What's the truth on water?

Question

Almost every diet plan and many others say you have to drink lots of water, like 2 quarts a day. Apparently soda and coffee doesn't count. Multiple reasons are given.

What's the scientific truth?

I mean, soda is essentially water, CO2, flavors and sweeteners, so why doesn't it count? Milk, iced tea, coffee, are primarily composed of water. If they don't count, then why don't I die when I just drink those for 3 or 4 days straight, with no plain water? Obviously I am metabolizing the water.

Also, why so much? Dehydration is often cited. So how can I be dehydrated when I'm urinating once every few hours? Am I to believe that dehydration consists of a state where I am urinating less than 12 times a day?

Does it actually help you lose weight, other than help you avoid retaining water? How?

OK, so many seem stuck on sugar or caffeine in the soda. Let's say I drink nothing but caffeine free diet pepsi? Then what?

Answer 1

supposedly, it flushes the calories out of you before they have a chance to "stick"..

Answer 2

You also get water from food. That's why you don't die if you constantly drink tea and coffee, which most people do. Although that's why most people are constantly dehydrated..

Your cells start to shrink without water so the more you give them the healthier you are.

You should know by now that caffeine is a diuretic drug and dehydrates you so it doesn't count as liquid intake really. In your tea and coffee though you will probably have a good bit of milk that will count towards your overall intake.

It's been proven that people who drink more burn more fat.
Your your body is just not working as well when it doesn't have water so you won't lose weight as effectively. Metabolism is important for weight loss, and your metabolism starts to slow down with less water. Your digestion isn't as good.
"Water is the fuel that drives metabolism's chemical reactions. So, if you're not drinking enough, you won't burn as many calories as you can. Simple."

You also need your water to cool your body and water is lost as you are exercising (hopefully) with your diet plan. So you need to be better hydrated than usual to make up for the extra you'll be losing through sweat.

Drinking water is a good habit on a diet plan because it fills you up and gives you a better hand-to-mouth replacement than snacking.

Another reason is that often hunger and thirst signals get mixed up (or the thirst signal is just too weak to even be noticed) so a person on a diet should make sure they have enough water so they don't get confused and go after a biscuit or something because they have a weird craving they can't seem to satisfy.

Dehydration doesn't necessarily mean you don't urinate often it just means a state where you're not well hydrated. It can be subtle, slight or severe, making your body fuction worse, you get dizzy spells, can faint and eventually it will cause death of course. When you get used to drinking more water you're not peeing constantly. But more water obviously means more pee. It's helping flush toxins out too.

Answer 3

The body does not metabolize water-it uses it. Water is what the body uses to hydrate tissues, but it's primary function in the case of dieting is to flush toxins. Actually, 2 quarts is enough for a person who weighs 100+ pounds, but more is better if you are cleansing. ANY flavoring-coke, tea, anything with color requires digestion just like food. When you add other ingredients-coke has sugar-then that just makes digestion that much harder. The objective in a diet is to force the body to burn stored calories (fat) and the water aids in flushing the toxins incurred from burning those fats. When you have depleted those fats the body starts burning muscle. All these things are converted into sugar (glucose) which is the fuel the body needs. When you drink soda the body quits dieting and just burns the sugar you just put in it. Sweets are the worst thing you can consume when trying to diet.

Answer 4

If you are dehydrated, you do not have enough water, aka, pissing every half hour until it's all gone. If you don't pee, you may not have any water left or may have stones in your urethra.

If you drink any other beverage in which sugar is a primary component, you are drinking SUGAR, which will turn into FAT.

Drink ONLY water, juice once a day, milk twice, and no coffee, no soda, no nothing but water. And don't overdue it with the water - there is such a thing as too much. 8 - 16 cups a day, and you can vary from day to day.

Good luck. Put your drink down. Go get some water right now.

Answer 5

all of the answers that have been given so far are correct.

most diet plans recommend you consume 8-10 eight ounce glasses of water PER DAY... which equals out to be about two liters of water -- the amount of soda in one bottle.

the reasons are multiple.. one, it prevents dehydration. if you're on a diet-and-exercise plan, that amount of water will replenish the fluids you sweat out during exercise.

two, it gives you the sensation of being fuller, longer. the more fluid you have in your tummy, the less room you have for food.

three, hunger is often confused with thirst. don't ask me how, but that's what the research says. SO, if you're consuming 64 ounces of water per day, you're constantly drinking it... which means you'll know when you're hungry vs. when you're thirsty and can accomodate to whatever particular need it happens to be.

four, it flushes out your system.

five, it keeps you from retaining water. constantly introducing water into your body signals your systems to start getting rid of it because it knows it's always coming. much the same way with food -- if you go without eating, your body will start to store all of the fats and minerals it can get, because it never knows when it'll be "fed" again.. that's why eating 4-6 small meals per day is key-- your body's metabolism will always be running because it gets fed regularly. the same rule is true for water.

and plus (and this is just MY own personal reason)... if you're one of those people who snacks when you're bored or watching tv, having a bottle of water around is handy. every time that you would reach for that cheeto or potato chip, take a drink. you'll be surpised how much water you can consume during an episode of house or nip/tuck or whatever would happen to be your show of choice. :)

hope this helps!!

Answer 6

fake!! The plastic received't wreck down and launch chemical compounds into the water. See the hyperlink. the only conceivable undertaking isn't cleansing the bottle nicely sufficient between makes use of, and bateria initiating to advance.

Answer 7

uh all those other things such as soda and coffee has things ur body does not need. ur body is like 98% water and the more hydrated ur body is on water the easier it is to lose the pounds and you feel alot healthier...i quit drinking sodas this year and im caffeine free and i have never felt better in my life cuz u dont realize what those things contain until you go without

Answer 8

There is one more thing that water does for you, to help you lose weight. It's kind of complicated, but it has to do with the liver fuction and getting rid of fat in your body.
I'll try to find it and add to my reply.

Here it is:

http://www.lowcarbguy.com/user/Drinking%20Water%20to%20lose%20weight.htm

"Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize fat.

Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits.

Here's why: The kidneys can't function properly without enough water. When they don't work to capacity, some of their load is dumped onto the liver.

One of the liver's primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body. But, if the liver has to do some of the kidney's work, it can't operate at full throttle. As a result, it metabolizes less fat, more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss stops. "

Answer 9

Water makes you fuller so you eat less. You constantly need to drink water to not get dehydrated. When you get thirsty to drink water, it's too late. You're already dehydrated, thats why you drink lots of water every day.

Answer 10

To know if you're drinking enough water...take a pee. Seriously. It should be a pale yellow. The more golden it is, the less water you've had recently.

Why so much? Keeps your organs chuggin!

As for weight loss...hmm. I have no flippin' clue.

Answer 11

water is needed to help you metabolise the food and things you eat. when you drink soda, yes you get th water in your system but it also has all the added unhealty things, suger and things. The ratio of water vs bad things, is not good. bad things out weight it and then the amount of water doesnt matter and is overall a bad choice.