[HungryHungryHippo]

I don't mean to rock anyone's boat, but I see so many posts of people making such an effort to drink X amount of water a day, and it's my understanding that that does...exactly nothing. I mean, maybe in the short term, like one day, if you excrete more, you weigh less, but on the whole, no. Maybe I'm wrong. But I just feel bad, because there are so many things we all struggle with, and steps that we take...that it feels like a shame to waste effort on something pointless.

[TripSwitch]

Unfortunately when it comes to weight loss people waste a lot of effort on A LOT of pointless things... But I would guess getting that "magic" number of 8 glasses of water in a day is probably better than what they were drinking at least...

[alaskanlaughter]

i agree with you....while i think every person's body is different, for me personally the amount of water that i drink has made no difference in my weight loss...my fluids consist of protein shakes, coffees, flavored carbonated waters and the occasional light gatorade...i hate water in all shapes and forms - rain, pools, showers, drinking it etc...i hate water on my face and never learned to swim because of that...

anyhow i've lost right around 50 pounds by drinking what i want, when i'm thirsty...the only thing i focus on is not drinking my calories, so no regular sodas or juices etc...i am willing to spend calories on a good coffee but that's about it

[Rana]

Drinking more water can help people who confuse thirst for hunger.

I'm one of them. If I am hungry, I have to really think if it's real hunger or if it's thirst. Oftentimes, it's thirst.

Also, if you're drinking water (0 calories) rather than juice or soda, you may not want to down the can of soda if you're full of water or not thirsty anymore.

If you ate a high sodium meal, the water may help you pee out some of the excess sodium you just drank.

If you just started exercising for the first time in a while, the extra water may just help you stay hydrated if your thirst signals are off. My father never drinks water because he never feels thirsty (he'll eat, guess where I got it from?!) even if he has been exercising.

I don't think it will help you lose weight, but it can help in other ways, in my opinion. Even if it's just in your head, it might be what helps you move on to healthier habits.

[JohnP]

The big benefit of drinking water is all the extra calories you burn having to go to the bathroom all the time.

[katrinakit]

Drinking a lot of water fills me up and makes me less hungry. I eat much less calories if I focus on drinking more water. This realization has come from years of tracking my calorie and water intake.

[Psychic]

I feel like I drink a lot of water on most days. I usually drink 12 oz. upon waking up. Then I drink another 12-24 oz. in the form of unsweetened tea at work. I usually drink 12-24 oz. once I get home as well. I also usually sip water from the fountains throughout the day. I can always tell when I drink less than usual because I can feel a difference.

[RavenWolf]

I have to say that focusing on getting in 64 ounces of water a day is helping me lose weight. I no longer drink my calories, and by drinking a full 16 ounces before my meals, I'm full on less.

In my case, getting in a glass of water before my workout helps me do better. If I skip the water, shortly into my workout I get terribly thirsty and have to stop and get water.

In my case, focusing on water is far from pointless. It is definitely making a difference and plays a key role in me being successful thus far.

[LockItUp]

I've gone through phases where I put way too much effort into drinking water. I think for the most part it's a harmless thing people do to aid in their weight loss efforts, to each his/her own. Though water poisening is a real thing, very very few people drink to the level of putting themselves in danger.

I think it's one of the LEAST harmful diet fallacies out there.

At this point I drink when I'm thirsty. Though I do notice if I get too thirsty I get my hunger and thirst cues confused.

[Silverfire]

I too have a hard time telling if I am hungry or thirsty. So I have been trying to get in he habit of having a drink of water every time I think I feel hungry. Seems to be helping. I have noticed a difference in my skin as well. Looks much better with the added hydration from the inside!

[ichoose2believe]

I try to get in 8 glasses per day. While it may not be helping me lose weight it is helping in other ways. My skin is a lot clearer as of late and I feel more even thought the day. I also drink water when I think I am hungry or 10 min before I eat to help me eat less.

[Robin41]

I bought into the whole water thing until I read a report that said that there was no real scientific basis for it, that it just became an accepted truth with no actual research behind it. They talked to a bunch of scientists and doctors who basically said that there was no scientific basis for it but it was one of those things that couldn't actually hurt you. The original theory also included the idea that the water in your food actually counts towards the 8 glasses, but for some reason, probably the fact that the plastic bottle industry can't make a buck off of that, that never gets any attention.

Drink some water instead of living on soda or fruit juices and don't obsess over it. The greatest thing water has going for it is that it has zero calories.

[katrinakit]

There are actually a lot of studies supporting this idea. The problem is that, in science, one study doesn't cut it. You need lots of studies saying the same thing and then a meta analysis or a systematic review pulling them together. The only systematic review I could find was about replacing a pre-meal sugar sweetend beverage with water (resulted in significantly less calorie consumption during the meal). However, since I'm assuming that no one on here is recommending we switch to having orange juice or soda with our meals that is not very relevant.

My point is that there is much if not MORE scientific evidence that water intake assists with weight loss than there is that it doesn't. However, until someone does a systematic review on the subject we wont know for sure.

see below for the studies that I found in my 5 minutes of unsystematic searching:

http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/va...o2012225a.html

General and Situation-specific Water
Intake Recommendations: Which Works Best
for Weight Loss?
K. Kaipainen, MSc, [email protected], Cornell
University/VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland,
B-17 Warren Hall, Ithaca, NY 14873; B. Wansink, PhD,
Cornell University
Objective: To determine which of 2 general and situationspecific
water intake recommendations results in greatest
weight loss and who responds best to them.
Design, Setting and Participants: Voluntary participants
were recruited to the Web-based healthy eating
and weight loss program, National Mindless Eating Challenge.
Participants who returned for follow-up within 2
months after receiving one of 2 water intake recommendations,
(1) general ‘‘Drink 8 cups of water a day’’ (n ¼
93) or (2) situation-specific ‘‘Have a glass of water with
every meal and snack’’ (n ¼ 89), were included in the
analysis.
Intervention: Participants were profiled according to
an initial survey and assigned 3 targeted dietary recommendations,
with which they were instructed to comply
daily. Each month, participants were asked to complete a follow-up survey and receive a new set of recommendations.
Outcome Measures and Analysis: Weight loss outcome
was calculated from self-reported weights. Analyses
of variance and linear regression analyses were conducted
to determine participant characteristics influencing the
outcome.
Results: Situation-specific recommendation was associated
with significant weight loss (mean ¼ 0.86 lbs; standard
deviation [SD] ¼ 3.77 lbs; P ¼ .04). Situation-specific
recommendation resulted in higher weight loss among
participants whose weakness was overeating at meals
(mean ¼ 1.69 lbs; SD ¼ 3.16 lbs) than participants whose
weakness was excessive snacking (mean ¼ 0.04 lbs; SD ¼
4.02; P ¼ .04).
Conclusions and Implications: Situation-specific water
intake recommendation appears to result in weight
loss, especially among people with a tendency to overeat
at meals, presumably because water contributes to a feeling
of fullness and substitutes for more energy-rich drinks.
Dietitians can use this information to tailor their advice
accordingly.
Funding: None.

[427pounder]

Originally Posted by JohnP

The big benefit of drinking water is all the extra calories you burn having to go to the bathroom all the time.

I agree. I've been trying to drink a minimum of a gallon a day and I can honestly say that I'm up and down constantly to the bathroom. I feel better though. 0 calories and I can drink as much of it as I want, and I feel full longer, so the cravings don't hit me as hard or as often.

I also heard that the body doesn't store as much water weight if it gets a constant supply. I feel like I urinate twice as much liquid as a drink, but I haven't measured it to be sure. lol

[katrinakit]

one more :P


Dissertation



Author

Dennis, Elizabeth Ann



URN

etd-04132010-113143



Title

The Efficacy of Increased Water Consumption as a Weight Loss Strategy



Degree

PhD



Department

Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise



Advisory Committee




Advisor Name

Title



Brenda M. Davy

Committee Chair



Janet Walberg Rankin

Committee Member



Karen Roberto

Committee Member



Kevin P. Davy

Committee Member




Keywords

•older adults
• energy intake
• obesity
•weight loss
• water



Date of Defense

2010-04-02



Availability

restricted



Abstract
The population of older adults continues to grow in the US, as does the prevalence of overweight and obesity within this group. Several factors may contribute to age-related weight gain, such as a reduced energy expenditure and energy intake requirements, and a susceptibility to energy over-consumption. Serious consequences result from overweight and obesity, such as increased risk of chronic disease, decreased quality of life and increased healthcare costs. Thus, effective weight management strategies are needed which target this population. Reducing energy-containing beverage intake and increasing water intake are often suggested as strategies for weight loss, yet surprisingly little data exists to support the effectiveness of these strategies. Previous studies have shown that older adults consume fewer calories at a laboratory test meal following a water preload, but it is unknown whether this reduced energy intake can be sustained over time to produce weight loss. Epidemiological studies using self-reported dietary intake have shown that substituting water for energy-containing beverages decreases total energy intake, and that drinking > 1L of water is associated with greater weight loss in overweight women compared to overweight women who consumed < 1L daily. However, these studies were a secondary analysis of a trial comparing multiple weight loss strategies and increasing water consumption was not a primary outcome of interest. To directly address this issue, we hypothesized that increased water consumption would increase weight loss in healthy overweight and obese older adults in combination with a 12-week hypocaloric diet as compared to a hypocaloric diet alone. As hypothesized, older adults randomized to the increased water intake group demonstrated greater weight loss than those randomized to the diet alone group (7.4 kg vs. 5.5 kg, respectively). Because energy-containing beverages contribute to total energy intake without a concomitant reduction in food intake, substituting water or energy-free beverages for energy-containing beverages appears to be an effective weight management strategy for older adults.