Hot Lemon Water For Weight Loss

When you have a cold or sore throat, hot water with lemon is soothing, but it's good for more than that. If you're trying to shed pounds, a steaming cup of hot water with lemon wedges or juice can help you reach your weight goal, if you know a few things about it.

Function

Almost everyone who has tried to lose weight has had to deal with emotional eating. Hot lemon water provides the hydration you need to stay calm and focused because when you're mildly dehydrated, you get irritable and are more easily rattled by the bumps of day-to-day life, says Lisa Sasson, a clinical assistant professor at New York University's Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health, in a New York Times article.

Benefits

Three lemon wedges provide 12 percent of the daily value for vitamin C, according to the Fat Secret Diet and Nutrition Database. This can help you resist the temptation to indulge in a sugary, caffeinated beverage. Selene Yeager, author of the "The Doctor's Book of Food Remedies," reports that people with high vitamin C intake experience less fatigue than those with low intake. With vitamin C in your system, you won't feel as tired and you'll be less tempted to grab a fattening latte on the way to work.

Effects

Hot lemon water can help you manage hunger, an important part of any weight loss program. When you're thirsty, your body may mistake thirst signals as hunger signals; drinking water also expands your stomach and may help you feel full, according to the Family Doctor website, a service of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Identification

For the best possible taste, use freshly squeezed lemon juice instead of bottled. Cooks Illustrated Magazine recommends you look for large, round lemons, which often yield more juice than smaller, more elliptical ones. The magazine also recommends testing the lemons by squeezing because lemons with a thin skin and little pith produce the most juice and will give under pressure, while thicker-skinned, stiff lemons are less juicy.

Warning

Hot lemon water is only good for hunger that's really thirst. Don't use hot lemon water to deal with genuine hunger. Eating too little can actually keep you from losing weight. The Mayo Clinic reports that when you engage in a starvation diet, your body compensates by slowing down your metabolism. Instead of starving yourself, eat small, frequent meals made from fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins, and use hot lemon water as a substitute for hot chocolate or sugar-sweetened coffee.