I am a water junkie. I drink atleast 80-100 oz per day. I don't know if it helps with weight loss, but I like the way drinking it feels.

I would have to say he is somewhat ignorant.

Can drinking large amounts of water help your body flush toxins? Absolutely. It is the function of the kidneys to flush toxins out of the body via urination. The kidneys work more efficiently when you drink generous amounts of water.

Can drinking large amounts of water help your body flush fat? Yes, indirectly. Fat is metabolized (burned) in the liver. Another of the liver's functions is to assist the kidneys in flushing toxins out of the bloodstream if the kidneys are not operating at peak efficiency (as would happen if you aren't drinking adequate water). When the liver has to take over for the kidneys, it cannot metabolize fat as efficiently.

Just google the search string, "drinking water" fat metabolism, and you will find numerous articles that explain this phenomenon. Presumably they are also available to your doctor if he bothers to look.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on television.

Wow, thanks for the replies everyone!!! I didn't expect this much of a turn out!!! Overall I got a lot of great info, thanks. I went to a mexican restaurant last night...I figure every Friday night I can eat whatever I want for dinner, but then it's right back on track. It was exhausting eating so much...I even had a large (huge) strawberry margarita. But I've done great today. Do you guys think that'll mess my weight loss up by much? It just seems like I need a break once in a while.

I'd say once a week might mess up weight loss. It takes 3500 calories to lose a pound. So if you exercise off 500 calories a day, that's a full week of exercise just to splurge on a meal where you could possibly consume most of it back, and not lose any weight. Go ahead and splurge. But personally, I'd cut it down to once a month, or at the most, every other week.

Having good fluid intake does help the body to burn fat. Even though I am doing a totally different plan from everyone else, I have noticed obvious stalls on weigh-in day during weeks that I have had very poor fluid intake (like having only 30oz of fluid per day for 5 or 6 days...thats bad).

I'm not going to talk about water exclusively because I am not a water junkie, I drink whatever I feel like as long as there are no calories in it. The idea with fluids curbing appetite has more to do with the fact that most people mistake thirst for hunger. If you drink something first and give your body a little bit of time afterward, your "hunger" might very well go away because you weren't hungry at all.
As far as having a splurge day, that doesn't work for all people because they can't get back on track the next day. Thats up to you to decide if you can handle it. I have to disagree with the advice about having to exercise more to have a splurge day. If you are exercising with the intent of eating, then you have a problem... you should be exercising with the intent of having a healthy lifestyle. Think about it....exercising just so you can eat (binge). Thats not a good mindset and will probably backfire in the long term. If you have a splurge day/meal/whatever, you WILL retain fluid. However, if you have been following your plan before and after, it is unlikely to result in actual fat gain. I could easily have a 3000 calorie dinner, from say Applebee's..... if this is something that you could easily do as well, then you will probably see slowed weight loss, again, assuming you are perfectly on track before and after. Realistically, you would have to splurge like that for most meals for a few days before seeing actual fat as a weight gain. What you should do is be mindful of what you are eating, of what the calories are that you are consuming, and learn good portion sizes - even during a "splurge" meal because you can still have something good (forbidden) without completely going overboard either... and it is good practice for learning those good lifestyle habits.

Time to add my two cents.

I drink 4L of water a day (I was drinking 6L but cut back). Do I drink it to lose weight? Not really. I drink it because it is good for me, my body needs water. It makes me feel good. I havent gotten to the point where if I dont drink enough I feel like crap. I drink other fuilds as well, but generally I have 1 liter of water, my cup of coffee, 3 more liters, and some diet pop in the afternoon.

I cant say if it has helped with my weight loss (I like to think it has) but it makes me feel better and look better. And sometimes it can help me feel full, but I find a diet pop does a better job of that. I used to drink nothng but diet pop, but now I would rather have water (most of the time).

As for slurge meals days - I do it. I havent lost weight that fast, but I have lost 43 pounds in 9 months - with TONS of splurge meals/days. I have to eat the way I can eat for the of my life. The splurge meal/day has really helped me - but if i feel I dont need it then I dont have one. I just have it if I need it.

Can I not eat my christmas dinner? thanksgiving dinner? for the rest of my life? **** NO! I am sorry, some people dont believe in eating them. But I would rather take twice as long to lose weight then lose it really quickly and gain it back.

But really in the end, you have to do what works for you.

Originally Posted by sotypical:
Can I not eat my christmas dinner? thanksgiving dinner? for the rest of my life? **** NO! I am sorry, some people dont believe in eating them. But I would rather take twice as long to lose weight then lose it really quickly and gain it back.

That's the way I see it too.

Thanks. I think you guys have some really great posts!!! I am going to keep my "free meal" for now. I'll just practice my serving sizes on that meal instead of ignorning all my "lessons". I have to think of this as a "from now on" diet instead of a "until I'm weighing less" diet. That margarita was good, but I can't see doing that all the time. I can't throw myself away like that. Plus, being in the military, I need to be in shape!!!!!

Originally Posted by sotypical:
Can I not eat my christmas dinner? thanksgiving dinner? for the rest of my life? **** NO! I am sorry, some people dont believe in eating them. But I would rather take twice as long to lose weight then lose it really quickly and gain it back.

I'm not saying don't eat a holiday meal; but really, that is no excuse to be stupid about eating either. To me, a "splurge" meal or day would mean being able to eat something that I would not normally eat, like pizza or ice cream or whatever. But I wouldn't allow myself to get stupid about it and eat a whole big carton of ice cream or 10 pieces of pizza either. Just because you want to indulge doesn't mean that you can or should ignore everything about nutrition - in fact, if I think about the crap I'm putting into my body I tend to lose my appetite for it (unless it is cheesecake :D)
It will take you twice as long to lose the weight and not a very long time to gain it back with eating habits like that. Having a full out binge is not a reward and will inevitably only get you back to where you started or worse if this is what you call "splurging"

Originally Posted by buckettgirl:
I'm not saying don't eat a holiday meal; but really, that is no excuse to be stupid about eating either. To me, a "splurge" meal or day would mean being able to eat something that I would not normally eat, like pizza or ice cream or whatever. But I wouldn't allow myself to get stupid about it and eat a whole big carton of ice cream or 10 pieces of pizza either.

That's how I look at it. When I see the term splurge, I'm thinking of someone eating anything, and as much of it as, they want. On holidays, I try to drink plenty of water beforehand and always start with a salad to curb my appetite before digging into the higher calorie foods. But I don't count any calories on those days and don't worry about eating a piece of pie as I would normally.

When I have my splurge meal, I eat as much as I want... but now, all I want is 2 pieces of pizza - 3 at most. I dont eat NEARLY (probably less then half) as much as I want to. so yes I mean I can eat as much as I want, but I guess my subconcious really only lets me what it knows is okay for me.

When I was actively losing weight - I had two treat meals, my birthday and Christmas dinner. Now that I'm maintaining, I usually have 1 treat meal a week. For the weekly treat meals, I still don't got all crazy - usually get a glass of wine, get salmon for dinner and split a dessert. It doesn't mean I can eat as much as I want out of the bread basket or use butter or order fried foods or eat fast foods or any of the other big lifestyle choices I have made and will stick to forever. I am also very careful to make it one treat meal, not a treat day or treat week.

I am careful and my weight has been very very stable for nearly a year, that makes me happy. I can't stand the thought of gaining weight or having to lose weight again. I am exactly where I want to be and no pizza or ice cream or movie theatre popcorn is worth it.

All bets are off for my birthday, though :)

Originally Posted by Tisha___:
To me, there is a HUGE difference between a binge and a splurge. When I have a splurge meal, it might mean that I have 2 pieces of pepperoni pizza and a bread stick. Or, it might mean that I go to my favorite mexican place, and have 1 soft taco and chips and queso.

When I binge, it means that I eat everything and anything I can get my hands on.

Also, I still count the calories on my splurge meals and add it in with the rest of my day. It's not like everything goes out the window. I still try to watch portion control, but I don't deny myself a particular food item, if I really want it. And these days, I CAN'T eat as much as before. I get fuller a lot faster and I've come to realize that I want to enjoy my food, so I only eat until I'm satisfied. It's gotten a lot easier than it used to be. I'm not saying I haven't had any slip-ups. I had a couple last week in fact, but I got right back on track and didn't give up. And, I think that if I denied myself everything all the time, I'd have a lot harder time getting back on track after a slip-up.

WOW! DITTO THAT OVER AND OVER!
I could not have said that any better, I am the exact same way.

The past month I have had an average of 1500 calories and a weight lose of 1.15 pounds a week. That is pretty good even with slip meals in there. I think even if I skipped those 'splurge' meals... I wouldnt lose any fast. They really help me stay in my control.