What's the disadvantage of not drinking enough water per day??

Question

I always heard that 8 cups of water per day, but somehow, i always don't feel like want to drink. The most i take will be around 3 cups a day. I know it's bad, but what's the actual disadvantage??

Answer 1

If you're stalled on a weight loss plateau despite sticking to your diet, the first thing to check is your water intake. Research suggests that most Americans unknowingly suffer from mild, chronic dehydration, and you could be one of them!

So why should you care? Because water is an essential ingredient for your weight loss. In fact, water is needed for a wide range of the body's biochemical processes, but lets just look at what water does for dieters:

Water is essential for your body to metabolize stored fat into energy - so much so, that your body's metabolism can be slowed by relatively mild levels of dehydration. And the slower your metabolism, the slower your weight loss (and the greater your fatigue), until eventually your weight loss just crawls to a halt, and you hit the dreaded diet plateau.

Water is a natural appetite suppressant. In the hypothalamus, a region in your brain that controls appetites and cravings, the control centers for hunger and thirst are located next to each other, and there tends to be some overlap. This has both advantages and disadvantages for the dieter: on the down side, it means that chronic mild dehydration can confuse these control mechanisms, leading to feelings of hunger, rather than thirst. But on a positive note, it means you can use water to reduce your appetite. For example, in one University of Washington study, drinking a glass of water reduced nighttime hunger cravings for most of the dieters studied.

Water is an essential component of the processes that enable muscle to contract. This means that water helps to maintain muscle tone. Better muscle tone means a better looking body, and isn't that what dieting and weight loss is about?

Water also helps to prevent the sagging skin that often follows weight loss - water plumps the skin cells, giving the skin a younger and healthier look.

Water helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body has a lot more waste to get rid of, as a byproduct of all that metabolized fat. So adequate water is essential to your health while dieting.

Water can even help with constipation. When the body gets too little water, it siphons what it needs from within, particularly from the colon. This leads to constipation. But normal bowel function usually returns with adequate water intake.

More generally, mild dehydration can cause a number of health problems, in addition to your diet plateau. The symptoms of mild dehydration can include: -

- Headaches & feeling light headed, as dehydration interferes with normal body processes, including waste disposal.
- Fatigue, as the body's metabolism is slowed - mild dehydration is probably the most common cause of daytime fatigue.
- Hunger & cravings due to weakening of the thirst mechanism
- Fluid retention as your body tries to hold on to the water it already has
- Constipation, as the body works to conserve its internal water sources

Not a pretty picture, is it? But once you get your water in balance, you reach the "breakthrough point", a concept pioneered by Dr. Peter Lindner, a California obesity expert. Once you've reached the breakthrough point, fluid retention eases, the liver and endocrine system start to function more effectively, you will start to regain your natural thirst and your hunger cravings will be significantly reduced. And so the end result of reaching and sustaining the breakthrough point in your water balance is that your body is able to metabolize fat more effectively.

So how much water should you drink daily, for a healthy and 'adequate' intake? First, a couple of basic principles:

1) The easiest way to tell if you are drinking enough water is to monitor the color of your urine: It should be clear or a very pale yellow in color. (but note that some supplements and medications may also affect your urine color).

2) Get in to the habit of drinking regular and adequate amounts of water. Never wait to drink until you're thirsty, because if you're feeling thirsty, then dehydration has already started to occur!

Having said that, an adequate water intake for a sedentary but normal-weight adult during cool weather, is generally recognized as 8 x 8 oz glasses.

Note that you need additional water in hot weather, when you lose more water through sweat.

You also need additional water when you exercise. Athletes attempt to enhance their performance by maintaining an optimal fluid balance while exercising, estimated to require 6 to 12 oz of fluid at 15 to 20 minute intervals. Even if you're not concerned about your athletic performance, you should consume a similar amount of water when exercising, in order to maintain adequate hydration.

And if you're overweight, you'll need an extra glass of water for each 25 pounds overweight, because the extra weight creates extra metabolic demand

But how do you manage to drink so much water? A typical recommendation from the weight loss experts is 3 glasses of water with every meal. That's 3 glasses with breakfast, 3 with lunch, and 3 with dinner. Plus, of course, additional regular water between meals when you're exercising or when its hot.

So if you're dieting, stalled on a weight loss plateau, or suffering some of the classic symptoms of dehydration, do, first of all, ensure that you have an adequate water intake. It could be the 'missing ingredient' in your diet regime.

I add crystal light to some of my glasses of water and also have at least one frozen juice bar (the natural ones with no added suger) a day. This bar gives me an additional 4 ounces of water to my daily intake.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What's the disadvantage of not drinking enough water per day??
I always heard that 8 cups of water per day, but somehow, i always don't feel like want to drink. The most i take will be around 3 cups a day. I know it's bad, but what's the actual disadvantage??

Answer 3

You should drink 1 1/2 - 2 liters a day. All the above answers give good reasons why.

One way to know if you're getting enough water is if your pee is very light yellow or clear. If it's dark yellow, you're not getting enough.

Answer 4

Well you will get dehydrated and won't have as much energy as you should. You'll also be very hot a lot of the time. AND you can only go 3 days without some form of water.

Answer 5

As long as you drink whenever you are thirsty, you will be fine. 8 cups a day is just the amount needed by an average person, you may very well not need that much.

If, however you aren't getting enough water, you will slowly become dehydrated. Symptoms include lack of energy, headaches, loss of apetite, impotence in men, blurry vision, and in extreme cases death.

Answer 6

disadvantages are your body becomes dehydrated. You can start to feel exhausted or run down, not having enough energy. You put yourself at risk for things like Kidney stones cuz there's not enough fluid to push all the bad enzymes through your kidneys therefore leaving them in the kidneys to form stones. You have alot clearer and better skin and skin eltasisity when you drink more water, which helps with preventing things like stretch marks.

Answer 7

people who don't drink enough water usually tend to be a bit heavier due to drinking other stuff (like reg soda, juices, stuff high in sugar and calories).

I have noticed when I don't get enough water in a day I tend to get hungry more often and I am alot more thirsty. That leads to eating and drinking extra calories and that leads to weight gain if it isn't controlled.

I drink around 10 glasses of water a day. it sounds like alot but for me its not. I am VERY physically active and I need it.

If you cant drink plain water what about Gatorade, Powerade that has electrolytes. Or flavored water.

Answer 8

harder digestion, more prone to water retention if you eat salty foods, more prone to UTI (if you're a woman, those are not serious, but hurt like hell), more prone to kidney disease. If you drink coffee and do not drink water, your kidneys will hurt because they will be overstimulated.
I used to drink about 2-4 cups a day until I got a UTI that took twice longer than usually to heal. That was not fun.
I have been forcing myself to drink 7-9 glasses a day ever since. If you do not like plain water, put some lemon, orange or lime juice to add some flavor, or try herbal teas (w/o caffeine)

ETA: not drinking enough water also makes you more prone to kidney stones, stretch marks and celulite

Answer 9

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/axKT6

Water is healthy for you because it doesn't have all the calories and sugars that other drinks do. Nearly every function of the body is monitored and pegged to the efficient flow of water through our system. Water transports hormones, chemical messengers, and nutrients to vital organs of the body. When we don't keep our bodies well hydrated, they may react with a variety of signals… some of which, we would never think related to our poor drinking habits. Medical research has shown that regular water intake will help eliminate dyspeptic pains like gastritis, duodenitis, and heartburn. Without getting into the technical and graphic details of digestion, our bodies use many hormones, enzymes, and neurotransmitters to complete the digestion process. Without ample water intake, the pancreas is less efficient, acids in the stomach are not properly neutralized, and the functions of the intestine are inhibited. Over an extended period of time, this can lead to constipation, colitis pain, false appendicitis pain, and even hiatus hernia. Obviously, if you're trying to lose weight, water intake is important. Not only for proper digestion, but to prevent overeating. The sensation of thirst and hunger are generated simultaneously to indicate the brain's needs. If you're not getting plenty of water, you'll likely eat more to satisfy your body's urge for water. When you feel hungry, try drinking a few glasses of water first. You may not be as hungry as you think. Be sure not to confuse water consumption with fluid consumption. Sodas and coffee are NOT an acceptable substitute. In fact, you need to consume even MORE water if you're drinking sodas and coffee. Caffeine, one of the main components of most sodas, causes increased urine production and acts as a dehydrating agent. That's why you can drink sodas all day, and never feel satisfied. The water doesn't stay in the body long enough. Plus, you may mistakenly think that you've consumed enough "water" by drinking soda. When your body cries out for thirst, you're likely to over feed it with food instead. The body is 75% water and 25% solid matter, and your body needs to stay well hydrated to operate at it's best. Not only will your body function more efficiently, but you may even avoid many health problems. Increased water consumption has been shown to help relieve migraine headaches, high blood cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis pain, allergies, and high blood pressure. And, since you're brain tissue is 85% water, your brain functions rely heavily on an ample water supply. (Maybe you're not really getting old and forgetful; you just need more water.) In fact, studies have shown that with prolonged dehydration, brain cells actually begin to shrink. I dont know how to put this is ml but you should drink about eight 8 oz glasses of water a day. (1.9 liters)

Answer 10

Oily skin. Oily hair. More likely to have skin damage (sun spots, age spots). Kidney failure.
Water is very good for your body. It flushes out all of the bad stuff that come into your body.
When you drink it, try not to drink water from your kitchen sink. Get a purifier. Water from a sink has chemicals and chlorine in it. Water also hydrates you body and cleans your urine. If you have really bright yellow urine, then your not getting enough water and your body needs more hydration.
Plus soda, tea, and coffee stain your teeth. Soda does nothing good for your body .. just damages it. Tea and coffee has lots of sugar.
So my advice is to start drinking lots of water each day for a healthy body overall.
=)

Answer 11

Water is good for every part of your body!
Your cells are healthier, your mind works better. Our bodies are made up of over 75% water. It is just good.
If you can "make" yourself drink enough water for a few weeks, you will get in to the habit, and will always want to.
I drink 16 8 oz cups a day!