Water Your Way To Losing Weight

Two thirds of the planet is made up of it, 70 per cent of your body and 92 per cent of your blood consists of it. It definitely aids your performance and can even help your skin, but did you know, writes Michael Jacques , water can also help you lose weight?

That's right - water is fast gaining a reputation as the fitness world's simplest weight loss tool. What's more it is effective too. It's all about improving your metabolism. Your metabolism is the rate and efficiency at which your body operates. This includes how it processes, utilises and discards foods and fluids, which is where water comes in. Studies have shown a marked relationship between water, liver function and the metabolism of fats.

The liver is crucial for converting and utilising fat for energy. If your liver is functioning well then you have a better chance of burning that extraneous stored fat. However, the liver also plays a big part in kidney function. Efficient kidney function is very water dependant and if the kidneys are deprived of water the liver works harder to compensate. This then hinders the liver's ability to achieve its core functions, such as utilising fat for energy. In short - if you're not getting the water you need then your body is more likely to store rather than burn fat!

This day and age everyone who has ever thought of exercising should be aware that their body needs approximately two litres of fluid a day just to function. If you exercise then you need another 500ml to 750ml for every hour you workout. This is essential to avoid dehydration and maximise performance, but it is also becoming equally apparent as a mechanism for weight loss.

In a German study at the Franz-Volhard Clinical Research Centre in Berlin researchers studied the caloric intake and energy expenditure of men and women consuming two glasses of water a day. The studies illustrated that within 10 minutes of drinking water the metabolic rate increased by 30 per cent. In men the increased metabolism was prompted chiefly by fat breakdown, but in women there was also some carbohydrate breakdown. But more importantly the researchers were confident enough to estimate that in theory drinking 1.5ltrs of water a day would over the course of a year cause a weight loss of approximately five pounds.


Other studies have shown similar results, with some researchers concluding that drinking cold water would maximise metabolism because of the body needing to heat the water up to body temperature for it to be absorbed readily. However, there is some debate as to the credence of such a theory when a big part of society's weight problems often includes water storage and bloating.

The German researchers also had an answer for this. Their studies indicated that water bloating is in fact a survival-type mechanism that the body reverts to when it isn't getting enough water! When the body is deprived of water apparently it stores what it can get and is not keen to use it. But if the body is allowed to have ample water it will start sharing water around the body again and excrete what it doesn't need.

Getting more water has become something of a lifestyle statement in recent years. But it's not just about what you drink. It's a total food picture that should include foods with high water content. Fresh fruits and vegetables and unprocessed carbohydrate sources (eg potatoes) have high water contents. Eating good amounts of these while drinking adequate fluids will ensure your body is getting the water it needs in the presence of adequate vitamins and minerals. Really it's just another part of eating close to nature.

In short - drinking the right amount of water could be the answer to weight problems ranging from fat storage to water retention. Some researchers also think that water might also quell those hunger pains. The brain does not differentiate between hunger and thirst, so researchers conclude that people not drinking enough water may be letting their brain confuse hunger with dehydration. If you consume more water, the hunger that some of us constantly feel may disappear...and for a myriad of other reasons, so might those extra pounds.