Can Drinking Water Help You Lose Weight?

Yes, it certainly can!

But of course, you can’t just only drink water. Water can be extremely healthy for weight loss, can suppress your appetite if drank before a meal, and will help you burn more calories while exercising than you would with just exercising alone.

There are many factors that contribute to weight loss, but of course diet and exercise are the most important, and unfortunately, there’s no getting around it.

Losing weight for many may seem out of reach, but it’s not. Don’t believe us? Check out the #transformationtuesday hashtag on Instagram. It’s one of our favorite channels to peruse. It may seem impossible, but starting from where you are, it will only go downhill, no matter what. Once you start, you never be bigger than you are on that day, as long as you do something every day.

Back to Water

If it’s so simple, why don’t more people do it? Well, it could be just that. Such a simple solution doesn’t seem right. Losing weight can’t be that easy when you’ve tried to everything? So we push it aside. Weight loss is more than just shedding pounds, once you begin you can’t stop, you need to maintain your weight, just as you maintained your weight before, but this time, nutrition is a heavy factor.

This question has been asked many times, so the guys at Livestrong decided to chime in, “To lose 1lb of body fat, you must cut out 3,500 calories. If you routinely eat a 2,000-calorie diet and consume nothing but water for one week, you could potentially lose 4lbs.” This, of course, can be harmful, as it can force your body into a panic, or ‘starvation’ mode, slowing down your metabolism and causing you to burn fewer calories.

Without a lifestyle change, fasting by using water such as this does not promote permanent weight loss and is not recommended. Fasting like this and returning to regular eating habits will trigger weight gain, quickly. Drink water, yes, but you must exercise and eat properly.

Water is a wonderful substitute for sugary sodas and drinks. Rather than reaching for a Sprite, why not add a little lemon or lime to your water? Or blueberry? Or oranges? You could opt for a Pellegrino instead and add your own flavors as well.

If you replace one sugary beverage a day with water, you will intake 1,400 less a week. Many people believe that they can, ‘eat whatever you want, just workout,’ and this is just not the case. Nutrition is vital to the human body, and eating In-N-Out and then running a mile is just not good for it.

Water is magical and is so important to our every day lives. As mentioned before, it can be used as an appetite suppressant. If you drink water before a meal, you will feel more full and it will help you cut out more calories.

While losing weight may seem like something that just cannot be done, making simple, small changes in your everyday routine will make you lose weight, guaranteed. Because it’s so small, many people grow impatient and find that the ‘nothing’s working, I just can’t lose weight,’ thought won’t leave their heads.

A few simple steps in the right direction will help you identify what you are spending your calorie allowance on, what your calorie allowance is, how to ensure you are making the right nutrition choices so the weight stays off. Stay the course!

1. What do you eat every day? Make a simple list, and don’t cheat yourself on this one. What are you putting into your body every day? This list is for you, no one else.
2. Read the labels. After you made your list and noted your portions, what did you find? How many calories are you eating every day? What foods are adding the most calories to your diet?
3. Refine and replace. If there are any foods on that list that are high in fat, say ‘diet’ on them, or involve alcohol or soda, they should be slowly cut down until you can replace them completely. These are the culprits to weight gain!
4. Start a new routine. This doesn’t mean waking up at 5 a.m. and hitting the treadmill (unless you want to, and which case, go for it! Legends.), but it does mean parking further away from the door, taking the stairs, going for a simple walk around the block, even walking uphill on the treadmill, just get your blood pumping. While cutting calories is a great way to start, ensuring that your moving is going to really start proving to you that you can do this. The more you move, the better you feel, and the more you’re going to keep doing it. We promise. Just do it.
5. It’s okay to have a cheat day. Seriously, it is, we’re all human. Is it your birthday? Have a piece of cake. Your best friend got married? Have a few glasses of wine, you get us, right? It just can’t be overboard. Plan your meals ahead so you have something healthy to eat when you get home. Now is the time to do some research on what you should be putting into your body.