Water Aids in Weight Loss

If you have been on a diet for a while and are eating the right foods and getting the proper amount of exercise and still are not losing any weight, then chances are you are not drinking enough water.

It is a proven fact that most people whether on a diet or not don’t drink enough water. If you are one of those people who are walking around carrying extra pounds, you could be carrying less if you drank more water everyday of your life. Drinking water really does help you to lose weight and here are a few reasons why.

First of all, you need to understand what “metabolism” is and how it works. Metabolism is defined as “The process by which a substance is handled in the body.”

Your body contains many forms of metabolism, but one of the most popular ones is the metabolism of fat. This is handled through your liver where it converts stored fat to energy. The liver also has other functions in your body, but this is one of the more important ones.

Another job that your liver has is to work with your kidneys. Your kidneys need plenty of water to operate properly, and if you are not drinking enough, then your liver has to do it’s own work plus that of the kidneys. By doing this double duty, the liver is not able to effectively metabolize fat the way that it should and it often results in stored fat in your body.

Many people make the pledge to drink more water, but very few carry through with it. The problem is that until your body gets used to handling the extra water intake, you are running to the bathroom several more times a day then you normally would have and this can be discouraging and annoying ,especially if you have a busy job or schedule. This causes many people to give up on drinking more.

The reason why you are running to the bathroom more is that your body is getting rid of all the water that it has stored up for years. Once your body gets used to the extra water intake, your bathroom visits will decrease to normal because it will depend on the daily intake and not stored water in other parts of your body like your hips, thighs, or belly. When things return to normal, we call this the breakthrough point.

You should also try to stay away from caffeine as much as you can. Even though caffeine may increase your heart rate, your muscles suffer in the process as they need plenty of water to function properly and caffeine takes water away from your body and that is not a good thing and it also makes your heart work harder. Never drink it before you exercise.
Drinking plenty of water is also good for your skin. It will help your complexion by flushing out impurities in your skin and it will help to keep you looking younger by keeping your skin cells hydrated.

It also helps you with muscle tone. Your muscles need plenty of water to function properly. By drinking enough, your workout will be more effective because your muscles will be tighter and you will look nicer after you finish and you will not have flabby muscles under sagging skin.

So how much water should the average person drink a day? The answer to this is around 8 glasses a day or 64 ounces which equals two quarts. If you are seriously overweight, then you should add 8 extra ounces for every 25 pounds that your are overweight.

This sounds like a huge task to drink this much water everyday, but it really isn’t. You should spread the water consumption out during the day. Do not drink a huge amount of water at one time as this is not a healthy thing to do. Pick 3 or 4 times a day to drink a full glass of water and take small amounts in between. Be careful not to let yourself get thirsty as this is a sign that you are becoming dehydrated and not
getting enough water.

There are other fluids that will hydrate your body, but many of them contain extra sugar and other additives that are not good for your body. You can drink flavored water, but make sure that you check the ingredients first.

You should also not drink water too close to bedtime as you will be up all night running to the bathroom and this will hurt your chances of losing weight as you must get a good nights sleep as part of a complete diet.

I hope that you found this article interesting and if you are serious about losing weight, then please visit my weight loss web site where you will find some of the greatest e books and fitness programs available on the internet, all designed to help you lose weight and live a long healthy life.