Does Water Affect Weight

Does Water Affect Weight

This week a young man asked me, "Does water affect weight?" After some digging, I realized he has been observing his mother use one of the 45 Day Plans to lose weight / get fit and this program requires the user to drink more water than they normally would - up to 3-4 quarts a day!!


The Institute of Medicine advises that men consume roughly 3 quarts (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day and women consume 2.2 quarts (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day. Total beverages mean water and other drinks as well.

As with most things in health / nutrition and exercise, there is always some study that disproves another study.

Many doctors agree that eight ounces of water - eight times a day (2 quarts) has no scientific backing. This is true! Water intake does not and probably should not have a universal standard as water intake depends on the individual / environment / activity level, etc...

The explanation of this question has a few levels of details, so it is broken up in the following sections:

Daily Weight Gain - By drinking more water per day, you will have a series of weight gains throughout the day as a quart (32 oz) of water weighs two pounds. So, as I write this article and sip from my 32 oz glass, I will gain two lbs in the next 90 minutes. Now, I will likely be interrupted by Mother Nature and lose 1-2 lbs from the previous 32 oz glass of water I drank after my early workout. The easy answer is yes - drinking water does affect weight significantly enough to be seen on a scale immediately. Usually, in a 24 hour period, you will cycle through this process of gaining water weight and losing water weight and have either a net loss or stable weight for the day.

What About Weight Loss? - Here is where I came up with the saying - "Want to Lose weight? - Just Add Water!" Adding more water to your diet will help you lose weight a few ways. ONE - hunger suppressant - you will not be as hungry when drinking water through the day as your stomach will constantly have something flowing through it. TWO - when your body realizes it is getting enough water, it will allow you to release retained waters from your cells through digestion.



Too much water - How much is too much? I tackled this one a few years ago when a water drinking contest on the radio actually caused someone to die from water intoxication. That person had downed nearly two gallons within a short period of time (less than 2 hours). This caused her body to shut down causing kidney failure as well as electrolyte imbalances that affect all organ function. Many endurance athletes have died from the same issues, however they sweat profusely and re-hydrated with ONLY water and had the same electrolyte imbalances that caused death. When drinking water after sweating profusely, you should consider foods or supplements with electrolytes (sodium, potassium, etc) so that does not happen. I like to eat a can of chicken noodle soup after a workout where I lose 5-7 lbs of water through sweating - it can happen in humid or arid environments. The chicken noodle soup (especially kids double noodle style) can offer several hundred milligrams of sodium and potassium - much more than sports drinks.

Check out Too Much Water

Another question to ask is "HOW does water affect weight loss?" Over the course of a 10 day period, you can see significant weight loss by adding water to your daily intake. So, let's see for ourselves. (try at own risk)

Take a 10 Day Challenge - Below is a chart that will take you through a ten day extra water consuming process to show you that a few quarts of water a day will make you feel better, make skin look better, make you less hungry, and best of all help you release water that is retained in your body's cells - perhaps you will lose some weight:

Weigh yourself in the morning after using the bathroom and in the evening after dinner

Try adding  2-3 quarts a day for men and 1-2 quarts a day for women and let's see what happens!!!

NOTE - if you are already consuming the above amounts there is no need to try this 10 Day Challengeor add more water to your diet.


Related Topics

Weight Loss General Fitness Health Stew Smith
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