Craving six pack abs? If you’ve been
putting in the time and effort at the gym to get one step closer to seeing
those abs showing through, you need to make sure that you are tending to your
diet as well, including hydration.
Many people completely neglect the
hydration requirement of their plan since they’re so caught up in analyzing
what foods they’re eating. But, make no mistake about it, how much water you’re
drinking – or not drinking as the case may be, will definitely influence the
results that you see.
Here are a few things that you need to know
about proper hydration for fat loss.
Why
Water Helps
First let’s discuss why water can help you
see faster fat loss progress. First, it
keeps your metabolic rate high, as was noted in a study where researchers saw a
30% decrease in metabolic rate upon chronic water restriction in test
subjects. While this is unlikely in a
real world situation, even slight amounts of dehydration can slow your
metabolism down, making it harder to burn calories all day long.
This in turn means sluggish fat burning.
Second, water also helps to prevent hunger.
Many people often mistake thirst for hunger, eating when they really just need
to drink. By having more water in your day, you prevent this from happening.
Finally, water also helps to flush out the
body, cleansing toxins and waste that would otherwise drain your energy levels.
This means you have more to give with each workout session that you do,
improving how you feel on a day to day basis.
How
Much Water To Drink
So all of this said, how much water should
you drink? Can you drink too much?
The answer is yes. Hyponatremia can occur if you drink too much
water, which causes a lower than normal level of sodium in the body. This can
get quite dangerous if left untreated, so you do need to be careful.
Most people will not willingly drink enough
water to cause this however, so it is of little concern to most. Just note that
there is such a thing as too much water and you’ll be fine.
In more cases, too little water is the
problem, so your aim should be to bring this up. Aiming for around 8-10, 250ml glasses of pure
water each day is a great place to start and on days you are especially active
of when it’s warmer outside and you may be sweating more, increase that to
10-12 glasses.
If exercising, drinking one glass for every
20 minutes or so of physical activity is a good way to get your water needs met
and replace those lost fluids.
Keep in mind that the more you are sweating
– if the exercise is much more intense – the more water you are going to need
to drink accordingly.
So don’t overlook your hydration status any
longer. Find ways to get pure water in
throughout the day. Your health and fat
loss depends on it.
Reference:
Haines, H. & Reese, J.B. (1977). Effects of dehydration on metabolic rate and
fluid distribution in the jackrabbit, Lepus Californicus. Physiological
Zoology. Vol. 51, No. 2. April.