You men need to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day,especially if you're trying to lose weight. There's no secret,you've heard it already, Everyone has heard this one. Everyhealth source will tell you that. So, do you drink that muchwater?
I didn't think so. But this is the single most importantnutrient you ingest every day, and the single easiest way tocleanse your body, flush toxins, make you feel great, and speedweight loss.
The Liver
The function of your kidneys is to filter your blood (which ismostly water). And one of the functions of your liver is tometabolize fat. If you don't consume enough water, your kidneyscan't function properly, so your liver starts to help performkidney functions. So, if your liver is busy helping your ailingkidneys, you can't burn as much fat. Let me repeat that: Nomatter how much you exercise, if you don't drink enough water,your liver will not metabolize fat for you, because it is tryingto help your kidneys.
Boost Your Liver's Performance to LoseWeight Fast
Too Much Water?
Being hyper-hydrated (consuming too much water) is not in anyway harmful, and actually helps your body metabolize fat. Thegreatest ill effect of excess water consumption is that you willvisit the washroom more often. Consider it a chance to fit in alittle more exercise.
There have been a few cases of long distance runners who havedied from drinking water to toxic levels, but this is extremelyrare, and their situation is very unique, so it is nothing for anormal person to worry about.
Retaining Water
You may have a medical condition that causes you to retainwater, probably because of excess salt (sodium) in your system.The solution is simple: drink more water. Your body retainswater for the same reason it retains fat: your body thinks thatit's hard to come by. If you teach your body that food isabundant, it will stop storing it. If you teach your body thatwater is abundant by drinking more of it, your body will stopstoring it. For more on human adaptation, read my articles on Adaptation for weight loss.
Other Benefits
The more water you drink the healthier your skin becomes,because it has to be moisturized from the inside and out. Italso contributes to joint lubrication, reducing the risk ofinjury in any activity. Water is the best cure for constipation,and should be your first choice, even before fiber.
When you are active, you should drink even more water,especially on hot days, to replace what you lose in sweat. Donot wait until you're thirsty, because that is your body tellingyou that it is already under-hydrated. Try to keep yourselfover-hydrated for best health. Here's an extra tip: cold wateris more easily absorbed into your system, plus it slightlylowers your body temperature, so you have to burn a few extracalories to bring your body temperature back up.
I Drink Plenty of Coffee, That's Mostly Water, Right?
What counts as water? Some say "only water", but some researchhas found that fruit juices that are mostly water can be countedtowards your daily quota. However, you simply can't drink asmuch juice as you can water. Juice will fill you up, andcontains sugar which you should try to minimize in your diet.So, it's really not a substitute for simple, clear water. Andeven though coffee is made with mostly water, it does not countsince it is a diuretic and actually strips water from yoursystem. Colas are also full of that diuretic caffeine, besidestheir ultra-high sugar content, so soft drinks should be thefirst item to stop consuming if you're trying to lose weight.Replace those "alternatives" with a glass of water, and you'llfeel better and start losing pounds and inches.
I hope it goes without saying that alcohol, even when mixed withwater, is a diuretic and my advice is to minimize yourconsumption of alcoholic drinks.
Final Tip
You don't have to drink a huge glass or two all at once, either.I have a large glass of water at my desk all day. As soon as itis empty, I refill it. I naturally sip it whenever I like, and Iend up drinking more than my quota of water every day.
In fact, I'm getting thirsty...
Article originally printed: Water Weight Loss
