Does water really help you lose weight?

Question

doesn't drinking water make you bloated?

Answer 1

Water Menu For Weight Loss

Many of us know that keeping our bodies well hydrated is essential for good health and for weight loss. Drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water every day is recommended and yet many people find this difficult to do.

If you are one of the many people who find it difficult to drink water, here is a program easily followed to ensure you are well hydrated every single day.

When you wake up you will often be thirsty because your body loses water while you are sleeping through breathing and perspiration. Drink a large glass of water with a slice of lemon for zing.

Drink another glass of water with breakfast or a cup of herbal tea before setting off the day.

Mid morning - snack on a piece of juicy fruit such as orange, rockmelon, watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew. Have a glass of water and perhaps try a dash of herbal aloe juice which is wonderfully soothing to the digestive system.

Lunch - think of soup or have a glass of water before your meal, or perhaps a herbal tea.

Mid afternoon - While you are preparing your evening meal, drink a glass of water and snack on some crunchy fresh vegetables.

Evening - Sip a glass of water before your meal with a dash of your favourite fruit juice for flavour.

After dinner - before bedtime drink your final glass of water and sleep well!

Now here's the really exciting part - you may notice a reduction in inches and centimetres, as you body's water store become redundant and so decrease. You may need to 'spend a penny' more but the results will be worth it.

Answer 2

Drinking water won't make you bloated. Actually, it's the opposite. You retain water when you don't drink enough water (and/or have too much salt). When you drink more water, your body doesn't have to hold onto all the water.

As for losing weight, if you are retaining water, when you are properly hydrated, you'll lose that bloated weight. But that's usually only a few pounds, at most.

The other way that water can help you lose weight is if you drink water instead of drinks with calories. Regular Coke has about 150 calories per 12 oz, while water has 0 calories. If you drink a lot of Coke, you can save calories and probably lose weight by drinking water instead.

Answer 3

It depends, when you say lose weight - are you really talking about losing body fat? It is easy to lose "weight", wrestlers do it all the time. They wrap themselves in plastic suits, and sweat out extra pounds. However, that is all WATER. They are not really losing fat when they do that.
If you want to lose fat, then yes, water does help you. No, drinking water is not going to cause bloating. You body might store extra water during your monthly cycle, but drinking plenty of water does not cause that.
Water is essential in every aspect of life. It creates the fluid volume that transports our blood to our cells, it allows the energy creating chemical reactions to take place in our body, it helps to regulate our body temperature. Without water, you will not be able to lose weight healthily.
The great thing about water, is it can also help us lose weight. A lot of times, drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day will ease our appetite. It will also help us to feel more energetic - and thus more motivated to get out and exercise. There are only two ways to lose weight, change your eating habits, and/or increase your energy output.
P.s. if you think that it is water that is making you feel or look bloated, you are fooling yourself (unless it is that time of the month).

Answer 4

Water definitely helps to flush toxics, keep you hydrated, reduce your appetite, and eliminate fats via urine and fecal matter. Since it has zero calories it is the perfect alternative to high calorie drinks such as soft drinks, sugary tea, etc. Finally, when cold water is consumed the body does expend energy (kcal) to warm it up. So, to some degree water can help you lose weight.

However, while water can indeed help you lose weight it isn't, by and large, enough of a catalyst to do so. As an aside you should also know that drinking water will NOT cause you to become bloated. In and of itself water will actually decrease the amount of water in your tissues to a safe level. Of course, if you have become dehydrated or there is a mineral imbalance present then it is possible for some of the water you drink to become 'trapped' in tissues but this is relatively rare and easily corrected.

By the way, I've been helping people stay healthy for a more than 20 years and I can tell you that losing weight requires a combination of both exercise and caloric restriction but with a proper nutrition balance.

If you want to lose weight in a healthy manner, keep the following in mind:

1) Check with your physician to be certain that you are physically able to reduce your calories and increase your exercise habits safely.

2) Make certain that the calories you are eating are as balanced as possible. Finding out how much protein, carbs, and fats your body needs on a daily basis can really help keep your energy levels high all day long. The #1 reason my clients tell me that they've stopped dieting or exercising in the past is because of low energy ebbs. Splitting the amount of calories you can have per day into 5 - 6 smaller meals will help tremendously (this keeps your body fueled and ready to go and you also know that your next meal is only a couple of hours away).

Knowing what your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is will certainly help you determine how to be calorie conscious. Also remember that you may need supplements to help things along.

3) While exercising (before, during, and after) be sure to consume enough water. The key is not to be 'thirsty' (overtly) during this time of exercise.

4) Adding weight bearing exercise (i.e., lifting weights) will help to tone your body and the thermogenic (fat burning) effect will last long after you've stopped working out -- even if your workout is simply walking).

5) Remember that you'll probably hit plateaus (times when you'll stop losing weight) several times during your weight loss progress. This is completely normal and is only temporary but it can last for a couple of weeks at a time. It is very important to remember that even if your scale isn't showing progress, your entire body is being positively effected by your efforts.

6) Measure different parts of your body (neck, upper arms, lower arms, chest, abs, waist, belly, butt, thighs, etc.) and do it accurately. Write these measurements down and check them once every 2 weeks. This will help you remember that your body is 'reducing' all over -- not just in one particular area. If you're weight training you may actually notice a slight increase in some areas of your body (don't worry -- if you're a woman you won't start looking like a bodybuilder).

7) Keep focused on your end goal and concentrate on losing maybe 1 pound a week -- sometimes you'll lose more, sometimes less. As long as it's an average, it's okay.

8) Lastly, remember that you're doing a WONDERFUL thing for your body.

Keep up the good work. I've worked with hundreds of people in the past 20 years (mostly women) who have lost (individually) HUNDREDS of pounds safely. Better still, they've kept it off -- Kay lost over 350 pounds and has been at her goal weight for 7 years now.

As for what to take (if anything), that depends entirely on what your body needs. Anyone who suggests that you take something that 'works for everyone' is either confused or deluded. For example, if you had a twin brother or sister your bodies could react completely different to certain supplements or foods on a metabolic level. If you want to learn more about what you might want to take and how to calculate your BMR, you can visit my site (below).

Any questions, don't hesitate to write and ask.

Lonnie Honeycutt, C.N.C.
Your Health Is My Concern
http://www.betterlifetoday.com

Answer 5

Water will help rid your body of impurities and some of the fat cells. Why do you think you pee so much when you drink a lot of water? If you have heart health issues, the water may be retained, causing the bloating and excess fluid.

You should drink 8 12 oz. glasses of water a day, but most people don't.

Answer 6

In the book Freakanomics, it says that there is no evidence that drinking eight glasses of water helps you lose weight. I'm not sure of their source, however. Im sure someone will check it though

Answer 7

It makes you bloated for a small amount of time before you actually get rid of any fluids you're retaining (from salt or anything else) along with the water. So, in the long run, it makes a diet a lot more effective to drink lots of water.

Answer 8

if you want to lose weight, and you like exercising, take up swimming. it's the best exercise b/c it uses all the muscle groups and there is no pressure on your joints.
yes drinking water helps, but you still have to have a healthy diet. especially drinking more water, and less or no soda.

Answer 9

Water is probably the best thing you can drink. It has zero calories, unlike soda pop or coffee. Also, often, people confuse thirst for hunger, and eat something between meals when really all they need is a big glass of water.

Answer 10

To reduce excess weight you should use up or perhaps burn off 3, 500 unhealthy calories for each and every pound