Water and Weight Loss

I found a web site called IHealthRecord (https://my.medem.com/mymedem/ui/action/home.do) a few weeks back and signed up. I think I was browsing for developmental milestones or something and took a link to another link to another link and found it and signed up. I haven't done much with the site, but did sign up to get a few news letters on various topics...one of which is around weight loss...which I think about more than I have taken practical steps on. I read the article below and found it very interesting. I, like probably most people, had heard that drinking water helped when dieting, but I had never heard the whys listed below other than the first one (an appetite suppressant). I vowed this morning that I was going to start drinking more water, because if I could do nothing else, I could do that. And, I didn't drink nearly enough water and drank more soda (Diet Caffeine free) than normal. Why? Why do I do that? It's almost like an internal sabotage. It did make me realize that I was always so much better about it, but I was also starting my day by hiking in the morning and drink while and after that which got things off to a good start. Tomorrow, I will just try to do better.

Article:
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 actually can
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 into 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 kidney's work, it can't operate at full throttle.
As a result, it metabolizes less fat, more fat remains stored in the body,
and weight loss stops.

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

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.

If you have a constant problem with water retention, excess salt may be to
blame. Your body will tolerate sodium only in a certain concentration.
The more salt you eat, the more water your system retains to dilute it.
But getting rid of unneeded salt is easy - lessen salt in your diet and
drink more water! As water is forced through the kidneys, it takes away
excess sodium.

The overweight person needs more water than a thin one. Larger people
have larger metabolic loads. Since we know that water is the key to fat
metabolism, it follows that the over-weight person needs more water.

Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their natural
ability to contract and by preventing dehydration. It also helps to
prevent the sagging 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 rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body has a lot
more waste to dispose of. All that metabolized fat must be shed. Again,
adequate water helps flush out the waste.

Average intake: 8 glasses a day (about two quarts). And make sure to
increase your water intake during hot, dry weather and during brisk
exercise.

This message has been prepared by the Division of Endocrinology at Scott &
White Clinic as a means of providing health education to the public.