least 8 glass a day is ideal; others will insist 2 litres a day is better. But it really depends on everything from your activity level to your unique body chemistry. How often you go to the toilet is a good sign — urinating only a couple times a day is a tell-tale sign of dehydration, as is the colour of your urine (the darker it is, the more dehydrated you probably are; aim for the color of lemonade).

  

Not A Fan Of water?

If it’s the taste (or lack thereof) that’s stopping you from drinking plain water, jazz it up! I mean using natural flavors,  not artificial sweeteners or added sugar. Adding Splashes of lemon, cucumber or strawberry juice, to infusing water with few slices of these fruits will keep your taste buds happy. Or maybe you prefer a little fizz with your water. Go for it — carbonated water  aka soda water works just as well as regular water, as long as it’s unsweetened.

Also remember you can supplement your water intake with healthy low-calorie foods that have a high water content, including cucumbers, zucchini and watermelon. So, munch away!

Reference:

[1] M. Boschmann, et al. Water-induced thermogenesis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. December 2003; (88)12: 6015-6019.

[2] E.A. Dennis, A.L. Dengo, D.L. Comber, K.D. Flack, J. Savla, K.P. Davy, and B.M. Davy. Water consumption increases weight loss during a hypocaloric diet intervention in middle-aged and older adults. Obesity. Feb 2010; 18(2): 300-307.

[3] Duffey, Kiyah J., and Barry M. Popkin. Adults with healthier dietary patterns have healthier beverage patterns. J Nutr. November 2006; (136)11: 2901-2907.

[4] Stookey, J. D., Constant, F., Popkin, B. M. and Gardner, C. D. Drinking water is associated with weight loss in overweight dieting women independent of diet and activity. Obesity. November 2008; (16)11: 2481–2488.

 Study: Healthy Brown Fat Regulates Your Blood Sugar