Last Updated on November 7, 2022 by
Water is one of the best things for weight loss as it will help you feel full and reduce hunger. Water also has no calories, which means it helps you burn more calories as well. Water is also good in that it can flushing extra salt, fat and toxins out of your body.
Water is the ultimate nutrient. It provides all of the benefits that we have talked about so far, as well as many others. Drinking water helps you lose weight, maintain health, and be more efficient in your workouts. Water has been called “nature’s secret weapon” because it can do so much for your body (and it’s free too!). Want to know Is Water Good For Weight Loss, make sure you read this article.
Is Water Good For Weight Loss

For a long time, drinking water has been thought to help with weight loss.
In fact, 30–59% of US adults who try to lose weight increase their water intake.
Many studies show that drinking more water may benefit weight loss and maintenance (3Trusted Source).
Read on to understand how drinking water can help you lose weight.
Drinking Water Can Make You Burn More Calories
Most of the studies listed below looked at the effect of drinking one, 0.5 liter (17 oz) serving of water.
Drinking water increases the amount of calories you burn, which is known as resting energy expenditure (4Trusted Source).
In adults, resting energy expenditure has been shown to increase by 24–30% within 10 minutes of drinking water. This lasts at least 60 minutes (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source).
Supporting this, one study of overweight and obese children found a 25% increase in resting energy expenditure after drinking cold water (7Trusted Source).
A study of overweight women examined the effects of increasing water intake to over 1 liter (34 oz) per day. They found that over a 12-month period, this resulted in an extra 2 kg (4.4 lbs) of weight loss (8Trusted Source).
Since these women didn’t make any lifestyle changes except to drink more water, these results are very impressive.
Additionally, both of these studies indicate that drinking 0.5 liters (17 oz) of water results in an extra 23 calories burned. On a yearly basis, that sums up to roughly 17,000 calories — or over 2 kg (4.4 lbs) of fat.
Several other studies have monitored overweight people who drank 1-1.5 liters (34–50 oz) of water daily for a few weeks. They found a significant reduction in weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and body fat (8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source).
These results may be even more impressive when the water is cold. When you drink cold water, your body uses extra calories to warm the water up to body temperature.
BOTTOM LINE:
Drinking 0.5 liters (17 oz) of water may increase the amount of calories burned for at least an hour. Some studies show that this can lead to modest weight loss.
Drinking Water Before Meals Can Reduce Appetite

Some people claim that drinking water before a meal reduces appetite.
There actually seems to be some truth behind this, but almost exclusively in middle-aged and older adults (11Trusted Source).
Studies of older adults have shown that drinking water before each meal may increase weight loss by 2 kg (4.4 lbs) over a 12-week period (4Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).
In one study, middle-aged overweight and obese participants who drank water before each meal lost 44% more weight, compared to a group that did not drink more water (4Trusted Source).
Another study also showed that drinking water before breakfast reduced the amount of calories consumed during the meal by 13% (12Trusted Source).
Although this may be very beneficial for middle-aged and older people, studies of younger individuals have not shown the same impressive reduction in calorie intake.
BOTTOM LINE:
Drinking water before meals may reduce appetite in middle-aged and older individuals. This decreases calorie intake, leading to weight loss.
Drinking More Water is Linked to Reduced Calorie Intake and a Lower Risk of Weight Gain
Since water is naturally calorie-free, it is generally linked with reduced calorie intake.
This is mainly because you then drink water instead of other beverages, which are often high in calories and sugar (13Trusted Source, 14Trusted Source, 15Trusted Source).
Observational studies have shown that people who drink mostly water have up to a 9% (or 200 calories) lower calorie intake, on average (16Trusted Source, 17Trusted Source).
Drinking water may also help prevent long-term weight gain. In general, the average person gains about 1.45 kg (3.2 lbs) every 4 years (18Trusted Source).
This amount may be reduced by:
- Adding 1 cup of water: Increasing your daily water consumption by 1 cup may reduce this weight gain by 0.13 kg (0.23 lbs).
- Replacing other drinks with water: Substituting a serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage with 1 cup of water may reduce the 4-year weight gain by 0.5 kg (1.1 lbs).
It is especially important to encourage children to drink water, as it can help prevent them from becoming overweight or obese (17Trusted Source, 3Trusted Source).
A recent, school-based study aimed to reduce obesity rates by encouraging children to drink water. They installed water fountains in 17 schools and provided classroom lessons about water consumption for 2nd and 3rd graders.
After one school year, the risk of obesity had been reduced by a whopping 31% in the schools where water intake was increased (19Trusted Source).
BOTTOM LINE:
Drinking more water may lead to decreased calorie intake and reduce the risk of long-term weight gain and obesity, especially in children.
How Much Water Should You Drink?
Many health authorities recommend drinking eight, 8-oz glasses of water (about 2 liters) per day.
However, this number is completely random. As with so many things, water requirements depend entirely on the individual (20).
For example, people who sweat a lot or exercise regularly may need more water than those who are not very active.
Older people and breast-feeding mothers also need to monitor their water intake more closely (21Trusted Source).
Keep in mind that you also get water from many foods and beverages, such as coffee, tea, meat, fish, milk, and especially fruits and vegetables.
As a good rule of thumb, you should always drink water when you’re thirsty, and drink enough to quench your thirst.
If you find you have a headache, are in a bad mood, are constantly hungry or have trouble concentrating, then you may suffer from mild dehydration. Drinking more water may help fix this.
Based on the studies, drinking 1-2 liters of water per day should be sufficient to help with weight loss.
Here’s how much water you should drink, in different measurements:
- Liters: 1–2.
- Ounces: 34–67.
- Glasses (8-oz): 4–8.
However, this is just a general guideline. Some people may need less, while others may need a lot more.
Also, it is not recommended to drink too much water either, as it may cause water toxicity. This has even caused death in extreme cases, such as during water drinking contests.
BOTTOM LINE:
According to the studies, 1–2 liters of water per day is enough to assist with weight loss, especially when consumed before meals.
Benefits of Drinking Water and How It Helps You Lose Weight

You probably know that when you want to lose weight it’s a good idea to choose a diet plan, cut back on calories and add exercise. But what most people don’t know is that there are so many health benefits of drinking water and it should actually be a part of your diet regime. But what if you aren’t really a fan of drinking water? I know for me I need to trick myself into liking water. On occasion, I add what I can to water to make it taste more flavorful. But when I check out the ingredients on some of these flavored drink mixes, I notice many ingredients that are banned from Whole Foods. No thanks, I’m trying to get healthier and these chemicals are not how I want to do it. It also turns out that people who drink fake sugars in zero calorie drinks actually gain weight instead of lose weight1.
You can imagine how happy I was to find 310 Lemonade. Not only does it make water taste great but it also has an appetite suppression to help me with my weight loss goals.
The Health Benefits of Drinking Water
Studies suggest that people who actually drink water before they eat, actually lose more weight than those people who don’t add water2. It’s important to drink two cups of water, half an hour before eating, just like they did in the studies. Not only does it make you more full before a meal so you eat less, but by choosing a healthier drink like water, you’re also decreasing your calorie intake3. Sounds like a bonus to me!

Is it Hunger or is it Thirst?
It also turns out that sometimes we confuse thirst with being hungry. So when we reach out for potato chips in reality we should be reaching out for a tall glass of water. Those are added calories we’re consuming for no good reason. If you stay hydrated throughout the day, you can avoid overeating4. So before you crave that midday or end of day snack, have a glass of water first. Wait 30 minutes. And if you’re not hungry any more, it might have meant you were just thirsty and saved yourself some unwanted calories.
Water Burns Calories
In some studies, they found that overweight and obese children had a 25% increase in resting energy after drinking cold water. This means you increase the amount of calories you burn. They also found that adults increased their resting energy by 24-30% within 10 minutes of drinking water5. By this point, it sure sounds like drinking more water really is the way to go for a successful diet plan.

Water Improves Your Exercise
I bet you didn’t know this, but drinking water can affect your workouts. People that are dehydrated do less reps and feel tired more quickly when exercising6. This can be the difference between burning a lot more calories or not. I had no idea. Now that I do, I will be sure to drink more water next time I’m at the gym.