It seems as if there’s always been a frenzied discussion amongst the fitness community over water consumption and the role it plays with metabolism and weight-loss. Personally, I think the discussion about water consumption and the role it plays in weight-loss has become way too complicated and the “experts” have only found more and more superfluous ways of saying the same thing.

I’m going to explain the role water plays in helping along the process of weight-loss in the simplest of terms.

Before I begin, it is important to understand that weight-loss can be achieved by implementing one or a combination of the following:

1. By reducing the amount of calories ingested – The basic concept is that if you are accustomed to eating a certain amount of calories per day to maintain your current weight then a reduction in calories will result in weight-loss.

2. By increasing physical activity – Again if you are accustomed to eating a certain amount of calories per day to maintain a certain weight, any sustained increase in physical activity will result in weight-loss.

As you can see, the common denominator here is calories and what’s the good news? The way you’ll use water to help you lose weight addresses both modes of weight-loss.

Water and Portion Control – Portion control is a huge part of managing your calorie intake on the path to weight-loss (I know it is for me). I typically take in approximately 400 to 500 calories per meal and I eat six times a day (your needs will not be the same as mine) and attempt as best as possible to keep the calories even.

I find that drinking a half liter of water with every meal helps me feel fuller and keeps me feeling that way for longer. I am not the only one who gets these benefits from drinking more water. Water contains no calories so it’s a sweeter deal than going back for seconds at dinner or lunch time and blowing my calorie budget by miles.

Drinking a cold glass of water often buys me a half hour to an hour when hunger hits between meals.

Water and Metabolism– Increasing physical activity in combination with the right diet will increase your metabolism and hence your body’s ability to burn more fat. By drinking more water you’ll flush your system of toxins and all the excess water your body has been holding on to as a result of not being adequately hydrated. Yes, you read correctly! Drinking more water will make your body lose water.

People are always amazed at the fact that they lose a lot of weight during the first week of a new diet plan (good diet plan, not some crazy excuse for a diet plan), especially if they have been inactive and careless with what they’ve been consuming for a while. A high percentage of that initial weight-loss is due to water loss from the body as it realizes you’ve decided to be kind and replenish it more generously. Your generosity tells your body it doesn’t need to hold on to that “old” water anymore because the drought has lifted… so to speak.

The liver, which plays a huge role in the way fats and cholesterol a metabolized by the body, also functions better in the presence of an adequate supply of water.

Consider the relationship between gasoline and oil in a car. A similar relationship exists between food and water in the human body. A car can be filled with gas but without enough oil it’s not going to get to too many places before long. The better the fuel and the fresher the oil, the more efficient the car will be. Same goes for you!

How Much Water Should You Drink?

This is as simple as it gets. Drink two glasses of water with each meal. You can drink one glass before and one after you finished eating. I like to have a glass of water about five minutes before I start eating and then another while I’m eating. If you can do this with every meal, at six meals a day (including snacks) you’re already on the right track. In addition to that, remember you can also have water between meals to help hold off hunger.

If you work out regularly, high intensity cardiovascular training, for example, will dehydrate you very quickly over a short time. You water intake budget should be adjusted accordingly.

Can’t Stand the Taste of Water?

For those of you saying “yuck!” already, try a few of these tricks to help you along the path to increased water intake:

• Drink it cold
• Add lemon or lime juice (just to give it a hint of flavor)
• Add 0 or low-calorie flavored drink mixes