zenmaster10665

May be a silly question, however, has there ever been any proof that drinking large amounts of water will aide in fat loss?

I drink about 4 L per day...and would anyway, however, I just windered if it does make any difference...

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cliche

Haven't heard any - you'll probably put on weight with having your bladder so full the whole time? Or I guess you might lose it with running to the toilet every half hour.

Basically weight loss is input versus output of energy. Water could in theory help by reducing input (you're too full, so you don't eat so much) or increasing output (you're not dehydrated, feel full of life and don't just sit around all day).

But I don't think there's anything special about the water itself...

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Mael

water is necessary to process fat, but once you're adequately hydrated, any more is not needed.

cliche

Thought I'd do a bit of research:

A group of nutritionists at the University of Sussex decided to find out whether water can reduce your food intake. They gave people varying amounts of water to drink, then gave them unlimited hot pasta (mmmm....) and recorded how much they ate.

The people who'd had a lot of water said they didn't feel hungry, but went on to eat just as much as the people who hadn't had any. On the other hand, the people who'd had an energy drink felt the same hunger as people who'd had the same volume of water, but went on to eat less. ie in the end, people's intakes were controlled by the amount of energy rather than the volume of food/drink.

So, as written above, it seems you basically need enough water to keep yourself hydrated and there's little point having any more.

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zenmaster10665

I think that the only thing that I have ever read is that if you drink a lot of cold water, your body will use more calories to try and bring it back to body temperature...but that seems like an insignificant amount.

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Rodney

All of the above. One point: there's a false idea that's been going around for years that you should drink 64 oz. of water a day for maximum health. That's half a gallon; and I know people, small people, who've forced themselves to gulp down that much a day just because of what they heard.

Anyway, this was in the news a while back: somebody looked at the original research that this idea was based on, back in the 40s, and it said indeed that you needed 64 oz of water, but that figure included water in the food you ate. And many foods, including fruits and vegetables and cooked grains and tubers and such, are just chock full of water.

So, drink a few glasses a day, but don't go crazy. No need for it.

Buk

You need some "high quality H2O"

cliche

There's someone round here selling "oxygenated water" for athletes...

is that 'high quality'?

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I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones. -- John Cage (1912 - 1992)

zenmaster10665

"Now that is some high-quality H2O"

I love this movie...

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"Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before.
He is full of murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their ignorance the hard way."
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Me So Horny

If you're drinking 4L of water daily, you will have to be careful to not deplete your electrolytes, in particular sodium which can cause a condition known as hyponatremia. Dependent on the degree, this can be unhealthy or even dangerous especially if it leads to pontine myelinolysis.

Basically, this can occur because your kidney can't pump water out per se, but instead moves electrolytes to draw water out of your circulation--remember osmosis? Your kidneys, in general will compensate, but only to a certain extent. The rest of your cells will try to accomadate...blah, blah, blah. If you want to know more you can search google which will probably put you over on eMedicine.com.
Later

asdf4321

Well I've always figured that more water is better than not enough water (especially in hot Texas weather) so I drink up... Plus, unlike energy drinks, no nothing in water, no sugar, no chemicals, nothing. Powerade and electrolytes are still good in small amounts (Lemon Gatorade is a good chaser I've heard.. oops, off topic).

As for the topic... Staying hydrated and exercising as opposed to chugging ice cold water would probably be better.

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bobw

weight loss or not, the more water you drink, the healthier you will be !

Antagony

I drink almost a gallon a day.

I can attest to the fact that when I do my workouts (mostly cardio), I have way more endurance than before I started drinking water religiously.

I understand that it's supposed to aid in boosting metabolism as well, though I don't know exactly how.

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Sleepyjack

well given our body is about 70% water or so, you'd think you need to consume a vast amount of it.

Leviathan[NCV]

Ever since I stopped smoking I drink around 3 gallons a day, and yes it helps your body in the process of wait loss. Of course, you do need to monitor certain chemical levels (note when you drink and drink, but are still thirsty) it's time for a nice 32oz gatoraide. The foods you eat won't always replenish what you sweat/piss out.

It's healthy for you, especially during heavy activity.

I forgot to mention, if your eating heavy amounts of protien (over .8 grams per lb of lbm) then you MUST drink plenty of water or you're going to wind up with some problems.

a1t3r3g0

I'm not sure exactly how much water I drink a day. I just keep refilling my glass.. maybe I should keep track one day just to see.

kel

Encourages your body to process fat. Processes that create waste in the bloodstream rely on water to get the waste out of your body. Strongly colored urine is an indication that your kidneys are struggling to dissipate the toxins in your body. When your body struggles to evacuate toxins it also suspends processes which create them as best it can. AKA if your body can't get rid of the shit your fat turns into when it is broken down and processed it will avoid doing it.

Realize that your kidneys are the only method your body has of evacuating waste produced inside the body. The large intenstines only help evacuate what is ingested. Waste can build up to toxic levels very quickly inside your bloodstream, well, it would if it weren't for all the amazing things the body does to maintain homestasis (and shiz).

As for drinking habits, like so many other things, drink when thirsty... shiz, thought that woulda been obvious. (it helps to drink before heavy exercise and not during, otherwise you get those annoying cramps)

I stand by this understanding, anyone who studies the body for themselves may come to a different conclusion based on their own research, and theirs is just as valid as mine.

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hobo

I keep a 1L bottle of water with me at the computer at all times. I drink a sip every now and then. I usually go through 2 a day during the summer (when I don't go out, I hang around the house drinking water). That is about 8 glasses or so of water a day. It is probably more than I need, buy my room is hot due to its small size and the computer emmitting heat, so I sweat. I sometimes eat some salt if I sweat a lot and drink a lot of water, just incase my sodium is low. I have heard of a woman that went into a coma because she kept drinking too much pure water and her sodium levels fell too low. She was also running a marathon or something and sweating out a lot of sodium.