Can Drinking More Water Help You Lose Weight?

Drinking water is often thought of as a way to avoid feeling parched in hot springs or during summer. While optimal hydration is key to a healthy lifestyle, can drinking water help you lose weight?

If you’re on a weight loss journey, incorporating enough H2O into your healthy diet may be the missing link you’re looking for, especially if you’re already limiting fried and sugary foods, exercising, and practicing other good-for-you habits that support weight loss. Yes, if you’re trying to lose weight and aren’t seeing the results you want, the simple act of drinking enough water and staying hydrated may be just what your body needs. Why water, you ask?

Read on to learn why drinking more water can help you lose weight, and how much water you should be drinking each day to support your weight management goals. For more advice to help guide you into healthy water drinking habits, be sure to read What Happens to Your Body When You Drink a Gallon of Water Every Day.

Does Drinking Water Help You Lose Weight?

Believe it or not, sip some “high quality water” (like Adam Sandler in water boy) may help you lose a few pounds, especially if you combine this habit with other habits that support weight loss, such as incorporating physical activity into your day and eating a balanced, calorically appropriate diet.

Unlike sugary sodas or fancy coffee drinks, water has zero calories, carbohydrates, sugar, salt and fat. So drinking it won’t have any impact on your nutrient quota for the day – a great feature for someone trying to lose weight.

But water is more than just a calorie-free thirst quencher. Some data suggests that drinking water increases your metabolic rate, so your body burns more calories at rest.In fact, a study published in Nutrition and Diabetes showed that drinking approximately 16 ounces of water was associated with increased resting energy expenditure, meaning that the body burned more calories when consuming this amount of water compared to people who did not drink this amount.

Drinking water not only helps you burn more calories while resting, it also helps you break down fat.According to published in Frontiers in Nutrition, need enough fluid to break down body fat. Therefore, not providing your body with enough fluids may make it harder for your body to use fat as fuel.

How much water should I drink to lose weight?

How much water you need to drink to lose weight depends on several factors, including your weight, how much you exercise and how much you sweat.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

In general, healthy adult men should consume about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids per day, and healthy adult women should consume about 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids per day, according to the Institute of Medicine. This fluid volume includes water and other beverages, as well as the water you get from eating certain hydrating foods such as watermelon and cucumber (which are mostly made of water).

However, it’s important to be realistic about the results you’ll see when you drink more water. If you’re increasing your fluid intake but aren’t eating the right foods, exercising regularly or getting quality sleep, you’re unlikely to see weight loss just by sipping from your sleek Stanley mug. But if you’re already doing “all the right things,” making sure you’re drinking enough water could be the missing link your body needs to see the results you want to see.

Lauren Manack MS, RDN, LD, CLEC