How much water a day can help me lose weight?

January 3, 2016 Ashley 0 Comments

What if I told you you could lose a pound a week?

No products to purchase. No special workout.

Wait – what if I told you that you didn’t have to ingest less to achieve this free thing… but more?

More water, that is.

See, this is where I lose half my audience. And the interesting thing is that it’s not because of expenses or time (the usual excuses). It’s because it’s really hard to change habits. And, simple though it seems, water’s one of them. Typically (right after the excuse people), will come those who’re in aqueous denial: “I already drink plenty of water.” Alright. Tell me how much exactly? And why I don’t see a vat of it by your workspace, like I’ve got near mine? Plus, are you factoring in all those diuretics you’re drinking? And having an extra liter to replace what you’re peeing out? But, lemme backtrack and stop backpatting. Because, before I started worshipping at the altar of agua myself, I wasn’t always so good, either. In fact, it wasn’t til I saw this one transformation story that I became willing to change my ways and get wetter. Why? For the sake of vanity.

Because this is the before and after snap of a woman who upped her water intake for a mere month:

(Homegirl lost a pound every week for the month she did this – and an inch from her waist by the end)

And, having entered my 30’s, I wanted in on this simple secret.

What had she done to look a decade younger while dropping a pound per week?

She simply began guzzling down the recommended 2.5 to 3 liters each day that we’re meant to ingest.

Extreme as it seems, it’s truly not. When you think about it, our bodies are about 60 percent water. That squishy supercomputer that lives in your head’s roughly 70 percent water. And those twin things that live in your chest and let you breathe? They’re 90 percent H2O. In a way, water’s like the main currency our body charges for our consciousness to occupy it. As a result, though, each day, that meat machine we commandeer has to replace about 2.4 liters through whatever we eat or drink. Factor in things like exercise or caffeine or alcohol making us lose the stuff through sweat and pee… and you can start adding in more of those bottles. (Or a reusable container, if you’re into saving the planet and stuff.) Most of us aren’t even matching that figure, much less replacing what we’re losing through our extracurricular dehydrating activities. And that’s why most of us drag ourselves around, looking like that before picture.

So, now that you’re sold on this free fix for fitness and youthful looks – you might be wondering:

Just how much is 3 liters?

3 liters is about 6 Aquafina bottles.

(Which is why nowadays, one’a these packs only last me 4 days.
Yes, I recycle. Yes, I know it’s still bad.
I *told* you habits are hard to break.)

After finally starting this practice myself, I experienced a plethora of splendid side effects.

Sure, my skin cleared up and I started looking 20-something instead of 30. But it also helped stop those oscillations in weight I was still getting. Having just gone vegan, I was still eating vegan junk food… and getting fat. Why? I was over-consuming fatty stuff and not working out enough. (No, simply being vegan’s not enough. You still have to follow common sense rules. And one of them was that I wasn’t having enough water.) Once I upped the agua, I noticed I felt more energized – so I wanted to workout more. A lot of my “lethargy” was merely dehydration masquerading as laziness. What’s more – I stopped what I thought was recreational snacking – but was actually my body confusing thirst for the need to be a ravenous glutton. By subbing in a mere half liter prior to dining on anything, I self moderated my meals… with none’a that post-supper sweet snacking on stacks of dates covered in coconut flakes. As a result? I lost about seven pounds in a month and a half and never put it back on. And the nice thing is, it’s not that tough to get on the extra-aqueous train, either. You just set up an easy schedule with it. Like you would with vitamins. You can think of it as being like a medicine you have to take five to six times a day. Keep a bottle by the bed to drink as soon as you wake up, and stow several in your go-to-work tote. That’s what I do – matching every caffeinated beverage or workout with at least a half liter, and making sure I top off the night with one as well. Once you get into a routine with it, it’s less a hard habit to start – and more a good one you’re kicking yourself for not picking up sooner. Especially that day when you wake up, realizing you’ve lost four pounds, two inches, and ten years.

Maybe try this for just a month and see if you don’t find a fitter you at the other end.

Best of luck, friends.

Here’s hoping that vanity’s as much a motivator for you as it was for me.