Water has a mixed reputation with regards to weight loss. Some weight watchers try to loose weight both by restricting liquid intake and simultaneously sweating it out in a sauna or through exercise. After all, the reasoning goes, 70% of the human body is made of water. Going by Pareto's Law (commonly known as the 80/20 rule), it logically follows that the easiest way to lose weight is by getting rid of some of this water.
This is an unfortunate fallacy. After all, Mother Nature took many thousands of years to evolve the modern human body, and every percent of water in it serves a necessary function. So much so, that the condition where the human body does not have enough water in it has a special name: "dehydration".
In fact, if you think about it, losing weight by losing water does not make sense. Just losing water does not reduce your fat quotient. After all, the main point of losing weight is to look better and to fit into slimmer and better looking clothes. Losing water does not do that at all. On the contrary, your body shape remains the same while you look even worse. Apart from that, you cannot maintain that state of dehydration for very long before your body collapses on you.
So, what does all this water in the human body do? Why is water even more necessary to your body than food?
- Water regulates your body temperature, directly through sweat, and indirectly through the blood vessels near the surface of your skin. When you are hot, you sweat, and your surface blood vessels expand. This carries heat from the inside of the body to be released outside the body.
- Water is also the basic fluid medium for all the body's processes. This water is a critical component of your blood, and other bodily fluids. It transports the fuel and other basic building blocks to the cells which need them. It flushes and transports the resultant garbage out of the cells to the various organs of elimination prior to final removal from your body.
- Your brain needs water, and in fact contains water in practically the same proportion as milk. In the right proportions, this water in your brain enables you to think. If you have any doubts, try dehydrating yourself before you do something mentally strenuous like a maths test. You will find it rather difficult to think straight.
- While all the above are good and sufficient reasons why water is important to you in general, here is the reason why water is important to you in losing weight - you need to have enough moisture in your tissues to break down and burn up fat. In other words, no water also means no fat loss.
Now, having said all that, it is possible to have too much water in your body. Mind you, you do not end up in this waterlogged condition by drinking too much water. It is just not possible. No, any excess water you drink is excreted as urine. However, an imbalanced diet can cause you to have too much water in your body:
- Not enough protein. When protein is severely restricted (e.g. in some high-carb diet plans), water tends to accumulate in the tissues and make them puffy.
- Too much (common) salt. Internally, your fluid economy is something like an ocean, in that it contains mineral salts in approximately the same proportions as the seven seas. Imagine that one surplus teaspoonful of salt holds seventy teaspoons of water, and you may find yourself more motivated to cut down on salt in your cooking. Unless there is water retention, however, or some heart or kidney condition, it is not necessary to restrict salt too severely in your diet.
Now you know where water stands in relation to your weight loss. Just drink water normally, eat enough protein, and cut down on your salt.
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