Water is an essential part of your diet. It's vital for proper function, and staying hydrated can actually help you lose weight if incorporated properly into your diet, since it plays a key role in digestion. Even so, drinking cup after cup of water won't help the pounds come off and could actually be dangerous, so stick to the recommended eight to 10 glasses a day and no more.
Beverage Substitute
Drinking more water can definitely help you lose weight if you use it as a substitute for other beverages. If you normally drink sodas, sweetened tea and fruit juices, replacing these items with just water will reduce your daily caloric intake and automatically make it easier to lose weight. Drinking just one soda a day could add as much as 1000 calories to your diet in one week. Since water has zero calories, you'll more easily be able to create a caloric deficit.
Alkalinity
According to Mayo Clinic nutritionist, Katherine Zeratsky, drinking alkaline water may aid in weight loss. Alkaline water has a higher pH level than tap water, so it can counterbalance your diet, which is typically more acidic. By neutralizing an acidic diet with alkaline water, your metabolism might get a boost and better absorb nutrients from food. However, Zeratsky notes that research verifying these claims is lacking.
Fill Up on Water
Water can help you lose weight by making you feel physically full. For instance, you can drink a cup of water before each meal so that you feel fuller faster and eat less. You'll still get all the nutrition you need but will reduce the quantity of food you eat. Just a cup or two will do, however, so don't chug down water to reduce your food intake even further. That could force your body into starvation mode, which you definitely don't want.
Don't Drink Too Much
Though you need between eight and 10 glasses of water a day for good health and hydration and to make weight loss easier, drinking too much water is dangerous. There is such a thing as drinking too much water, which can reduce your electrolytes to dangerous levels and could even result in death. You have to drink a considerable amount of water to do this, but it's still best not to chug gallons in your weight-loss attempt.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Rethink Your Drink; February 2011
- MayoClinic.com; Water: How Much Should You Drink Every Day?; April 2010
- MayoClinic.com; Alkaline Water: Better Than Plain Water?; Katherine Zeratsky; March 2010
- Health Services at Columbia: Go Ask Alice!; Is It Possible to Drink Too Much Water?; July 2007
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