Why, when dieting or using other means to loose weight, is it beneficial to drink large amounts of water?

Question

By "large" I do not mean so much that you, you know, feel sick. What I mean is that nutritionists and dietitians often recommend increasing your water intake (above and beyond, I'm assuming, the normal eight cups per day) significantly during in order to supplement your regimen; that doing so will accelerate the process of shedding pounds.

What I do know is that if you're working out, you obviously need to increase your water intake, as you're loosing more than normal (we generally loose about eight cups per day through waste, perspiration, etc.). But even if you're not adding a workout plan to your diet (ill-advised) and just altering your eating habits for the better (a smart choice nonetheless), they still say to add water.

Water, of course, has zero caloric value, so you can drink as much as you want and not gain (approx 3,500 calories to the U.S. pound), so I can see the benefit there. Where (or what), though, is the connection between increased intake and decreased weight?

Answer 1

1) It helps to fill you up
2) and MOST Important it helps to keep your body properly hydrated, thus the body is less likely to hang onto stuff it doesn't need. You're body stays fluid.
General rule is to drink the equivalent of half your body weight in oz of water. ie if you weigh 150 pounds drink 75 oz of water a day.
If you are working out drink more. Ideally you should never feel thirsty, once you are at that point you've begun dehydration and the body starts to store which usually turns to fat.

Answer 2

There are different opinions on this. Some new recommendations are putting less emphasis on lots of water intake.

The main thing whether you are dieting or not is to drink enough water so that your organs and blood can properly do their job. Dieting alone probably doesn't require you to drink extra water, but exercise definitely will.

One problem with drinking too much water is that you may bloat, and also the water does add weight. This is not a problem, but if you're watching the scale it might be disappointing if you don't understand the effect of water weight.

Answer 3

Water is important as it helps to build lean body mass. Water is present proportionally more in lean body mass than in fat. Proper hydration is essential to building lean body mass, and thus reducing body fat percentage.

None of the above has anything to do with losing weight, but has everything to do with being healthy. Too many people are hung up on how much they weigh, when body composition is much more important to overall health.

Answer 4

Water helps flush out toxins in your body. When toxins build up in your body, they often make you bloat so the water will flush them out. This is especially true if you ingest a lot of sodium. Salt makes you bloat and retain water, so the best way to get rid of it is to drink lots of water. Menstruating women will tell you that the extra bloat can result in 1-2 lbs of excess weight (seriously, no joke).

Water also helps flush out fat from your body.

Answer 5

If you drink more water, it flushes your system. Water purifies your system and cells, and increased water=increased cell respiration/cell production. Just increasing your water intake gives you better skin, healthier organs, and keeps you feeling good. Your cells will be able to better absorb nutrients and reject the junk if you have more water in your system.

Answer 6

I drink about 3 liters of water a day.