Drink Water to Lose Weight?

Do you believe that drinking lots of water will help you lose weight? This is a myth. Drinking extra water with meals will not reduce the amount of food that you eat. If you drink several glasses of water with your meals, the extra water will distend your stomach and make you feel full for a minute or two, but the water leaves your stomach so quickly that you feel hungry again. The only stimulus to make you stop eating is to take in enough food to make you feel full and satisfied. Water has no calories and does not satisfy hunger.

Most of your requirements for water are met by the food that you eat. A normal day’s food contains about 4 cups of water. The chemical reactions that occur as you burn calories add another 2 cups of water, for a total of 6 cups. You can easily meet your need for additional water each day just by drinking a couple of glasses of water or any other liquid.

Healthy kidneys are so effective in clearing extra fluid from your body that healthy people can take in extra water safely. Your kidneys can clear 5 gallons of water per day or a half glass of water every 15 minutes. If you exceed your upper limit for water, you may develop a headache, nausea and even seizures. However, drinking extra water contributes nothing to your weight loss efforts.

Foods that are high in fiber and water content help you lose weight because they fill you up without a lot of calories. They take a long time to digest, so the added volume from water bound up with fiber keeps you feeling full and you eat fewer total calories. Forget about drinking extra water; instead, eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans.

Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
http://www.DrMirkin.com

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