I Lost Four Pounds of Weight By Drinking This Much Water..

Did you know that you can lose weight by drinking more water? It’s true! Let me tell you how. 

If you’ve seen the Women’s Health magazine article floating around of a chick who took a “before and after” photo of her bloated belly, you’re probably relieved that all women experience bloat. 

I personally deal with it on a regular basis. If I feel bloated, my whole vibe shifts and I just don’t feel as tremendous as I do when I’m feeling light ‘n tight. 

There are a slew of reasons and possibilities that one may experience bloat. Anything from food intolerance, alcohol consumption, sodium or sugar levels in what we eat, the combination of food, our hormones, water retention, and even being dehydrated. Oh, and not to mention we can definitely feel bloated when we are backed up in our digestive tract. That’s the worst. I know you know what I’m talking about, ladies. 

Not only is belly bloat an issue, but all around puffiness can suck too. I’m extremely sensitive to sodium, so if I eat a dinner that has even slightly moderate levels of sodium, I’m waking up the next day with puffed eyes. Feeling puffy and bloated seriously sucks, so I want to share one way that I was able to de-bloat and actually lose more weight in the long haul. The best part? It’s without having to follow a strict diet. 

Water.

Yes, I lost four pounds of weight by drinking more water. How much you ask? 3 liters a day. Now this may sound a bit much, but if you’re consistently sipping on a 16oz glass throughout the day you can hit that goal easily. Also remember that everyone’s different, so you may not need that much. There were times when I didn’t even care about how much water I was drinking throughout the day. Now I literally measure it.

I decided to test out the ‘drinking more water’ theory recently when I arrived home from a trip to Asia. I remember feeling a bit bloated from being on a plane for 16 hours, and the time difference was making my digestion go bonkers. So, I upped my water intake for a week and weighed myself before and after. The result? Down 4 pounds. Now I knew that this was definitely water weight because I’m easily susceptible to fluctuating levels of water retention. I also noticed that increasing my water intake helped my digestion tremendously. We all know that when our digestion is running smoothly, we aren’t backed up. Which means we’re feelin’ and lookin’ good and losing our food baby. I pretty much lost that weight because it was a combination of water retention and food that was not eliminated. But by golly when you can shed yourself from this excess stuff that’s making you look bloated, you end up feeling fantastic.

It was actually quite easy to drink tons and tons of water throughout the day recently, as a bottled water brand that recently came across  my radar, Smeraldina, landed on my doorstep.

Sipping on this mineral rich water hailing from a Mediterranean island is actually what inspired me to share the impact that water has on our own weight and metabolism. I’m on the go quite frequently and I’m usually conscious of where I’m getting my water from (I do live in a big city and who knows what cafes or restaurants are sourcing their water from. Am I paranoid? Maybe).  So I was able to gallivant around town with bottles of Smeraldina on hand to make sure I was hydrated and not letting bloat get to me – hehe. But before I share more about this cool water brand, let me tell you how to lose weight by drinking more water. First thing’s first! 

Lose Weight By Drinking More Water

I know it may sound counter intuitive, but drinking more water indeed helps you lose water weight. There’s even studies that support it. Think about it, when you’re dehydrated, your body needs to retain water because it thinks you’re running out. So when you’re making sure that you’re always hydrated, youre body will not have to worry about holding onto the water that’s going through your system. Not only does drinking more water help keep you hydrated so that you’re not retaining water weight, there are so many other stellar reasons to drink more throughout the day for weight loss. Let’s break it down: 

• Drinking more water helps you burn more calories throughout the day: How does this work? A study has shown that drinking a liter of water can burn up to 50 calories. It’s not a ton, but when added to additional balanced lifestyle practices it can help you in the long run! A study in Berlin that Web MD highlights shares that after drinking 17 ounces of water, subjects rate of burning calories increased 30%. 
• May reduce cravings or appetite: By drinking water about 20-30 minutes before every meal, you may end up eating less than you usually would. This study showed that one group of adults who were overweight lost 44% more weight than the group that did not drink water before each meal. Sometimes if you’re feeling hungry, you’re actually thirsty. So try drinking a glass of water in between meals to see if your craving goes away. This is not a suggestion to skip meals and drink water instead – so don’t get it twisted. 
• Consuming more water may help you cleanse or detox your system: Remember when you were a child and came down with the flu? If your ma was like my ma, she probably told you to drink fluids throughout the day (aka water). Why? Because consuming enough water throughout the day supports vital organs like your kidneys, which is responsible for flushing out toxins from your body. 
• Can help you with constipation: Remember what I said earlier about being backed up? Yea – it’s a problem. I know SO many women who have the issue of not being regular, and one reason could be that you’re not drinking enough water. Some sources go on to say that increasing water intake could treat constipation, so drink up!

Why Do I Need To Drink 3 Liters of Water in Order To Lose Weight?

Listen, everyone is different. I was able to lose weight by drinking more water as well as incorporating additional balanced lifestyle practices into my routine (which I will write about in an article next week – I don’t want to ramble in one post for too long). Many health authorities say that drinking even 2 liters a day can make a difference. I drink closer to 3 liters a day because I work out and sweat daily (I am obsessed with hot yoga), so I need extra fluids. Take into consideration your individual needs to figure out how much you should be consuming. 

Balanced Babe Approved Brand To Help You Stay Hydrated? Smeraldina

Since I was able to sip on this water brand over the past week, it was quite easy to reach my goal of 3 L of water per day. I usually drink filtered tap water, but when I had these bottles stocked up, I hid my filter pitcher in the back of the fridge. 

Smeraldina is a brand of water that hails all the way from Italy. The beautiful island of Sardinia, to be exact. Did you know that Sardinia is the island of centenarians? I didn’t, so it must be a pretty dang healthy island. Smeraldina is bottled from a mountain on this island that is known as “The Mountain of Gods” and is naturally filtered through granite rocks. This means that it picks up rich minerals on the way. Oh and it’s also ranked as one of the best 10 waters in the world, the world! So I felt pretty fancy sipping on it all week. You can read more about them here.

If you’re more of a bottled water gal than a filtered tap water gal, this is an ideal brand to be drinking to get your daily water intake. It’s not just any ole’ bottled water, it’s specifically designed for the health-conscious community.

Potential Concerns

Be aware of how much water you’re consuming, drinking too much could also be an issue. Hyponatremia is a condition that occurs when the level of water is greater than the amount of sodium in your body. If you sweat a lot from working out or if you have an illness, you could experience excessive sodium loss. To prevent this from happening, make sure that you are eating a nutrient dense diet in addition to your water consumption. Also make sure that you are consuming beverages containing electrolytes after tough workouts. 

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Smeraldina and I was compensated for my time. All writings, creative direction, opinions and creation of this article are my own.