5 Ways Drinking Water Helps With Weight Loss

I am sure you have heard that you need to drink more water to help with your weight loss.  But is how can that be?  You may be wondering if and how a clear, zero calorie beverage can influence your weight loss results.  The quick answer is YES drinking enough water can help you with weight loss and it is not simply because it is calorie-free.  Check out these five ways that drinking enough water can help you lose more weight while using less willpower and mental energy.

#1: Drinking enough water helps prevent false hunger and unnecessary eating.

Often even slight dehydration can feel like hunger.  When you eat because your body needs water, you are consuming unnecessary calories and making it harder to lose weight.

#2: Drinking enough water reduces available stomach volume to help you ditch the mindless munching.

Have you ever eaten just because you felt like you “needed SOMETHING”?  Maybe your stomach felt a little empty and you though a little snack was the answer.  One of the things I noticed when I started optimizing my water intake was that I didn’t feel as “empty” between meals and that meant I naturally munched less.

#3: Drinking enough water helps you keep your energy high.

Avoiding energy slumps helps you with weight loss in a couple of way.  Have you ever grabbed a handful of popcorn or candy to help you “wake up”?  If so, you know that low energy usually influences you to consume snacks to stay awake.  If you avoid that energy slump, you avoid the snacks too… WITHOUT trying to avoid snacks (bonus).  Also research has shown that even the slightest bit of dehydration decreases exercise performance.  So if you are hitting the gym to create a metabolic disturbance that keeps your body burning more calories all day, you better make sure you have the energy (thus hydration) to bring your A-game to the workout.

#4: Drinking enough water can help you easily reduce your consumption of high calorie beverages.

Have you ever tried to give up soda or that sugar laden coffee drink that you get each morning before work?  How did it go?  How much MENTAL ENERGY did it take to actively resist the lure of your habitual treat?  I bet it took a ton of energy and it probably made you feel a little miserable too.  Well what if you could EASILY ditch the higher calorie drinks that are adding the pounds without provided much satisfaction.  Would you do it?  I bet you would.  Here’s the deal.  What we focus on grows and what we ignore shrinks.  So if you are focused on getting enough water each day, you will eventually find that you simply have less room for the stuff that you may normally try to avoid in an effort to lose weight.  The best part about this is… you don’t have to feel deprived.  You simply forget about the other stuff in your pursuit of getting enough water.

#5: Drinking enough water helps reduce water retention and bloating.

Have you ever awaken with a puffy face and tight rings after a night or a few days of indulgent eating?  I have… more often than I care to admit.  The good news is… you haven’t gained a ton of weight even if it feels like you did.  The bad news is… you are retaining water and your clothes don’t recognize the difference between fat weight and water retention.  While it may seem counterintuitive to drink water to get rid of water that is exactly how your body works.  So if you want to avoid the puffy look that comes with too much time at the buffet on vacation, get your water in each day to keep water retention and bloating under control.

There you have it… the five ways that drinking water can help you with weight loss.

And since someone always asks… YES when you first start to optimize your water intake, you WILL have to go to the restroom a lot.  Your body eventually adjusts and you won’t have to go as often but in the meantime, you can just think of those frequent bathroom trips as another way that drinking water helps you lose weight.  I bet you will have NO PROBLEM getting in your daily steps at the beginning of your water optimization journey! 🙂

Convinced that drinking enough water can help you lose weight but want some strategy around HOW to get your water in each day without having to think about it so much? Check out this video below for my favorite tips.

What did you think. Let me know in the comments below! And if you found this helpful or inspirational, be sure to share.