Many of us are guilty of checking off the calories on our nightly food intake rather than the water. If losing a pound a week is your goal, it’s probably best to focus more on your water intake rather than your food intake. But how can you tell if drinking enough water is helping you lose weight?
You could always check the scales. If you’re starting to lose a pound a week, you’re probably drinking enough water. But if you’re drinking the recommended eight glasses a day, you could be making your weight loss harder than it has to be. What if drinking water is actually helping you gain weight?
There are ways you can tell if your drinking habits are contributing to your weight loss journey or putting the weight loss on pause. How about checking out your urine? If you’re regularly consuming greater than three liters of fluid a day, you may start to see changes in your urine. Let’s take a closer look.
Urine Changes
When you lose weight, your body loses a lot of water. Your kidneys have to work harder to filter and remove toxins from your blood. What’s more, your body is adjusting to a healthier lifestyle and starting to produce more urine. This explains why you’re losing a pound a week whether you’re drinking liquids or not. You’re simply drinking so much that your body is reacting to it positively. What’s more, the toxins you’re removing as you lose weight are accumulating in your urine, making it a perfect indicator of your progress.
In addition to measuring your daily water intake, you could also measure the density of your urine. The more dilute it is, the more water you’re drinking. If you start to see changes in the color or look of your urine, you may be drinking too much liquid. Aside from color and appearance, the specific gravity of your urine gives you an idea of how well you’re doing in your weight loss journey. The higher the number, the more moisture you’re retaining.
In order to calculate your specific gravity, you’ll need a urine funnel along with a liquid measuring cup. To find your specific gravity, simply put a drop of urine on a piece of paper and add it to the liquid measuring cup. The cup should be filled to the brim and allowed to settle for 30 seconds before reading the number on the paper. If your urine is more than 1.015, you’re drinking way too much liquid and need to cut back.
The Dangers Of Too Much Water
While drinking water is essential for life, it’s important to understand what happens when you drink too much of it. If you’re consuming greater than 3 liters of fluid a day, you’re putting yourself in serious danger of dehydration. Let’s take a look at the potential risks that come with drinking too much water.
Dehydration
When you’re dehydrated, your body cannot function at its optimum capacity. Your heart rate slows, your muscles become weak, and even your mental alertness decreases. You may feel fuzzy headed and even experience headaches at times. What’s worse is that you may put yourself in danger of health issues by denying yourself of the essential fluid you need. If you want to lose weight, it’s best to avoid dehydration as much as possible. Cut back on the liquid and you’ll start to see the benefits.
Constipation
Drinking at least eight glasses of water a day can help prevent constipation, but if you’re already experiencing symptoms of the condition, you may need to cut back. Water promotes healthy digestion, which helps eliminate toxins as you lose weight. When you eliminate toxins, you’ll often notice your stools become less frequent. If you’re experiencing chronic constipation, you may be drinking too much liquid and need to cut back or eliminate certain foods from your diet. What are your symptoms? Is it straining to pass a bowel movement or a feeling of incomplete defecation?
Unexplained Weight Loss
Even if you’re not drinking to excess, you may still be experiencing unexplained weight loss. Sometimes, the body cannot tell you the reason behind the weight loss. In these cases, you may need to conduct a bit of research into your patient’s history to find the root of the problem. It could be a thyroid disorder, a hormonal problem, or even gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). If you’re not sure what’s causing the weight loss, it may be time to consult your medical doctor. However, doing some research and learning about your medical history can help you determine the root of the problem, and even help you find the cause of your weight loss. If you want to lose weight, it’s best to find out what’s causing it.
Healthy Urine
When you lose weight, your body produces more urine as a result of the increased fluid loss. Urine is a natural detoxifier that your body produces as part of its normal chemical process. As you continue to shed off the pounds and start seeing a bit of a difference, you may start to experience healthier and more vibrant urine. What type of urine is most beneficial for your body? It depends on your metabolism but most nutritionists would say dilute urine is better than concentrated urine. What does this mean? Concentrated urine is more harmful to your health than dilute urine. Why? Because when your body is trying to rid itself of toxins, the last thing it needs is more substances that it cannot break down. What type of nutritionist would recommend more drinking in the first place?
Summary
To summarize, if you’re drinking at least three liters of water daily, you’re on the right track. In addition to the pounds you might be losing, you’re also improving your health by getting the toxins out of your system. While it’s important to stay hydrated, you may want to consider cutting back on the amount of liquid you drink. It’s a common misconception that drinking more water will make you lose weight. In reality, it’s the calories you’re consuming that make you lose weight, not the water. However, if you’re drinking the recommended eight glasses a day, it may be harder for your body to shed off the pounds. In these cases, it may be time to reduce your daily water intake or eliminate certain foods from your diet. If you’re really determined to lose weight, you may want to consult a physician or dietician for help. We hope this article helped you understand a little bit more about how water can help you lose weight. If you have any other questions or thoughts, please feel free to leave us a comment below!