Water, water everywhere

So you are trying to trim down this summer, making exercise a priority and doing your best to make the right food choices. The single most important aspect of fat loss is nutrition, so what you eat and drink is absolutely critical to your success. Water is arguably the least expensive, most important element of any dietary regimen.

So how much water should you drink? The Institute of Medicine suggests men should consume roughly 3.7 litres of water per day, while approximately 2.7 litres is recommended for women. That may seem like a lot, so if you are drinking less than that, understand that it may be hurting not only your ability to lose fat, but it may be negatively affecting other areas of your health.

How water consumption assists in fat loss and improved health:

• Adequate water intake increases your metabolism, peaking about 30-40 minutes after consumption, so keep drinking through the day
• Water before a meal (about 500 ml) reduces how many calories you eat during the meal by about 13% according to a study from Virginia Tech.
• Because dehydration can make you feel tired, adequate water can help you feel more energetic, thereby making it easier to get off the couch to work out
• Water assists in preventing muscle cramps and helps to keep joints lubricated, so you’ll be able to exercise longer
• Carbohydrates need to bind with water to be stored in the muscles for future use as glycogen. If not enough water is present, the carbs are more likely to be stored as fat
• While fresh, clean water is best, you can supplement your water intake with water-rich foods, so increase the consumption of those foods first. (see table)
• Water helps with digestion, thereby allowing you to digest food more easily and get rid of waste more quickly.
• Water assists in the liver’s metabolism of fat. If you want your liver to be most effective doing this, adequate water intake is necessary
• Water is the primary component of sweat and the average person sweats about 600-1200 ml of sweat in an hour of intensive exercise, so when you do exercise, make sure you are not only consuming an adequate amount of water for the day, but also replenishing the amount lost to sweat
• People who consume flavoured, cool water tend to drink more overall (think a squeeze of lemon, as opposed to the 12 or so teaspoons of sugar in most soft drinks)

It is possible to consume too much water, but if you are eating enough solid food, and exercising moderately it is highly unlikely that it will become a problem. Make water a mainstay of your daily dietary regimen and you will reap the rewards through fat loss and better health.