The recommended daily amount is about 14 cups a day for men and 11 cups a day for women. It is important to note that the amount varies depending on the level of your physical activity, your body size and your overall environment.
In addition to being the basis for the proper functioning of all bodily processes and functions, it should be mentioned that water does not contain calories, which makes it an excellent fat loss. In this article we offer you 5 reasons why you should drink more water to speed up the process of fat loss:
1. It can make you feel full and help curb hunger
The area in your brain in charge of regulating thirst, the hypothalamus, also controls your appetite. When you are dehydrated, the body can receive mixed signals, leading you to believe that you’re hungry when you’re actually thirsty. Research has shown that drinking two eight-ounce glasses of water before each meal helps people lose more fat. So, the next time you’re feeling hungry, try drinking a glass of water first. Keeping yourself hydrated will help you eliminate fake food cravings.
2. It helps you become more focused
Besides the fact that it has no calories, sugar or caffeine, water transports oxygen to your brain in order to make sure that it functions optimally. Even a moderate dehydration can have a negative impact on the cognitive functions, your mood and make you less energized. All these effects can make you binge eat out of stress, eat junk food and eat more calories than you really need. So, the next time you feel a bit lethargic, drink a glass of cold water to bring back the energy levels back up.
3. It helps you get through your workout
Drinking plenty of water can help boost your metabolism, but water also helps with preventing muscle cramps, which allows you to train longer and harder. It’s worth noting that the water needs rise sharply post-workout. When you do long endurance-oriented workouts, drink water with electrolytes and carbs to maintain proper fluid balance and prevent exhaustion.
4. It helps you stay regular
Water plays a crucial role in keeping the digestive system functioning smoothly. Saliva has water and digestive enzymes in it to further break down the food you’ve already chewed into tiny pieces. Then it goes into the stomach, where it balances the acidic environment, thus preventing indigestion, ulcers, and heartburn.
If your diet has lots of fiber, you should be even more diligent when it comes to drinking water, since fiber greatly depends on it. The soluble fiber will absorb the water and transform into a gel-like matter which will slow down the speed with which food leaves your stomach, and insoluble fiber will trap and retain water which will add more bulk and moisture to the stool, preventing constipation.
5. It helps consume fewer calories
Consuming calories in a liquid form like sodas and juices don’t fill you up, and the high amount of sugar in them cause insulin spikes in your bloodstream which eventually lead to crashes. This is why drinking water instead of a beverage sweetened with sugar results in less fat gain in the long-term. If plain water doesn’t refresh you as much, drink sparkling water, or some lightly-flavored version with a low sugar content.
