When is the last time you had a cool glass of water? Once you read the impressive facts in this article (and you will be glad you did), you will understand the importance of drinking plenty of water, especially when it comes to weight loss and a healthy diet. Our human bodies are made up of about 70% of water. Distinctive parts of the body carry different amounts of water in them. Men carry more water in their bodies than women, essentially it is because their bodies contain more muscle mass. Water is one of the single most importance nutrients to every single person on earth, as it performs various functions in our bodies.

Everyone interested in weight loss or dieting should realize that any diet you are on should include drinking plenty of water. A vital benefit to drinking water is that it works to carry nutrients through the system, lubricates joints, will help to void feces from the bowels, and works to keep our skin looking healthy. There can be life threatening effects if your body does not get enough water, because if the kidneys don’t get enough fluid, the liver stops metabolizing fat and will begin filtering any waste in your body.

When our intestines do not have the efficient amount of water, they will begin to draw out what they need from the cells in the bowel, resulting in constipation. Water and other fluids work to make bowel movements softer and easier to pass. By drinking plenty of water you will help your colon to function much better.

Don’t Get Dehydrated:

When your body starts to become dehydrated it affects parts of your body that need the most water first, some of the first signs of dehydration can be feelings of physical weakness and a decrease in mental alertness. If you have small children, dehydration symptoms can include: Decreased urine output - fewer than six wet diapers a day for infants, dry, sticky mouth and signs of being overly sleepy or tired. Children are likely to be less active than usual. When this happens give them a glass of pure drinking water over fruit juice or milk. Seek medical attention right away if any symptom worsens. For those of us trying to lose weight and are cutting back on calories, it is not uncommon for people to mistake feelings of weakness for hunger, when in fact it is often due to dehydration. Dehydration is not only associated with thirst, when you first feel hungry that can be a sign of dehydration as well. Don’t be fooled during your diet, when you feel like you need a snack, it is very likely you just need to drink some water. Try to always drink a full glass before every meal or better yet anytime you begin to feel hungry. Not only will this help to hydrate your body, it will help to fill up your stomach so you will not eat as much. Drinking a full glass of water before a meal is a great way to help your diet be more successful.

Interesting Body Fact: Did you know that your brain is approximately 85-90% water?

Purified Water:

Many dieters do not realize how valuable drinking plenty of pure water is to achieving a desired weight loss goal. A significant fraction of the human body is water. Having enough water for your overall health is one of the best things you can do for yourself. All diet programs should stress the important role that drinking plenty of water will play in the overall success of losing weight. Many times it is not a good idea to use thirst alone as an indicator for when to get a drink. If you begin to feel thirsty, it’s most likely that your body is already becoming dehydrated. As you begin to age, you will notice that your body is less able to sense dehydration and send your brain signals of thirst. Having an overly dry mouth combined with excessive thirst and decreased urination can be signs of a more serious medical condition. Call your family doctor as soon as possible if you experience either of these.

Exercising and Water:

The more you exercise, the more you will sweat. Anytime you sweat you need to replenish your body by drinking water and it’s a good idea to drink water consistently when exercising, even before you feel thirsty. If you are exercising when it’s hot and humid out, water should be replenished every 15 minutes in order to keep muscles strong and the temperature of your body down. This is particularly true for long endurance events, which is a good reason that many outdoor sport enthusiasts will usually carry water with them. Dehydration can lead to threatening health problems, even death. Drinking water is an extremely valuable important piece to winning the weight loss battle. You will find even most flavored waters contain no calories. It is a natural appetite suppressant, and helps your body to burn-off fat faster.

Interesting Body Fact: To help prevent dehydration, you should drink water before, during and immediately after exercising.

Metabolism:

The speed at which your body burns up calories is called your metabolic rate. Increased activity levels can increase the metabolic rate because you begin to breathe harder due to the increase of your heart rate. The livers main job is to metabolize the fat in our bodies, however, if you do not drink enough water the liver has to begin working with the kidneys, this causes less body fat to be metabolized and results in more fat being stored in our body. This is a leading contributor for weight gain. Also, having a slow metabolism can cause dieters to feel stuck at some frustrating plateau and unable to even lose just one more pound. To prevent this from happening and to help your body to metabolize fat and lose weight, you should drink plenty of clean water to help your kidney and liver function properly. Skipping meals will also negatively affect your metabolism and cause your body to go in to starvation survival mode.

Starvation Metabolism:

This is the effect of slowing of the metabolic rate that automatically begins when the body is not getting enough nourishment. When this happens, our bodies will instinctively go on alert that it is not getting the nutrition it needs and will begin to naturally burn calories at a slower rate so it can survive longer. The idea of skipping meals in order to speed-up your metabolism, and encourage weight loss is just another myth. The more you drink water, the better your metabolism rate is going to be. Drinking plenty of water will energize your metabolism rate, which will help you to burn more calories. I was amazed to find out that by just simply drinking enough water during the day, the rate I burn calories increases by 2%. Drinking 8-10 glasses of water each day gives your body a great advantage of ridding itself of unwanted waste and any metabolized fat from your body. Now that sounds like a win-win situation to me!

There are many diets that exist, make sure the one you choose will not harm your body and will help you with fat loss rather than water loss. Many diet programs or diet pills do not put enough emphasis on the important role water plays on a diet. The beauty of experiencing weight loss with water is that water has been around since the beginning of time, it is natures best for our best. Overall, the best diet is… eating healthy, drinking enough water for your body to be well hydrated and getting plenty of exercise.

After reading the information in this article you can now see how drinking plenty of pure water is one of the best kept diet secrets around, but let’s not keep it a secret for long. So, if you have not had a drink of water in the past hour, get up and drink one now; as you do think about the many ways you are helping your body and the important role it plays in reaching your weight loss goal.

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