You Need Water to Lose Weight

So drink up!

If you are trying to lose weight drinking plenty of water is the easiest thing you can do to help with your efforts. Water is an essential nutrient for optimal health and survival. Sweating during exercise is our body’s way of controlling our temperature so we don’t overheat during training and water cleanses our bodies of toxins and wastes. Water also helps your liver convert fat into usable energy. If you do not drink enough water your kidneys are overwhelmed with concentrated fluids and they make your liver do extra work. If your liver is doing the kidney’s job it does not have time to convert fat into energy so it just holds on to it. To top it all off, if you don’t drink enough water throughout the day instead of excreting waste and waste products, you reabsorb used water to reuse. This is what causes water retention and bloating. Consistently drinking water therefore actually helps you lose weight and prevents those dreaded weight fluctuations that too many of us suffer from.

On a final note, thirst signals are often confused with hunger signals so when your stomach “growls” and you haven’t had your daily water intake you may actually need a glass of the cold stuff rather than a candy bar.

Okay then, how much should I drink?

You need at least 8 cups of water a day. If you exercise or are in a hot climate you should increase this to 10 cups per day and if you are overweight drink an extra cup or two. People that carry excess weight around with them burn more calories in the day than they normally would so they have more waste products from metabolizing food that needs to be flushed out of their bodies.

Are you kidding? That is way too much for me to drink in one day!

Don’t worry, water comes in many forms. Most fruits, especially watermelon, and some vegetables including celery, lettuce and cucumber are made up of mainly water. Milk and juice are also fantastic sources of water, but beware! If you consume beverages with caffeine such as coffee, tea and pop you will actually excrete water before it is put to use by your body so you need to drink extra water to counteract for the loss (that means an extra cup or two)!

Always keep a water bottle with you at work and at the gym. Also eat lots of fruits and vegetables throughout the day and you will easily meet your daily needs! Good luck and drink up!

Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.