Summer is coming. Did we scare you? If you’re thinking about wearing shorts, swimming at the beach, and basking in the warm summer sun, you may have some mixed feelings.
Yes, we’re thrilled that spring is here, but a part of us will miss the baggy, skin-covering clothes of winter. We may or may not have indulged in a little too much good food when the weather was cold, and now we have to pay the piper.
Weight loss is not our favorite subject to talk about, and it’s definitely NOT something we enjoy doing. Hello gym and goodbye couch! But did you know there’s another way to lose weight?
Stay hydrated!
That’s right, drinking lots of water can help you lose more weight and feel better at the same time. And it’s not just because drinking water means that you’re less likely to drink sugary sodas and other calorie-ridden beverages. Proper hydration is essential for keeping your organs running at 100%, exercise recovery, feeling full, boosting your metabolism, and flushing out toxins.
Let’s take a deeper look at how drinking enough water can help you drop pounds.
1. Drink Before You Eat
Water is an appetite suppressant.
Drinking at least a glass of water before you eat can help you feel fuller so you’re enticed to eat less, which can result in 75 fewer calories per meal. Over a year, that equates to about 27,000 fewer calories, or eight pounds just by drinking water before you eat.
Shoot for drinking at least a full class out of our Renegade Tumbler.
2. Replace Caloric Beverages with Water
Do you struggle with drinking soda throughout the day?
Are you addicted to coffee or drinks after work?
All that drinking adds up to weight gain. If you can ditch the soda, juice, and alcohol and replace it with water, you’ll be shocked by how many fewer calories you’ll drink a day.
Just one can of soda is 150 calories whereas water has none. And if you hate the idea of drinking plain water, try sparkling water flavored with calorie- and sugar-free essence of fruit.
3. Ice Ice Baby
Cold water is better for you than warm water. That’s good news for anyone who already uses our 20oz Retro Metallic water bottles, since the double insulation keeps your water cold for 24 hours!
How does cold water help?
According to WebMD, it boosts your metabolism, which can help you burn more calories.
4. Water and Workout
If you have a hard time giving your all at the gym and always end up with muscle cramps and fatigue, a lack of hydration could be to blame.
By drinking more water, you should be able to work out harder and longer with fewer muscle cramps and more lubricated joints. And if you enjoy working out more, you’ll do it more often, and lose more weight. The reality is that if you’re dehydrated your workouts and your results (fat loss) will suffer, according to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
5. Proper Hydration = MORE Energy
If you want to lose weight, you need energy.
If you want more energy, which will help you workout hard, decrease your craving, and make you more likely to get off the couch, then you need to be properly hydrated. Our bodies are made up of 70% water, and if it’s lacking, your muscles won’t get the right nutrients, your brain won’t be able to focus, and your weight loss goals will go out the window. Instead, carry our 26oz Ranger Pro with you wherever you go and avoid the energy slump.
How Much Water Do You Need?
When you drink water for weight loss, you might be surprised that you need a little bit more than you expect. On average, you’re going to want to drink 64 ounces of water per day to boost weight loss. However, if you’re still thirsty after drinking eight 8-ounce glasses, drink more.
Let thirst be your guide!
What about if you’re working out? You’ll need more than 64 ounces. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that you:
- Drink 16 ounces of water before you exercise.
- Drink 4 – 8 ounces while you exercise.
- Drink another 16 ounces after you exercise.
And, if you’re overweight, your water needs are different as well. To make sure that your water intake is actually helping with your weight loss, you’ll want to try and drink HALF of your body weight in ounces of water. That means if you weigh 180 lbs you should drink 90 ounces of water a day.
Don’t take our word for it. A study published in Obesity found that overweight adults who drank 16 ounces of water a half hour before eating lost three more pounds than those who didn’t. That equated to 9 pounds over 12 weeks!