Drinking X amount of water
 

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.

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...

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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. :D

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

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.

Originally Posted by 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.

I read somewhere that when you get thirsty, your body is already in the early stages of dehydration. Not sure if that's true or false though.

Originally Posted by LockItUp:
I've gone through phases where I put way too much effort into drinking water.

I've done this with drinking tea as an afternoon substitute for drinking coffee. I used to drink so much of it that it just makes me use the restroom. Fun stuff, lol. I needed to find a balance.

But, I'm in the same boat as a few others - drinking water helps me satiate myself and not drink my calories.

However, it's also about stress level and coordinating all the things that work for your individual eating plan. And it's a lot to coordinate! If trying to drink water when you're not thirsty puts everything off balance, then definitely do what works best for you!

Good discussion topic!

Originally Posted by 427pounder:
I read somewhere that when you get thirsty, your body is already in the early stages of dehydration. Not sure if that's true or false though.

I don't think that's true. I think it's just one of those things that have gotten passed around for years. I would find it hard to believe a person would be dehydrated at a sedentary job after a couple hours of not drinking anything, yet I still feel thirst after a couple hours at my sedentary job with nothing to drink. Doubt I'm dehydrated at that point.

For me, it's as if food soaks up water and makes me feel fuller. If my stomach is empty, it won't do anything to make me full. But if i eat and then drink water, i will feel 2x as full as if i only ate the food.

Might be true in excess of your 8 glasses a day. I cut downfrom my gallon a day to 8 cups and I lose the same amount of weight still. I wasn't forcing or fighting to get a gallon in per day, just the opposite actually I was trying to keep myself from going over that gallon. It was a pain needing to buy 7 gallons a week just for me. I do think the water hydrates me much more than any other drink, it fills me faster with lunch, it calms my stomach while I am making my meals and my skin is much better than before. I really noticed my pores r less clogged and my facial dry patches seem to dry more when I don't keep up with 8+ cups. I don't find it to be any kind of chore drinking water, especially because I lay out 4 16 ounce bottles and sip all day long, I absolutely love water and I used to hate it.

I think a lot of water just because I find myself being thirsty a lot, and unlike a lot of people I don't mind drinking water. The body does need water for a lot of its day to day processes to work, but some people don't realize that pretty much no matter what you do to water it stays water. Tea, coffee, carbonated water, Gatorade, etc., its still has plenty of water, just with stuff mixed with it. So if you don't like water, but drink eight or more glasses of tea a day (or just about any other beverage), you'll still get all the water you need.

Originally Posted by surfergirl2:
For me, it's as if food soaks up water and makes me feel fuller. If my stomach is empty, it won't do anything to make me full. But if i eat and then drink water, i will feel 2x as full as if i only ate the food.

That works for me too, I definitely feel more full on the same amount of food if I drink water with it.

I also drink a lot between meals too - not trying to force it down, but I just feel better when I drink more, and it's what my body is used to. If I don't drink my normal amount for some reason, I definitely can feel a difference.

And of course, there is the benefit of having to get up to use the restroom more often. I like to do the Walk Away The Pounds videos - this is the Pee Away The Pounds supplement to it. :lol: I even use the ladies room on the next floor up at work, figuring every extra step helps!

I drink as much water as I feel comfortable with. When I'm at my desk all day, I have a refillable bottle that holds around 24oz and probably fill it 4-5 times between 8 and 5. I do get up to the bathroom often but that's a good thing because I shouldn't sit for such long periods anyway.

To echo what others have said, I do tend to eat less when my water consumption is higher. When I slack on water, my eating tends to be the next thing to go.

So, water may not be entirely necessary but depending on your body and mindset it could help. If it's not harmful and helps get you to your goals it's OK in my books. :)

For me I do not like tea or coffee - I like hot chocolates, probably not so good for the diet as they seem to be quite sugary here

also I find that drinking water helps keep me feeling good as we live in an reasonably dry environment , drier then the part of the country I grew up where it was humid guess some of the water there came out of the air


Having worked in offices with and without air conditioning I found that when sitting in an office I get more thirsty if it is air conditioned as I find the air conditioning while keeping the office nice and cool- and dry also made me feel dry down the back of my throat so sipping water helped when working

Also with loosing weight when I don't drink my water I snack more - so no water for me is more calories - better to try drink more then not
plus the up and down to the toilet adds to steps we take :)

If I am eating watermelon or high water based foods I don't feel as thirsty during the day so must be something in the amount of water you consume, not only drink but eat too..


Worst of all I think I am a sub conscious snack eater, so I would rather drink the water then eat the calories.


Quick question now... um How much water would you have to drink to get water poisoning?

It can't hurt to drink a little extra water, I certainly don't drink enough like I should and it really helps to rid yourself from sodium bloat.

Originally Posted by 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 agree with you. I've drunk virtually no flat water for the past 2+ years. It hasn't stopped me from losing 55 pounds and maintaining the loss, and I'm not dehydrated in the slightest. I get most of my fluids in the form of coffee and tea, plus about 4 cups of sparkling water/juice mix per week. I never ever keep track of how much fluid I take in every day. I let thirst be my guide.

Freelance

I drink water not necessarily in an effort to lose weight, but in an effort to keep my soda consumption down. I used to drink a diet coke (and a diet coke in my house is a 16oz bottle) every time I got something to drink, and I tell you what, simply switching to water has made me feel tremendously better. I used to be bloated, gassy and just felt overall gross all the time even though I wasn't consuming any calories. Now, I still have my soda, but I limit it to maybe one on the weekends or when I'm eating at a fast food joint. I consider it a treat, and water is my staple. It used to be the other way around, lol, and I won't ever go back.

As for the amount I consume... I drink a 16-20oz glass of water with every meal, a 16oz bottle or 2 when I workout, and maybe one with a snack depending on what I have. But other than working out, that's what I would drink in soda. So pretty much, I drink whenever I eat. I also drink a cup or 2 of coffee about mid-afternoon and a cup of hot tea in the evenings before I go to bed, and I drink almond milk every now and then, too. I get my fluids and it makes me feel nice, lol.

Drinking water has been beneficial for me in that it has helped me avoid sugar-filled beverages, and has also made me feel less hungry.

I think what we see in this thread is that we don't need to drink a lot of water only to stay hydrated. I have never found any research to support the claim that people need to drink even 8, 8 oz glasses of water. In fact the research indicates that number was essentially made up, regarding hydration.

However, people do like to drink water for a variety of other reasons, such as feeling full, and it may help with weight loss for some.

On the whole, I believe that if you like to drink water, go for it. And if you don't, don't worry about it! (Really! It's okay if you don't like or don't want to drink a lot of water!)

You can be successful in weight loss -- and life -- either way.

I have definitely noticed that when I make an effort to drink water, it goes along with weight loss. Is it a "this causes that" thing? I doubt it. But, there's definitely a correlation.

I think it's that water replaces diet coke for me. Yes, they both have zero calories and we all know the calories in/calories out thing. Diet coke does so many bad things for me and cutting it out definitely helps me. Does it help me just feel better or help me weigh less? I don't know? Maybe during times that I am more focused on taking care of myself, I am also focused on staying on plan, so it goes together that way? If so, there's a reason to drink water - feeling better by avoiding diet coke helps me want to take care of myself and eat better and exercise. Good enough of a reason to drink water instead for me.

Also, on days that I run, I drink a lot of water with my workout. I think that helps my muscles from retaining a lot of excess water. It has to help with muscle recovery. I would think?

Even if it's psychological and has no actual improvement for me at all, I think I do better and feel better when I drink water, so I'll take the placebo effect.

But yeah, I wouldn't tell everyone that they have to drink a bunch of water to lose weight. If it helps you, great. If not, stop killing yourself to do it and focus on your calories for the day. That has to come first if your goal is weight loss. Whatever helps and however you get to that, do it.

I agree. If it helps you do it, if it doesn't don't. But those of us that are helped by it are not helped solely because of some crazy placebo effect. There really is some evidence that it helps some people.

I bet it has a lot to do with why you overeat. I really have an insatiable appetite and an addiction to the feeling of "fullness" and so water is the best way for me to fill up my stomach without putting calories or diet soda into me.

Originally Posted by April Snow:
I even use the ladies room on the next floor up at work, figuring every extra step helps!

To get in extra steps. After I go. I walk up to the next floor to the other side of the building and take the stairs down then back to my office. I try to do this every time I go to the bathroom. I figure it all adds up.