Water is a vital component of the human body, making up between 50 and 75 percent of its total weight.
Water also regulates body temperature, lubricates joints, aids in digestion, transports oxygen and nutrients to cells, speeds up metabolism, and safeguards minerals and nutrients.
According to research in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, healthy men and women who drink 17 ounces of water each day see a 30% rise in their metabolic rate. Water enhances cardiovascular health, sharpens our minds, avoids headaches, and keeps us more awake.
Additionally, 84 obese adults took part in a 12-week experiment by researchers from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom that showed drinking water before meals accelerated weight loss.
Water is essential if you’re attempting to reduce additional body weight, but you need to know how much to drink in order to ensure that your metabolism is working properly and prevent overeating.
Adda Bjarnadottir, MS, adds the following:
“Drinking water raises resting energy expenditure, a measure of how many calories you burn each day. Within 10 minutes of consuming water, humans’ resting energy expenditure has been observed to rise by 24–30%. This lasts for at least an hour.
One study of overweight and obese kids revealed that drinking cold water increased resting energy expenditure by 25%.
The effects of drinking more water—more than 1 liter (34 ounces) per day—were investigated in a study of obese women. They discovered that this led to an additional 2 kg (4.4 lbs) of weight loss over the course of a year. These findings are really impressive considering that these women didn’t alter their lifestyles other than to drink more water.
Barry Popkin, the University of North Carolina’s Interdisciplinary Obesity Program’s director, claims:
“Drinking water may encourage the body to produce more heat, which would increase metabolism and increase calorie burning.” Or, simply drinking more water might make people less likely to consume large amounts of calorie-dense, sugar-rich beverages.
Here is a helpful method to determine how much water your body needs to consume in order to start losing weight:
Lose weight.
Depending on your body weight, you will need to drink more water, so be sure to take an accurate reading. If the numbers on the scale are decimal, round them accordingly: down if they are a.4 or below, up if they are a.5, etc.
Half the weight you are
If you receive a decimal number, round it up. The resulting amount of water intake, in ounces, is needed.
(For instance, 201 pounds divided by two equals 101 ounces.)
Identify the amount of activity.
The amount of physical activity has an impact on how much water is consumed as well. When engaging in vigorous exercise, our body releases water through sweat, so be sure to account for it. For every 30 minutes of exercise, you should add 16 ounces of water.
— Calculate water intake
Now, just add the derived numbers.
(Example: 101 ounces + 16 ounces = 117 ounces (or about 10 12-ounce glasses of water)
Now, here is the amount of water your body needs in order to lose weight:
Weight Intake # of 12-ounce servings
80 lbs. 40 oz. 3
90 lbs. 45 oz. 4
100 lbs. 50 oz. 4
110 lbs. 55 oz. 5
120 lbs. 60 oz. 5
130 lbs. 65 lbs. 5-6
140 lbs. 70 oz. 6
150 lbs. 75 oz. 6
160 lbs. 80 oz. 7
170 lbs. 85 oz. 7
180 lbs. 90 oz. 8
190 lbs. 95 oz. 8
200 lbs. 100 oz. 8-9
210 lbs. 105 oz. 9
220 lbs. 110 oz. 9
230 lbs. 115 oz. 10
240 lbs. 120 oz. 10
250 lbs. 125 oz. 10-11
In order to increase your water intake, try drinking two 8 ounce cups of water before every meal. This adds up to 48 ounces. Also, drink a 16-ounce glass of water as soon as you get up in the morning, and another one before going to bed.
It would be useful to carry a water bottle with you all the time, and you will be able to hydrate the body whenever you feel thirsty.
Remember, numerous health issues stem from chronic dehydration, so you need to get enough water daily. This will also help you lose weight, and improve health in various other ways. Therefore, increase your water consumption as the first step of your weight loss journey.
