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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

You Must Drink Water to Lose Weight


The following article was borrowed from www.womens-health-questions.com

How Much Water To Lose Weight?

Every diet and fitness plan tells us that we need to drink plenty of pure water... but exactly how much water to lose weight? That is the question.

Your body needs more water when you exercise. And you want to drink water with every meal, to help you feel full and to help your weightloss program.

When you feel hungry it is often actually thirst. Your body needs plain old water, not soda, not coffee, not high fructose corn syrup. A glass of water can help stop hunger cravings.

So how much water to lose weight? The age-old standard about water is to drink eight 8-oz glasses a day.

However, no one ever asks how much your body weighs. Someone who weighs 150 and sits at a desk all day may need less water than someone who weighs 250 and does physical labor outdoors in warm weather.

The bottom line is, very few people drink near enough water. Most people are dehydrated. So to start out, drink a full glass with each meal. This way you will make sure you are drinking at least three glasses a day. Make this a habit.

You'll find that you eat less at each meal and are not as hungry later. Remember, many hunger pangs are actually thirst pangs. You will enjoy improved digestion. Some people even find that they sleep better at night.

More about how much water to lose weight:

Another answer to the question of how much water to lose weight is that you want to have a glass before bed at night and a glass upon awakening in the morning.

For your morning glass of water, don't drink ice cold water on an empty stomach, or your tummy will protest. Just "tepid" or room temperature water is fine.

You will find yourself visiting the restroom more often while your body gets used to all of this water. After a while your system will adjust and you won't go so often.

Now you are up to five glasses a day. Way to go. This will seem like a lot if you have not been drinking much water.

How much water to lose weight -- now let's add three more glasses.

If you are exercising you will want to sip a glass of water afterwards. Try to get in some kind of exercise every day. Even just going for a walk can do wonders to help you lose weight.

Now you can add an extra glass of water at lunch and have two glasses of water with your meal instead of one. Recently some of us took our kids to McDonalds for lunch. The grown ups each ordered the chicken breast sandwich. They are made on a whole wheat bun with lettuce and tomato. It's a very healthy sandwich. Thank you McDonalds for making this menu item. Along with those sandwiches we each asked for a glass of water and then we all had a refill.

If you eat a healthy sandwich like that slowly, and drink two glasses of water while you eat, it really fills you up and satisfies your hunger. Try drinking one half to one full glass of your water before the food is eaten. That really slows down your eating.

The question of how much water to lose weight has a lot to do with drinking it while you eat your meals.

Another good place to get a healthy sandwich is Subway. The turkey sandwich is an especially healthy choice, with only 6 grams of fat. Drink two glasses of water with it and you are doing great.

So far so good on our quest of how much water to lose weight. We said eight glasses and we are up to seven so far. The other glass of water might not be needed if you are of average height. Eight is not a magic number carved in stone.

If you do want to add another glass of water, here are some ideas. You can sip water all day at work. You can bring along a bottled water in your car. You can have an after work drink of sparkling water with a twist of lemon or lime. You can use water to mix up your daily protein smoothy shake. You can mix a packet of Emergen-C vitamin C drink with a glass of water in the afternoon instead of a coffee break.

Foods can supply added water also. You can have a bowl of chicken soup with lots of clear broth. You get a lot of water in salads, vegetables, and fruits such as bananas, oranges, melons, etc.

One thing you don't want to do is drink soda pop and think it is helping because, hey it's made out of water isn't it? Sorry but soda can actually dehydrate you. That is not what we want. The question is how much water to lose weight, not how much soda to lose weight.

Give up sodas and you won't be alone. People are drinking less soda and more water. The soda makers are buying bottled water packaging plants to stay on top of the trend. An industry article told about how worried they are about declining sales.

If you have the money in your budget for a water filter it is a wise investment. The ones that fit right on your kitchen faucet tap are fine. That way you can drink water right out of the tap. It is room temperature and it will be free of chlorine and other scary stuff that will be filtered out.

Every time you are at home and you are wondering about how much water to lose weight, you can just grab a glass of water from the tap. Put a note on the refrigerator to remind you to drink some water.

These filters pay for themselves in no time because you buy less bottled water and eat less food. You can just get some water bottles and refill them over and over.

To sum up, just how much water to lose weight is enough? Try for six or eight glasses a day. If that is difficult for you, try for three. It is a good start. Then work your way up to more.

Get in the water habit and your weight loss program will work so much better it will be amazing. Substitute water for soda and for sweetened bottled drinks. If you have hit a plateau on your diet, this added water could be the missing key to weightloss success.

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