You might be surprised to know that drinking water to lose weight really does work. Scientist Dr Batmanghelidj explains why in his books “You Body’s Many Cries For Water: You’re Not Sick, You’re Thirsty” and “Obesity, Cancer And Depression: How Water Can Cure These Deadly Diseases”. I’ll give you four reasons as to why drinking water will help you loose weight right now.
1. Drinking Water Reduces Hunger
The signals related to early hunger and thirst can be exactly the same. A lot of people, when they feel themselves getting hungry will reach for something to eat. However, if you haven’t been keeping yourself well hydrated this feeling could actually be your body asking for water, not food. If you don’t realise this you can end up eating a lot more than you need, with obvious consequences! Drinking water to lose weight keeps you hydrated, so the hunger you feel will be for food, when you need calories and not just water.
2. Drinking Water Provides Calorie Free Energy For Your Brain
Your brain is the main driving force for your fluid intake and that’s because there is more water in your brain than any other part of your body. So any shortage of water is felt by your brain first. Your brain has several potential energy sources, glucose is the most obvious one. But did you know that some energy is derived by water traveling across cell membranes? This can be likened by hydroelectric energy. This doesn’t involve calories. Because some of your brain’s energy is derived from water, it will ask for more when your body is getting a bit dehydrated. Remember, you brain feels dehydration before any other part of your body, because its percentage of water is higher. But because no one told us that mild hunger can actually mean we’re thirsty, a lot of people eat at this point. So your brain wanted more water for its energy but it gets food instead. Your brain will use some of this energy from the food you ate for its energy needs but the brain is a small organ, so it’s not going to use much. If you weren’t genuinely hungry for calories the rest of your body doesn’t need this food yet either. So it’s destined for your fat stores. Simply by not keeping well hydrated you could be eating more than you need, hampering your weight loss efforts. So this is another reason that drinking water to lose weight works.
3. Drinking Water Is Necessary To Switch Your Fat Burning Enzymes On
Fat breakdown depends on water. It doesn’t happen efficiently without plenty of it. Looking at your body fat as a whole, something has to happen to it for it to shrink so you can get slimmer. It needs to be broken down so it can be used by your body. An enzyme called lipase is required to break down fat. If you imagine your fat as a brick wall, lipase is a chisel that removes the bricks one by one. The bricks are now free to travel to be used around the body and burned up for energy. Lipase needs water in a good supply to work well. This is how it works: Fat + Water + Lipase = Fatty Acids Fatty acids are the small building blocks of fat. They are small enough to be released into your circulation and will be picked up by cells around your body needing energy. They are released easier when you are well hydrated. Drinking water to lose weight allows the enzymes to break down fat efficiently.
4. Drinking Water Increases Energy Levels
Think about a plant that is suffering from lack of water, just imagine it wilting and its stem and leaves going soft. Now imagine the same plant having been fully hydrated, the stem and leaves are firm. When your body is not hydrated properly, water is taken from your cells to keep your circulation up to full quotas. In this case your cells will look like the wilted plant. A result of this is less than peak energy levels of the cells throughout your body. In this situation you’ll feel under par. If you don’t feel energetic, you won’t be energetic. You won’t move around as much and therefore you won’t burn as much energy. By keeping your body fully hydrated you cells will be firm and functioning on a higher level. This gives you more energy, so you not only feel better but you do more, burning more calories. The most important time to drink water is when you wake up because you’ll be dehydrated then. Make sure you have a glass before drinking anything dehydrating like caffeine. Aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water throughout the day, that’s at least 2 litres. Spread it out fairly evenly over course of the day. By drinking this amount you’ll keep your brain hydrated and any hunger you feel will be for food, not water. Featured photo credit: morguefile/raymortim via mrg.bz
