Think of water, and hydration pops up in your mind. Well, it’s true that to stay healthy, you need to be hydrated. But water does more than just that. Water can also help in weight loss. In fact, weight loss is one area where water plays a prominent role. An expert shares how water can boost your weight loss journey.

Health Shots connected with Falak Hanif, Executive Nutritionist, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, Sahakarnagar, Bengaluru, to find out the importance of water in weight loss journey.

She says that 60 percent of our body is composed of water, which is required for various functions like metabolism, regulating body temperature and transportation of nutrients apart from hydration.

Weight loss with water

The expert says that increasing water intake helps in weight loss as it boosts metabolism. It results in lesser calorie intake, and once that happens, you will start losing weight. But we need to understand that water can help in weight loss only when it’s combined with other things like exercises.

Quantity of water required for weight loss

It is important for a person to drink a minimal of 1.5 to 2 litre of water everyday, says Hanif. It helps to flush out toxins from our body. But it is important to understand when you are hungry and when your body is just dehydrated and requires water. For instance, after a stressful physical activity, we tend to drink a sweetened beverage assuming that we are hungry. But in reality, a glass of water or two would do the needful and you could save yourself from consumption of unnecessary calories.

Right time to drink water

While drinking water is good for weight loss, you should also know when to have it.

• A glass of water before you eat your food tends to make you eat lesser, as the hunger pangs are taken care by that glass of water.

• A proper diet regime with calorie deficit and exercises along with 1.5 to 2 litres of water will give you the best results compared to just drinking water without any other efforts.

• You can start your day with drinking 500 ml of water as it helps in boosting your metabolism throughout the day and gives a good start after 8 to 9 hours of fast while sleeping.

• Choose water over unhealthy beverages with meals. It decreases your calorie intake, says the expert.

• Always choose water before working out, as it can keep you hydrated throughout the session and can help you perform better to burn fat.

• Drink water after a tiring task instead of a milkshake or cold juices. That is the time we often end up consuming extra calories and give our body extra sugar.

But you should avoid drinking water after meals, as it can make you feel bloated. Also, gulping down water between a meal is not a good idea. You can sip on water if required. When it comes to night time, avoid drinking a lot of water before going to sleep. It can disrupt your sleep, as you will frequently wake up to go to the loo.

Tips to increase water intake

It’s good to keep a bottle next to you and sip on water throughout the day.

Other ways to increase water intake

* Invest on a bottle with motivational one liners or quantity marksthat will make you want to fulfil your water intake target.
* Keep your bottle of water on your work desk or the space where you spend most of your time, but clean your water bottle properly.
* Discuss with friends and start a water challenge and keep a track of who is completing their water intake target. This would help in keeping a healthy competition and also benefit each one of you.
* You can also make water more appealing by going for detox water. This is for people who find it difficult to drink plain water and require lot of efforts to drink a minimal of 4 to 5 glasses of water.