It’s summer. And, it’s a hot one. What is one thing your body needs more of when it’s hot out? Water. Afterall, you are thirstier when it’s hot out, when you’ve been sweating, when the air is drier, and also when you’ve had alcohol or something salty. We are all made up of about 60% water and water aids in nearly all bodily functions including fat loss.
How May Water Aid in Fat Loss?
According to a study done with overweight adults1, drinking 500 mL (2 Cups) of water before each meal can help you to consume fewer calories per meal (up to 50 kcal) as well as burn more overall fat.
Results of the study: Eating fewer calories than you need causes weight loss; mostly fat but some lean body mass too. Over the 3 months that the study took place, the group that had 500 mL of water before each meal dropped 4.4% body fat (from 39.9% to 36.5%) and 5.4 kg total fat while the non-water group only dropped 1.1% body fat (from 41.0% to 38.9%) and 3.3 kg of total fat. There were no other dietary differences between the two groups3.
Another study2 found that if you drank 500 mL of water, your body would use 24% more calories for 60 minutes after drinking it (resting energy expenditure). Resting Energy (REE) Expenditure, also known as Basal Energy Expenditure (BEE) is the amount of energy it takes just to live, breath, and perform basic functions without doing much more.
How Much Water Do You Need?
As a baseline, you need 30-40 mL of water for every kg of body weight. There are other factors that will determine how much more or less water your individual body might need. If it is hotter or drier may need 500 mL more per day. If you exercise hard, you may need up to 6 L per day. You might not need as much if you are a smaller person, it’s cooler outside, it’s humid or you aren’t sweating as much.
What Can you Do?
· Find out how much water you need daily and get a jug or water bottle and keep it handy.
· Replace sugary drinks with water.
· Drink 2 cups of water before each meal (don’t chug it though).
If you have any questions, or would like to explore more individual Nutrition information, Please, contact me.
1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19661958/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17519319/