I’d be willing to give you a dollar if you haven’t already heard that drinking water helps with weight loss. By now, it’s old news. It’s also, arguably, the leading piece of advice in the world of fitness and wellness: Drink more water.

Got a headache? Drink more water. Skin looking dull? Drink more water. Experiencing food cravings? Bad digestion? Weight gain? Fatigue? You guessed it.

Water can be a holy grail for a number of physical issues, and here in the land of endless summer it’s no secret that hydration is essential. But can we actually link dehydration to stalled weight loss? Could it be that something so simple as drinking water helps with weight loss? Where do electrolytes fit into all this? (And what are electrolytes, anyway?)

If you’ve got hydration questions, sit back and get ready for a tall drink of science on this subject.

 

Given that our bodies are made of up to 60% water, it will come as no shock to you that this vital substance has a number of jobs relating to our body’s most basic functions.

 

Regulating body temperature, lubricating the joints, keeping the skin and eyes moist, flushing toxins and waste from the body—these are just some of the ways water is utilized by the body to function at a very basic level.

Remove sufficient water from the body and it literally struggles to function. Dehydration can cause mental effects as well as joint pain, muscle cramps, indigestion, constipation, headaches and a number of other unpleasant conditions. These are your body’s ways of telling you, “Help! Hydrate me please!”

 

While drinking water seems like a half-decent way to stifle hunger and cravings, science and research have much more promising answers to how merely drinking enough water can actually impact weight loss in a very positive and measurable way.

 

In the analysis of several studies which each looked at the impact of water intake on overall weight management, a few key underlying themes are seen to repeat themselves:

1. Water can help reduce food intake. Those who drank a glass of water before a meal were seen to consume fewer calories during a meal. Simply put, not overeating leads to success with weight management.

 

 

2. The body needs water to burn fat. In order to break down and utilize fat for energy, water is needed to support this process. By increasing hydration, you increase the chances of fat burning and rev up your metabolism.

 

3. Water-rich foods help with weight loss. Foods high in water content tend to have a lower caloric density (meaning they are high-volume and filling without being high in calories). Consumption of foods such as peaches, cottage cheese, watermelon, strawberries, yogurt, cucumbers, etc., can be beneficial nutritionally while also leading to feelings of satiety (satisfied in the foot department) without having over-consumed.

4. Drinking water is linked to less stress and increased motivation. Dehydration can lead to feelings of tiredness, fatigue and increased cortisol (stress hormone). Does that sound motivating or what? Nobody makes healthy choices when they feel listless and exhausted. Beyond that, a study in the International Journal of Medicine showed that drinking water can actually reduce stress while increasing motivation and energy levels.

 

Beyond these key takeaways, drinking water supports healthy waste elimination (bye bye, bloated belly!) and ensure your workouts are effective. Of course, water on its own is not a “weight loss” tool, however it should play an active role in your overall approach to sustainable healthy living.

 

During fat loss treatments at Trim Studio, we depend on your lymphatic system to do its job in order to move the dead and liberated fatty material from your body OUT as a waste product. The two best ways to stimulate the lymphatic system are:

 

 

Without water, your dead fat cells literally sit stagnantly as if on a dried up riverbed. Without a robust water-filled river to flow on, they can’t be moved out and instead remain in the body. This affects results in a big way.