Lose Weight By Drinking Water – Do You Know Why It Works?

You’ve heard repeatedly how important it is to drink 8 glasses of water a day. But did you ever learn why? Water is an essential nutrient for a healthy body, just like any other vitamin or mineral. Only water filters the kidneys, carries nutrients through the blood stream, and hydrates our cells. When we are even slightly dehydrated, which many of us are being aware of it, we can experience fatigue, headache, and [gasp] a false sense of hunger.

New studies are showing a myriad of benefits of drinking enough water, which incidentally, most of us do not do. Some of the benefits of drinking enough water include preventing cancer, ridding the body of toxic wastes, fighting off headache and fatigue and yes – even weight loss. One study even documented an obese woman who lost 42 pounds in 18 months simply by following a program that included a substantial increase of water consumption. One of the reasons its believed drinking water causes weight loss is because we often confuse our body’s need for hydration with food.

Another reason drinking enough water has been linked to weight loss is because it’s necessary for the proper functioning of the kidneys. One study at the University of Utah found that dehydration leads to a lowered metabolism. It was found that by drinking enough water we allow our kidneys to function at maximum capacity, which means our liver doesn’t have to help the kidneys do there job. When the liver is freed from being and aid to the kidneys, it is able to focus on its own tasks, one of which is to abolish the proper metabolism of fat! So in other words, if you want your body to efficiently break down fat rather than storing it, you need to do your part in drinking enough water.

It is not only water that is amazing, but replacing other beverages with water cuts out zillions of calories. In fact, the only place we should get calories from is food – never from drinks. The reason? The calories from beverages don’t make us full, like food calories do. When we chew food, the mechanical motion of our jaw and tongue sends a message to the brain that says, “I’m eating and becoming satisfied.” When we drink calories there is no such communication, and therefore we continue to eat even after we have consumed all the calories we need.

One study at Purdue University had volunteers eat 450 calories of jelly beans every day for a month. At the months end the jelly beans were switched with 450 calories of soda. 
[A little less than 3 cans] Researchers found that while the volunteers had consumed thee jelly beans, they had eaten smaller meals because they were naturally more full. During the jelly bean period they didn’t gain wait. Yet when they switched to soda, they gained weight because their appetites and diets returned to normal, while they still took in an additional 450 calories a day. In the US soft drinks are the fifth largest source of calories for adults. That’s including all other foods. So by simply replacing one glass of juice, soda, mocha, iced tea, or what ever, you’re on your permanent way to weight loss, if you stick with it. If you replace one can of soda with water a day that 150 calories lost. That’s between 10-15 pounds shed every year from that tiny change. 

Maybe this question crosses your mind, “What about diet soda? That only has one calorie. How can cutting that out help me loose weight?” Well artificial sweeteners, including those in diet drinks, have actually been documented by the American Cancer Society as causing people to gain more weight than those who do not use them. The reason is when your mouth tastes a sweet flavor it sends the brain a message, “Sugar is coming down the pipes!” Therefore, the pancreas is alerted to secrete into the blood the notorious hormone called insulin. The insulin then waits in the blood…and waits, but no sugar comes. So then, the brain gets another message – the message that there’s no sugar but lots of insulin, and that creates an urgent craving for sugar and simple carbohydrates. In other words, it makes you want to eat junk food, right now! 

Think about this - how many people do you know who have actually lost weight using artificial sweeteners? I’ve never heard of any. In fact, the people I see using artificial sweeteners are usually quite over weight. Obviously, the sweeteners aren’t quite living up to their promises, now are they?

What If I Don’t Like Water?

Another dilemma you might have with the replacing beverages-with-water idea is that you don’t like drinking water! If that’s how you feel, you’re not alone. Not only are soda and other beverages addictive because they contain artificial flavors and colors that act as chemicals in the brain, but over time, they make it very difficult for you to enjoy a real, natural beverage, like water.

Well, let me assure you that in the beginning, I didn’t like drinking water either…I drank coffee by the gallon it seemed. It takes time to re-establish a taste for what is wholesome and natural, especially when we’ve been drinking junk beverages since our earliest years. But here’s how to begin. I recommend using a reverse osmosis drinking water purification system (like my BugBuster unit) to give you the best water possible, then either hook this water up to your fridge like I did in my house or fill a pitcher and store it in your fridge. If the only water option is tap water that tastes bad and is room temperature, your efforts to drink only water will not last long, I assure you. If you want flavor add slices of lemon, orange, or lime to your water or boil water and make tea (regular or herbal – my favorite is peppermint). Hot water, like tea is especially helpful because it fills you up and takes longer for your body to digest. This is also true for foods like soups. Besides, tea – regular and herbal – is good for you. It will take some time, but after a few months of slowly weaning yourself of juice and other drinks and replacing them with water, you’ll actually get to the place where all you want to drink is water! It’s truly more thirst quenching than anything else!

Tea and Coffee Changes

One of the many ways you’ll get caught drinking sneaky calories is through your tea or coffee habit. For example, knowing how good tea is for your body is one thing, but constantly adding honey for flavor isn’t part of a healthy plan. Unwittingly, you can add countless calories to your diet every day just by adding honey or sugar to your favorite drink. Try to find a tea that tastes great without sweetener, and you’ll shave off over 100 calories a day…which can culminate in losing about a pound in a month!

So if tea is part of your daily beverage, whether iced or hot, find one that is tasty without adding honey or sugar (and especially artificial sweetener!). The same goes for my personal favorite, coffee. In my opinion, teas and coffees that are organically grown have much more flavor, and therefore don’t need anything added. Remember that coffee and teas are diuretics, which mean they make your body lose more water than it should, and therefore contribute to dehydration (which impedes fat metabolism!), so drink these beverages in moderation and increase your water consumption accordingly to compensate.

Also, if you don’t feel you can go cold turkey by cutting out all sweeteners in your drinks, then try adding LESS! If you measure how much you add currently, and try to add only half of that, you’d make a significant difference in your calorie intake. You’ll also find that your taste buds will acclimate to the less-sweet taste, so that eventually you may be able to completely cut out all sugar or honey.

In the same vein, you should know that coffee and tea contain no calories on their own, but it’s only the calories we add through sugar, milk, cream, etc., that cause us to gain weight. Not matter how small these additions may seem, they add up! So let’s focus on the other calories: the dairy.

If you add milk or cream to coffee, and drink coffee regularly, you should know the breakdown:

For every two tablespoons of added…

• Cream – you gain 120 calories!
• Half & Half – 40 calories
• Whole milk – 20 calories
• Reduced fat milk (2%) – 17.5 calories
• Fat free milk – 12.5 calories

Also, in exchange for these calories, you receive 0 grams of fiber.

Yet for two tablespoons of soy milk, you receive only 11 calories and a trace of fiber! And if you research it you’ll find that each gram of fiber causes our body to burn 7 calories, we know that even some fiber is better than nothing, especially as it adds up.

It gets even worse…

If you are one of the many Americans that have found yourself attracted to coffee drinks (you know, the café mochas, lattes, café au lait, and cappuccinos), there’s a lot you need to know.

All of these drinks contain a high percentage of milk for their size, and unless you request otherwise, the milk is usually 2% fat.

For example, a normal sized mocha (16 oz.) is 12 oz. or three-fourths pure milk! A normal 16 oz. latte is also 12 oz. milk, while café au lait is 8 oz milk. A single cappuccino, being only 6 oz. is 3 oz. milk.

Therefore, a normal mocha or latte contains approximately 215 calories – all from milk! If you can make a change in your lifestyle here, the savings on your daily calorie intake can add up fast.

What You Need To Do

Has this discussion made any sense to you? It’s a fact, most people who call me to fix their water are requesting me to correct some ascetic water problem: it stains, it smells, its way to hard, etc. but many times they give little thought to the quality of their drinking water and how it affects their health. Plus, most don’t realize it’s possible to have safe great tasting water for only .04 per gallon with the convenience of an unlimited supply right at the kitchen sink. 

Why not try one of my BugBuster Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Systems. See for yourself what the water is like. It’s hard for me to use words to completely paint an accurate picture of what it’s like. Evaluate it for a year – if it’s not everything you want I’ll remove it and give you a full refund! You have nothing to lose! Call me today…toll free, 877-387-3400 and I’ll answer any additional questions you may have and schedule a time to hook up wonderful great tasting safe water…And Lose Weight !!!

If you live outside of my regular service area, I can UPS a BugBuster R/O to your doorstep…all with similar guarantees and internet pricing…call for details.