Tips on water intake

• Instead of working water diet techniques into your daily routine to lose weight, consider following a water fast. Although water fasts can be controversial and even dangerous when not carefully monitored, many people who have tried a water fast claim it is helpful in flushing toxins from the body, regulating the digestive tract, restoring energy, and jumpstarting significant weight loss. Proper water balance in the human body is essential to the flow of electrolytes across cell boundaries, circulation of oxygen and nutrients in the blood, flushing out waste and toxins through the liver and kidneys, regulating the digestive tract, and regulating body temperature. Without sufficient hydration, the body’s tissues, cells, and organs are not able to function appropriately and may inhibit weight loss. Severe dehydration can cause organ failure and death. Staying properly hydrated with water is essential to good health and simple weight loss.

• Alternatively, you can follow a Water Diet that emphasizes significant increases in water intake without necessarily requiring exercise or food changes to lose weight. Although these diets can be risky if you do not have sufficient mineral and electrolyte intake, they are otherwise free and easy to follow. For some people, they can result in significant weight loss.
• If you are an endurance athlete, ask a health professional about appropriate quantities of water to drink during exercise; he or she may recommend alternating water with a sports drink containing electrolytes.
• Increasing water intake or water dieting will be most effective at boosting weight loss when combined with an exercise plan and a healthy, balanced diet.
• Research has demonstrated that relative and absolute increases in the amount of water drunk each day can improve weight loss results among dieters. Try increasing your daily water intake to meet or slightly exceed recommended daily amounts. Typical daily water intake recommendations are 3.7 liters (1.0 US gal) per day for adult men and 2.7 liters (0.7 US gal) per day for adult women, from all sources (drinking water, other beverages, and foods).