Drinking More Water Can Help You Lose Weight

Water naturally helps to suppress your appetite and drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day will help you lose weight and burn fat.

Some people don't drink enough water when they diet, thinking they'll lose weight. But just the opposite happens. If you don't drink enough water every day, your body may be storing water and fat that you don't need.

A new fact sheet from the University of Minnesota Water Resource Center incorporates research from several different sources into a concise, short guide on drinking water to lose weight. Here are some highlights:

You need water for your body to burn fat. Without water, your kidneys can not do their job properly and your liver must pitch in to help. While it's helping the kidneys, your liver can't burn as much fat, so some of the fat that would normally be used as fuel gets stored in your body instead. Drinking more water lets the liver get back to its own job of turning fat into fuel.

Your body needs water-it's sixty percent water. But if you don't drink enough, your body thinks it's in danger and tries to hold onto all the water it can get. The water is stored between the cells and shows up as extra weight. Your feet, legs and hands may even swell up. When your body gets enough water, the stored water is released.

The more water you drink, the less you'll eat. Water is nature's own appetite suppressant. A glass of water before eating will help you feel full and eat less. You'll also get rid of extra salt by drinking water (salt can also cause the body to hold onto water).

Drink at least 8 eight-ounce glasses of water every day. If you're overweight, drink an additional glass for every twenty-five pounds of excess weight.

Cold or cool water is best. It's absorbed much faster and cold water may burn more calories. And don't drink Cola, Mountain Dew or anything with caffeine in it. Caffeine is a diuretic and will cause you to lose water faster than normally.