How
much water should you drink for Weight Loss?
By Matthew Johnson
To stay adequately hydrated you should drink approximately three
quarts (96 ounces) of water a day. For weight loss, you should drink an
additional 8 ounces of water for every 25 pounds you are over your ideal
body weight. Also, water consumption should be increased in hot climates
or during vigorous exercise.
Benefits of Water
- Improves endocrine (hormone) function
- Increases metabolic function
- Drastically declines appetite
- Increases fat used for energy
- Liver function improves
- Decreases fluid retention
- Increases natural thirst
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Matthew Johnson is a personal trainer and an
on-line fitness consultant at Changing Shape.
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Independent Articles About:
1. Water and Weight loss
2. Water Help to Lose Weight
Water & Weight Loss
By Michael A. Smith, MD Many studies over the years have shown the
benefits of drinking water. In reference to losing weight, the greatest
benefit is the positive affect water has on your metabolic rate.
Water promotes a thermogenic state, which in return increases your metabolic
rate. The faster your metabolism, the slower your propensity to gain weight.
But is it really water that I am talking about? No. What I am really referring
to is hydration. The human body works hard at keeping a certain amount of
water and salt in your tissues relative to the amount of water and salt
in your blood.
Proper hydration is a reflection of the correct balance of water and salt
that exists between your blood and the surrounding tissues. Your diet should
help your body sustain the correct amount of water and salt in your blood
and not disrupt the existing balance between your blood and tissues.
Let me explain...
Water & Salt Balance
True hydration is sustaining an amount of water in your blood relative
to your tissues that reflects the overall water and salt balance your body
works at creating. Looking at the graphic, fluids that cause water to move
out of your blood or into your blood are not ideally hydrating.
Salt Moves Water
For a fluid that you drink to be hydrating it should have little effect
on moving water. Water will always move to the environment with the higher
amount of salt. Looking again at the three possible "tonicity"
states, which one is the most hydrating?
Hypotonic Fluid -- This dilutes your blood and now the surrounding tissues
have more salts. Water moves out of your blood and into the tissues where
the greatest amount of salt resides. This re-establishes the water/salt
balance.
Isotonic -- Does not alter the salt concentration in your blood. There
is no disruption of the water/salt balance.
Hypertonic Fluids -- This adds salt to your blood and now the surrounding
tissues have less salt. Water moves into your blood.
This is not hydrating because the water that moves into your blood is trying
to re-establish the correct balance. It's not extra water to help hydrate
but needed water to reach the proper balance.
Steps to Proper Hydration
Because of our high salt diets, most Americans need to drink filtered water.
However, it's not necessary to drink 15 glasses a day that some diet plans
recommend.
Instead, drink 1 glass of filtered water with each meal and drink an additional
2 glasses of filtered water throughout the day. This should come out to
about 5-7 glasses of filtered water per day for most Americans (that's assuming
your eating the proper number of meals per day).
The remaining fluids you drink need to have the same amount of salt as
your blood. This type of fluid keeps your blood isotonic to the surrounding
tissues. Isotonic fluids have no net effect on moving water and you sustain
a proper level of hydration.
The best isotonic fluid to drink (in my opinion), diluted gatorade. Mix
water with gatorade in equal proportions and enjoy! Drink as much as you
like since it's isotonic to your blood and won't cause water to move into
or out of your blood.
Conclusion
Think more in terms of proper hydration and not disrupting the water/salt
balance your body worked hard at creating. It's not about drinking more
water, but more about drinking the right fluids.
To Healthy Living!
Michael A. Smith, MD
Chief Medical Consultant
Diet Basics Website
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Dr. Smith is a weight management and preventative medicine expert. He currently is the Chief Medical Consultant for the Diet Basics website. Please visit his site at www.weight-loss-professional.com
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Weight Loss through Foods that Fight Fat
By David Chandler Some foods can magically melt pounds, and that
train of thought has been around for a long time. While exercise and a variety
of wholesome foods help will help you lose weight, there are foods that
burn calories and suppress hunger. Listed below are a variety of foods that
will help speed your metabolism and therefore burn fat.
Foods such as raw spinach contain bulk. Therefore, the space they leave
in your stomach - partly because of their high water content -leaves less
room for pastries and ice cream. They are also jammed with iron, foliate,
calcium and vitamins A., B, C, and E that helps you to lose weight.
Grape fruits help you lose weight fast. They are not magic, but they are
powerful fat fighters due to their fiber content. In addition, without added
sugar, a grapefruit has fewer calories than an orange of the same weight.
Apples keep the doctors away and fat. Eating several apples a day is a
great way to lose weight. Hard fruits like apples take time to chew and
fill you up.
You burn more calories chewing and digesting celery than it actually contains.
Celery has vitamins E and C. It is a diet food that also helps you lose
weight and should be on everyone's plate.
Protein packed legumes such as black beans, chickpeas, lentils are not
just low in fat and rich in soluble fiber, they digest slowly and keep blood
sugar levels steady. You will not feel like eating for a while.
Calcium rich foods and drink such as low fat milk can boost metabolism.
It has been found that women and girls who consume dairy products regularly
tend to lose weight easily and have less body fat than those who do not.
The omega-3 in fatty fish, such as mackerel can curb overeating. The protein
mixed with the fat in fish is also known to curb your eating.
You can eat all the strawberries you want and can never gain a pound. Strawberries,
peaches, plums, and grapes come with cancer fighting carotenoids and appetite-suppressing
fiber. Eating these types of fruits daily will help you lose weight fast.
Above are just some examples of foods that burn fat. Disciplining yourself
to eat a proper diet and the right exercise program will help you reach
your idea weight in no time.
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For more information about weight loss, visit Weight Loss
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