Do you drink enough water? Probably not. One thing I cannot stress enough with people who are looking to lose body fat is the importance of staying well hydrated on a regular basis. It’s common for me to see people who go through a whole day without drinking any water! Their liquid consumption might be a cup or two of coffee in the morning, soda, and sugary fruit juices (I recommend the last two be eliminated or limited during any fat loss program). The previously mentioned beverages do count towards fluid intake, but for anyone looking to lose body fat a few of those beverages per day is not going to cut it. Ice water should be the main beverage of choice and consumed regularly throughout the day.
There are many benefits of proper hydration, regardless of your fitness goals: being well-hydrated will likely improve the quality of your workouts, increase energy levels, and enhance your ability to digest food and absorb nutrients, just to name a few. Here are four ways that proper hydration aids the fat loss process:
- Adequate hydration makes it easier for the liver to do its job of processing mobilized body fat. There are many metabolites that build up from fat mobilization that have to be eliminated from the body. If you are adequately hydrated, these metabolites will preferentially be eliminated through the kidneys. If you are dehydrated, the liver is going to be responsible for moving a lot of those metabolites into the bile and stool for excretion. When losing body fat, the liver is also the main area where mobilized fat is processed. If the liver has to work over-time eliminating metabolites, it has less capability to metabolize stored fat into usable energy. Staying well hydrated frees the liver to process body fat so that it can be burned as fuel; let your liver do it’s job of burning fat!
- Adequate hydration expands circulating blood volume. In your body, many hormones (think of these as chemical messengers) are brought into play to promote fat loss. These hormones interact with various tissues of the body (including fat cells) by being circulated through the blood. Dehydration may reduce circulating blood volume, which compromises this process. When you maintain a fully expanded blood volume and adequate circulation (via appropriate fluid intake), it is easier for the body to circulate all of the hormones and process energy (in the form of ketone bodies, fatty acids, and glucose) that aids the fat loss process.
- Adequate hydration improves endocrine efficiency: When properly hydrated, the interior of the cell (the cytosol) is going to be as full as possible. In this situation, think of your cells as balloons that are fully blown up. The cell will be stretched out so that all of its hormonal receptors are exposed to their environment and can interact optimally with circulating hormones. If you are dehydrated your cells may not be expanded (think more like a slightly deflated balloon), cell receptors are not as well exposed, and your hormones do not circulate as easily.
Think of these balloons as cells in your body:
4. Adequate hydration increases energy expenditure. A gallon of ice-cold water (40 degrees Fahrenheit) requires 123 calories of heat energy to warm it to core body temperature (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) (Darden, 2014). The body must use heat to raise the temperature of cold water. At the same time, consuming cold water slightly lowers one’s core body temperature, which requires calories to heat the body back to its normal temperature. Between these two processes, the calories burned by the body can add up and contribute to a caloric deficit over time.
Intake Recommendations:
If you want to lose fat don’t overlook the importance of water. I recommend drinking half your bodyweight (in pounds) in ounces per day. For example, a 200-pound man would shoot for 100 ounces of ice water per day. This is simple to remember and can easily be achieved by keeping a large water bottle with you throughout the day.
Get something like this and try to drink 2-5 bottles worth per day depending on your body weight and other liquid consumption with meals:
Bottom Line:
Making sure you are well hydrated is an easy way to enhance your fat loss and something simple that you can start doing NOW. It is also a great way to get in the habit of drinking less calorie-containing beverages like soda, juices, and alcohol. Replacing those drinks with water will go a long way in shaving off some calories and reducing sugar intake to help you lose fat.
References:
Darden, E. (2014). The Body Fat Breakthrough. New York, NY: Rodale Inc.