Water Consumption While Dieting

Your body is composed of about 70 percent water, and you need to consume some type of liquid in order to survive, even when you are sedentary. When you are dieting, your water intake should go up to stave off hunger pains and keep your energy level high. As your diet progresses, water consumption becomes even more important as a way to help your kidneys and liver break down waste products from the elimination of fat and muscle.

Significance

Water serves many purposes during a diet. It will keep you from having intense food cravings by keeping you feeling fuller, and it will help your organs break down fat. If you are on a high fiber or high protein diet, you will need to drink more water to push waste out of your colon. The fact that water has zero calories will also help to keep you from drinking liquids that have more than zero calories.

Function

Water carries nutrients and waste from one part of your body to another, and if you are on a diet this function is magnified. Water also lubricates your joints and helps maintain youthful skin. Increasing your water intake while dieting will help flush your system of fats and toxins.

Benefits

According to freedrinkingwater.com, increasing your water intake lowers the amount of fat being stored by your body. Drinking clean water also lowers the toxic load on both your kidneys and your liver, and allows them to function more efficiently, aiding in the breakdown of fat deposits.

Recommendations

You should drink six to eight tall glasses of water per day while dieting, or half of your body weight in ounces daily. If you are on an extreme calorie restriction or a high protein or high fiber diet, you may need to consume up to your body weight in ounces of water daily in order to continue to push waste through your colon--and no cheating. According to F. Batmanghelidj in "Your Body's Many Cries for Water," drinking diet soda as a replacement for water causes your body's sugar receptors to open up, leading to food cravings and possibly weight gain.

Types

Water is the best fluid to drink while you are dieting, as substitutes will contain calories, sugar, preservatives, artificial sweeteners or caffeine (which dehydrates the body due to its diuretic effect). There is some debate about the health benefits of different types of water--tap water may contain chemicals, but it is possibly healthier than bottled water, which is less regulated. Filtered and distilled water are cleaner but may not contain essential minerals. Alkaline water may be beneficial for dieters but no studies have confirmed its usefulness in this regard. Overall drinking of any type of water is good for your diet and your health.

References

• The role of water while dieting
• Your Body's Many Cries for Water, F. Batmanghelidj, 1995

Resources

• Benefits of water while dieting