Why drink water on a VLCD ?

[icemoose]

Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body metabolize stored fat.

Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water intake can actually reduce fat deposits.

Here's why: the kidneys can't function properly without enough water. When they don't work to capacity, some of their load is dumped onto the liver. One of the liver's primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into usable energy for the body. But if the liver has to
do some of the kidneys’ work, it can't operate at full throttle, so it metabolizes less fat. As a result, more fat remains stored in the body and weight loss comes to a stop.

Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention.
When the body gets less - water, it perceives it as a threat to survival and begins to hold on to every drop. Water is stored in extracellular spaces (outside the cells) and shows up as swollen feet, legs and hands.

Diuretics offer a temporary solution, at best. They force out stored water along with some essential nutrients. Again, the body perceives a threat and will replace the lost water at the first opportunity. Thus, the condition quickly returns.

The best way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give your body what it needs - plenty of water! Only then will stored water be released.

The overweight person needs more water than the thin one.

Larger individuals have larger metabolic loads. Since we know that water is the key to fat metabolism, it follows that the overweight person needs more water.

Water helps maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration.

It also helps to prevent the sagging of skin that usually follows weight loss. Shrinking cells are buoyed by water, which plumps the skin and leaves it clear, healthy and resilient.

Water helps the body get rid of waste.

During weight loss, the body has a lot more waste to get rid of - all that metabolized fat must be shed. Again, adequate water helps flush out the waste.

Water can help relieve constipation.

When the body gets too little water, it siphons what it needs from internal sources. The colon is one of these primary sources. Result - constipation. But, when an individual drinks enough water, normal bowel function usually returns.

So far, we’ve discovered some remarkable truths about water and weight loss:

· The body will not function properly and can’t metabolize stored fat efficiently without enough water.
· Retained water shows up as excess weight.
· To get rid of water, you must drink more water.
· Drinking water is essential to weight loss.

How much water is enough?

On average, a person should drink eight 8-oz. glasses every day.

However, the overweight individual needs one additional glass for every 25 pounds of excess weight.

The amount you drink should also be increased if you exercise briskly or if the weather is hot and dry.

It is preferable to drink cold water, which is absorbed into the system more quickly than warm water.

Some evidence suggests that drinking cold water can actually help burn more calories.

My recommendation to clients is 4 litres for ladies and 6 litres for bigger guys.

When the body gets the water it needs to function optimally, its fluids are perfectly balanced and:
· Endocrine-gland function improves
· Fluid retention is alleviated
· More fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolize stored fat
· Natural thirst returns
· There is a loss of hunger, almost overnight

When I did the diet I put my quick and large losses down to the water, I also put the fact I have NEVER been hungry since Day 7 on the water I am drinking. Don't underestimate how much it helps you!!!

If it means finishing the diet earlier and with less pain then get glugging!!

Don't think of it as water!! Think of it as a fat attacking liquid!!!!

[sonkie]

Cool thread Mike, very informative too.

[JodieJoJo]

you've got me running to the fridge for another bottle of water!

very helpful thankyou.

[carebear1]

Excellent thread! my god so much fab info. One question
I started this diet at 20st 6 and have been drinking 6ltrs a day is that too much? i did plan on dropping that down the more weight i lose? i have been on this for 2 and a bit weeks( tuesday is three weeks) i've lost 1st 7lbs and put that down to the water, should i drink less?

[htpink]

this needs to be a sticky!

[cheeseontoast]

Great post. Very motivating. Thankyou!

[Fuzzys Angel]

Very informative, thank you. I agree with htpink this need to be a sticky...xxx

[Linda5111]

Good information, i will be drinking more water from now on.Thanks Mike.

[Cerulean]

Hi - one question Mike - I've always been told that it is better for your body to take on tepid water - do you know where the 'cold = better' info comes from cos I've always preferred cold water - and I'd like some backup

[sophia-jo]

Wow Mike, how thoughtful of you to post this thread. (deffo needs to be a sticky)

Thanks for the info, I sometimes don't manage my 4 (not far off though) but deffo will make sure I do 4 minimum.

cheers Mike x

[icemoose]

Originally Posted by Cerulean

Hi - one question Mike - I've always been told that it is better for your body to take on tepid water - do you know where the 'cold = better' info comes from cos I've always preferred cold water - and I'd like some backup

Hiya

This is taken from HowStuffWorks.Com

For anyone trying to lose weight, this question is an exciting one! If you simply want to know if your body burns calories warming up the water, the answer is yes. But if you want to know if drinking a lot of ice water can help you lose weight, or keep weight off, this "yes" needs to be qualified with some calculations.

First of all, calories are case-sensitive. There are calories and then there are Calories. Calories with a big "c" are the ones used to describe the amount of energy contained in foods. A calorie with a little "c" is defined as the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius.
What most people think of as a Calorie is actually a kilo-calorie: It takes one Calorie to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius. So when you drink a 140-Calorie can of cola, you are ingesting 140,000 calories. There is no cause for alarm, because the conversion applies across the board. When you burn 100 Calories jogging a mile, you are burning 100,000 calories.
So, considering that the definition of a calorie is based on raising the temperature of water, it is safe to say that your body burns calories when it has to raise the temperature of ice water to your body temperature. And unless your urine is coming out ice cold, your body must be raising the temperature of the water. So calories are being burned.
Let's figure out exactly what you're burning when you drink a 16-ounce (0.5 liter) glass of ice water:

• The temperature of ice water can be estimated at zero degrees Celsius.
• Body temperature can be estimated at 37 degrees Celsius.
• It takes 1 calorie to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius.
• There are 473.18 grams in 16 fluid ounces of water.

So in the case of a 16-ounce glass of ice water, your body must raise the temperature of 473.18 grams of water from zero to 37 degrees C. In doing so, your body burns 17,508 calories. But that's calories with a little "c." Your body only burns 17.5 Calories, and in the grand scheme of a 2,000-Calorie diet, that 17.5 isn't very significant.
But let's say you adhere to the "eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day" nutritional recommendation. In 64 ounces of water, there are 1,892.72 grams. So to warm up all that water in the course of a day, your body burns 70,030 calories, or 70 Calories. And over time, that 70 Calories a day adds up. So, while you definitely shouldn't depend on ice water consumption to replace exercise or a healthy diet, drinking cold water instead of warm water does, in fact, burn some extra Calories!

And over a year if you were to drink your normal 8 glasses of cold water then the calories needed are the equivalent to half a stone of fat a year you would burn to raise the temperature!!

[itsnowornever]

very clever stuff icemoose thanks for that

[Nessa]

Thanks you for that info... I will be drinking at least 4 litres a day now, if not more.

[Sez]

WOW! Thanks so much for all this info. Very useful, especially for those of us who struggle withe the water! Its an encouragement to get it all down!!

[Nick]

Hi ya,

Very interesting and it will help anyone who struggles to drink the water. After reading this it makes you want to put your head under the tap and drink.

Thanks Mike

Nick