Drinking Water to Lose Weight.

If you are committed to losing weight you may be curious to know how drinking water to lose weight can help your efforts. Well, water is an often neglected nutrient. It is essential to life, but with its ease of availability we may often forget that. We may have fears in our daily life, it’s pretty likely that fear of being thirsty is not one of them.

So what can water do for the dieter? First of all, it can replace those oftentimes invisible and mindlessly consumed liquid calories. We may be fond of every kind of beverage but waster, and thus we are drawn to high calorie drinks that are contributing to weight gain. Soda is now commonly served in amounts no less than 20 ounces. If you are consuming 32-ounces of soda you are downing approximately 270 calories and 64 grams of sugar. Even the 12-ounce can you might mindlessly get from a vending machine ads 33 grams of sugar and 135 calories. It’s not uncommon for people to drink even more than that in the course of a day.

If you are a fan of flavored coffees laden with cream such as a Starbucks latte or frappuccino you can easily be consuming 250 or more calories, along with 40 or more grams of sugar and a few grams of saturated fat.

So if nothing else drinking water instead of soda and lattes would possibly save you hundreds of calories a day, depending upon how many sugary beverages you are now consuming.

Water will help you to consume less food. There have been studies which validate this. You can put that into practice immediately in your own daily regimen. You can try consuming an eight-ounce glass of water half an hour before meals. This will most definitely curb hunger.

Water will boost your metabolism? It’s been one of those often repeated diet tips and tricks to drink cold water to get a metabolic boost. Some studies have shown this to be the case. Again, remember that the effect is very slight. You might be able to burn an extra 50 calories or so a day just by drinking an extra half-liter of water. Multiplied even by 365 days this yields in theory a 5 pound weight loss. On the other hand, cutting 200 liquid calories a day could theoretically produce a 20 pound weight loss. So you can see the bigger payoff is in saving those sugary calories and in curbing your appetite! In that case, drinking water to lose weight will really make a difference.

How much water should you drink? It’s important to stress that you should not overdo it as drinking excessive amounts of water in hopes of quelling hunger and/or boosting metabolism could possibly lead to an electrolyte imbalance or even hyponatremia. Binge drinking water can be harmful in other words.

Lack of water is not good for the dieter either, as it can lead to water retention ironically, and you may get that uncomfortable bloated feeling and see extra pounds on the scale. While water is not a “fat flush” it does help the body rid itself of toxins and aids in digestion.

If you are not fond of the taste of water, you do have options that are safe and diet friendly if you are interested in drinking water to lose weight. 
Stevia is a zero calorie natural

sweetener that is derived from the steviosides of the stevia plant; it is an astounding 300 times sweeter than sugar and yet has no calories and no impact on blood sugar levels or insulin levels. While previously available mainly in health food stores and specialty retailers both online and offline, it’s now widely available in supermarkets under such trade names as Truvia. You can sweeten your glass of water with no negative consequences.

You can in fact drink herbal tea — hot or cold — or add a slice or a dash of lemon or lime for additional flavoring. It’s also far more economical — and healthier — that the diet drinks which are loaded with artificial sweeteners, artificial flavoring and colors.

So as a quick weight loss tactic, water is no the miracle cure, but drinking water to lose weight — when kept in perspective — will enhance your efforts!