Hydration is one of the most vital and underrated aspects of a weight-loss program. While diet and exercise are at the forefront, drinking sufficient amounts of water holds the same importance in achieving your goals. But, it’s only survival; water comes down to performing several functions in the body that enhance fat loss, control hunger, and even increase exercise performance. Here’s why hydration must form the foundation of your weight loss strategy:
1. Water Helps Metabolism
Metabolism is the chemical process of converting food into energy. Staying hydrated supports these processes that, in turn, ensures that your body is capable of burning calories efficiently. This property of drinking water increases your metabolism by as much as 30% for about 30 to 40 minutes after consumption, which is scientifically termed as “water-induced thermogenesis.” This will go a long way, especially if combined with a calorie-controlled diet and moderate physical activities.
2. Water Helps Control Hunger and Appetite
Water is a hunger and appetite suppressor. Managing hunger is one of the greatest obstacles to losing weight. Most of the time, we cannot differentiate the two; we end up thirsty but thinking we are hungry, thus concluding to snack or overeat. Drinking a glass of water before your meal makes you feel full, and it helps prevent overeating because it tends to reduce your overall calorie intake. Hydration goes along with stable blood sugar levels, which will eliminate sugar craving. In fact, a study found that 500 ml of water was used from the before-meal weight reduction program-the participants drank such an amount at least before meals-and the results indicated more weight loss from subjects enjoying their mid-meal water-drinking routine than those depriving themselves of it.
3. Water Improves the Exercise Performance
Hydration is essential for the perfect overall performance of the body. Dehydration can result in fatigue along with decreased endurance levels and slower recuperation from an exercise regimen. Anytime a person lifts weights, jogs, or stretches, sufficient amounts of water should be consumed as this is meant to optimize the energy reserve utilization system for performing at its peak. Proper hydration also helps regulate body temperature and avoids overheating during workouts, which minimizes chances of injury.
In addition, hydration after an extremely intense workout assists in today’s balance concerning the electrolytes. It’s to replace that lacking in sweating with minerals to use muscle cells that prevent cramping.
4. Digestion and Detoxification Aid by Water
Drinking a lot of water can facilitate the functioning of the digestive system because it breaks down food and absorbs its nutrients faster. This makes sure that the stool is softened up to a point where it becomes easy for bowel movement and helps to prevent constipation. This way, the body takes in the nutrients that would have helped during weight loss while flushing out waste and toxins.
If a person is well hydrated, he is usually fine, and functioning kidneys filter waste off the bloodstream. The body is cleansed naturally, and thus, one might feel a little lighter and more energetic.
5. Water Can Improve Skin Health
Your skin changes when you lose weight, and it digs even deeper especially after losing weight very rapidly. Hydration keeps the skin supple and elastic to avoid sagging or extreme dryness. Hydration also boosts your aesthetic appearance as well as enhances self-confidence when losing weight. A lot of water keeps your skin moist from the inside while aiding the detoxifying process of the body.
6. Water Helps Balance Natural Mechanisms in Your Body
Water has a lot to do with multitasking body functions: maintaining body temperature, joint lubrication, and nutrients transportation. Water is a necessity for all the cells, tissues, and organs in your body to perform properly. Inadequate water intake disturbs these processes, leaving you sluggish or may even harm weight losing process.
Also, the body becomes adept at balancing hormones related to appetite, metabolism, and storage of fat when sufficiently hydrated. The hormones include leptin for signaling satiety and ghrelin for increasing appetite. The process will help in keeping the proportions of these hormones and thus change in both overeating and fat reduction.
7. How Much Water Do You Need?
In principle, the quantity of water required may vary from person to person based on several parameters: weight, level of activity, and climate. However, general advice talks about at least 8 cups (64 ounces) per day. It could also be that a very active person or person in warm habitat may require even more to match the loss due to sweat.
This is the best way to know your hydration by looking at your urine: light yellow should mean you’ve got sufficient hydration. If it turns dark yellow or is amber, it may indicate you are dehydrated; you should consume water.
Recommendation
When it comes to weight loss, you may not consider hydration at the fore. The success of a water intake program largely depends on one’s determination to stay within these limits. Well-hydrated individuals boast a good metabolism, less hunger, better sports performance, improved digestion, and skin of good health. Make it a point to hydrate well from the start, and you will find yourself creating all the chances in which you will lose weight effectively and sustainably. So drink well, keep hydrated, and let water do the work of weight loss!.
