In America, between 30 and 59 percent of Americans try to lose weight by drinking more water.
While it can work, this isn’t a miracle substitution for exercise and eating healthy.
Drinking water to lose weight is part of a healthy lifestyle. But what’s the water line? Here’s how you know how much water to drink to help manage your weight.
Are You Dehydrated?
Before you try and factor in trying to lose weight, you should know how much water you should be drinking to begin with.
If you already know that you’re drinking enough water and not suffering from dehydration every day, then a water diet may not be as effective for you as it would be for someone who drinks maybe only one glass of water a day (if even that).
When you’re dehydrated, your metabolism (the rate that you burn fat), isn’t running at its peak performance. Drinking more water will help it work better, like replacing old batteries in your TV remote.
People normally don’t pay attention to how much water they drink, until they start to notice signs of dehydration, like constant headaches. So start paying attention to how much water you drink.
Get a reusable water bottle with measurements on it to keep track of how much water you’ve consumed for that day. If you can’t remember, there are apps that can help with that as well.
How Much Water Should You Be Drinking?
The normal recommended drinking standard was eight 8 oz glasses a day. But everyone is different, and this standard will probably be different for you.
The new recommended standard is to drink anywhere from a half an ounce to a full ounce in your weight. So, for example, if you weigh 180 pounds, you should be drinking anywhere between 60 to 180 ounces of water a day.
And even that may change. If you are exercising a lot more than normal, you will need to drink more to replace the water that your body just lost.
If you live somewhere really hot and humid, you’re also probably going to sweat more and will need more water than someone who is living somewhere with four feet of snow on the ground.
While this amount may seem like a lot, you should also remember that you get water from certain foods you eat. There is water in a lot of fruits and vegetables and some meats and fish. There is even water in your coffee or tea.
There are also different tips that can help you to remember to drink enough water:
- Get a reusable water bottle
- Keep the bottle with you at all times
- Keep the bottle somewhere where you can see it
- Drink small sips throughout the day rather than all at once
- Drink before and after eating
When in doubt, just drink whenever you feel thirsty or feel any symptoms of dehydration.
Can Burn More Calories
Drinking water is also known to help with weight loss because it helps you burn more calories.
In one study conducted with women who were overweight, they were told to drink more water and not change anything else in their life to try and lose weight.
They were drinking over 34 ounces a day. After a year, the study showed that they lost an extra 4.4 pounds, just from drinking water.
To back up this study, experts have discovered that drinking 17 ounces of water can burn up to 23 calories. When you look at that over a year, that adds up to 17,000 calories, which is the 4.4 pounds that the women lost.
To help with weight loss, cold water may be even more effective at helping you burn extra calories.
Because the water is cold, your body has to work harder (and burn more calories) to warm up the water.
Drink Water to Lose Weight Before Meals
Some times people don’t know if they are feeling hungry or dehydrated. Often times it can be difficult to tell.
When in doubt, try drinking a glass or two of water before you sit down to eat a meal or open the bag of potato chips. If drinking water fills you up with no calories, then you just saved yourself a few hundred calories from your unnecessary snack.
Studies have shown that this works better middle-aged adults and also the elderly. So if you’re in your 20s, you may need to try a different way to lose some of the weight.
Drink Water Versus Soda
One of the main reasons why drinking water may help with weight loss is because you are so focused on drinking water that you’re not drinking soda, or coffee, or anything else with sugars in it.
When you reach into the fridge, grab your Brita filter rather than a can of soda. Soda has so much sugar in it, and if you drink it regularly, cutting it out will be a great way to start losing some extra weight.
Lose Weight Today
If you aren’t fully committed to changing your diet and exercising, drinking water to lose weight may be a temporary solution.
It can work, but you have to manage your expectations. You aren’t going to notice significant changes in a short amount of time, and you won’t lose that much weight.
Drinking water is a great thing to do, but it should also be combined with exercise and a healthy diet.
If you’re not sure how to start eating a healthy diet, check out these tips here to get started today.
