Have you heard that you should not drink too much water as you can damage your kidneys? Have you also heard that you should drink at least three liters of water a day? And even if you could easily figure out what the correct volume of water is for you to consume daily, water is mostly tasteless, unappetising and well, frankly, hard for many people to drink in any large volume.
Most of us already know why we need to drink water but lets just cover the basics again:
Our bodies consists mainly of water and we need to maintain a certain degree of hydration. Water is important for flushing toxins out, it carries nutrients to our cells and it provides moisture for all our soft squishy bits (ears, nose, throat etc)
The real truth about water is that their is no magic number or amount that you specifically should or should not be drinking to effect weight loss. There are ceilings or upper limits, at which you could do damage to your kidneys, the average person should definitely not drink more than five liters of water every day.
The average person will need to drink a minimum of at least 2,25 liters of water per day to a maximum of around 3 liters of water per day.
Now, the burning question is can I drink coffee, tea, fizzy drinks, fruit juice and milkshakes to keep me hydrated?
The easy answer is of course, yes, any liquid, that contains water, should keep you hydrated but there are multiple problems. Firstly, the liquids may also contain additional calories (water contains 0 calories), but that is not the only problem. Some liquids may also make it more difficult for you to lose weight as the sugar contained in them wrecks havoc on your appetite.
Tips to teach yourself to drink more water:
Sometimes when you feel hungry, what you are feeling is in fact thirsty and remember that drinking water could be a habit and like biting nails, if you carry a bottle of water around with you it becomes easier to learn.
You can also make your own water, add a slice (or few drops) of lemon to your water and chill it, go ahead just try it, it is amazing how much difference a few drops of lemon can make to the taste of water.
Drinking the correct amount of water has benefits for your weight loss efforts, health benefits and could even avoid having bad breath.
To check what amount of water (between 2,25 and 3 liters) works best for you, watch the colour of your urine. The darker the colour the more water you require and the best time to drink water is all throughout the day but specifically about 15 minutes before any meal. Drinking water 15 minutes before any meal will help you to meet your water budget for the day, it will hydrate your mouth, throat and make it easier to swallow your food, it will also assist with the digestion of your food, it will make you feel satisfied and full faster and it will even clean your palate so that your food tastes better!
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All information provided for information & education purposes only. Nothing published on https://dietmy.com is intended as substitution for medical advice, diagnosis, or for any treatment.
