There are a lot of myths out there about what water is good for when eating healthy. It's hard to know what is real and what is not.

Can anyone tell me what benefit there really is? I know there is benefit but I'm not sure what it is! LOL


My weight loss stalled this week and I truthfully did not drink much water at all.

Wondering what role it might play.

Thanks!

PS. I tried searching to see if this topic was previously covered and got pretty much everyones weight loss diary since we all mention how much water we drink. LOL

This is my understanding of the truth;
Your body needs water to metabolize (sp?) fat, also you need 2.2L a day to be healthy...and a healthy body uses fat for energy.

Also this may not be really a part of it...but if you constantly drink water youll have water in your stomach all the time and thus have less room for food, so that I would think would help with weight loss as well.

I’ve lost alot of weight in the last 2 years (in the neighborhood of 100lbs) and I attribute alot of it to my water intake.

water helps with your concentration too.

Your body tissues are made primarily of water - I believe the figure is close to 70%. Your blood, spinal fluid, the mucus membranes in your lungs, the fluid that pads your joints, the fluid that fills every cell in your body - all of those things are a delicate balance of water and other chemical elements.

When you drink (and eat, because there's water value in food as well) too little water, it upsets the "balance" within your body.

When that balance is upset, your body works to restore the balance. One way it restores that balance is by retaining water/fluid that would otherwise be excreted (either by peeing, by sweating, or just in respiration).

By the same token, when you eat too much sodium, it causes an imbalance and so your body retains more water to "dilute" the sodium and minerals that you've consumed. That's why when you have a sodium heavy meal (or day), it's a good idea to drink a little more water to help restore the proper mineral balance in your system and keep you from retaining fluids.

Additionally, keeping water flowing through your system - through your kidneys and bladder - helps flush out the impurities in your system more efficiently.

So drinking enough water to keep your system balanced and flushed is hugely important. The whole "8 cups a day" thing is a myth that has been busted - just like 1200 calories to lose weight. 8 cups a day doesn't take into account individual weight, levels of exertion, etc. The best guideline I've seen were put out by the International Sports Medicine Institute. They start with 1/2 ounce per pound of body weight for someone who is inactive, and go up from there as you increase activity.

So for example, my weight is 170, half of that is 85. So they recommend 85oz of water a day (which works out to about 10.5 cups). I drink about half again that much - but then I also work out 4-5 times a week.

Drink as much as you can! Helps make you feel full.. adleast it does me