Water intake plays an important role in weight control. If you’ve recently shed some pounds, either through your own efforts or with help from a cosmetic procedure, drinking water is a simple way to maintain your target weight. If drinking H2O isn’t a habit in your household already, here’s some information that’ll encourage you to make more trips to the tap.
Why Is Water So Important?
Even when you disregard the weight management component, drinking water is essential to human health. According to Medical News Today, a person’s blood is about 90% water, so staying hydrated is vital. Water benefits the body in countless ways, such as delivering oxygen throughout your system, contributing to healthier skin, preventing wrinkles, and regulating body temperature.
How Much Water Should I Drink for My Weight?
There is no universally agreed upon amount of water that each person should drink on a daily basis, but it’s generally recommended that you drink between half an ounce and one ounce of water for each pound of body weight per. Slender Kitchen suggests finding your ideal amount by multiplying your weight by two-thirds (or 66.67%). For example, if you weigh 180 pounds and multiply that by two-thirds, you’ll get 120 ounces of water, which equals about 15 eight ounce cups per day.
Of course, how much water you should drink depends on other factors than weight, like physical exercise habits and alcohol intake. In both cases, you should adjust and drink more water to avoid becoming dehydrated (although if weight maintenance is the goal, it’s best to avoid alcohol altogether). It’s difficult to drink too much water, as long as you can take regular bathroom breaks—the important thing is not drinking too little.
Great Times for a Glass
It’s a good idea to drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up in the morning. This will rehydrate you from not having had anything to drink overnight. A lot of the time, thirst is confused for hunger. If you start your day off with water in your stomach, you will mostly likely want less to eat for breakfast, which will set you up for a good day of not overeating. We also suggest drinking a glass of water before each full meal. Your stomach will be somewhat full before you start eating, and you’ll probably consume fewer calories.
Success Through Substitution
Building a water habit doesn’t necessarily mean drinking more fluids—you can just replace your usual beverages with water instead. You’ll get double the weight loss benefit by substituting it for sugary and calorie-heavy drinks like juice or soda. If quitting your treat drinks cold turkey is too tough, try replacing one serving with water every day until you phase out the sugary stuff completely.
Losing weight takes a lot of determination, whether you did it in the gym or through a body sculpting treatment, and we all want those looks to last. Adding more water to your daily routine is a nearly effortless way to maintain results. Drink water to lose weight, stay hydrated, and be a happier, healthier person all around.
McKay has a love and passion for health and physical aesthetics. He went to Utah State on a full-ride academic scholarship, majoring in Biomedical Sciences with a minor in Exercise Science and Sports Nutrition. McKay is currently the CMO of Belle Medical, a competitive bodybuilder, and a Certified Personal Trainer and Dietitian. When he’s not reading up on the latest breakthroughs in health and fitness research, he’s working hard to set trends of his own. Most importantly, McKay truly believes that with proper eating habits, training, and the right medical interventions (a la Belle Medical), no physique or personal body goal is out of reach for ANYONE.