Losing Weight: Amount of Water Intake? + "Not Eating" = Weight Gain?

[Pacific]

hey guys. i have two questions, both concerning losing weight.

1. does the amount of water you consume matter? assuming your diet is good and you exercise, does it matter whether you think more water than you "need" ? does it matter if i drink an extra bottle of water or two a day? will it make me not lose as much weight, or put on extra unnecessary weight?

2. i hear talk of "if you starve yourself you actually become fatter" and i think this coincides with eating 4-5 small meals a day. is that true? lets say i dont eat anything until 2-4 PM (waking up at 6-7), but i still am eating healthy food in small portions for a diet, will i gain weight?

thank you if you can answer these questions

[doggery]

this all depends on if you just want to lose a bit of weight for you want to put muscle mass on as well but as far as i know its best to eat small meals every two hours starting from when you wake up if you have the discipline

[akro]

1. No
2. Staving yourself makes your body go into survival mode and it actually eats away at the muscle faster then it does at fat. Fat keeps you warm etc. It is better to eat 4 to 5 smaller meals a day.

What I do is a few pieces of fruit in the morning like and orange and a banana. Then depending if I'm at work I take more fruit for a snack. Lunch is generally a small sandwich and sometimes some chips. Small snack after work of nuts/seeds. And then a dinner of generally lean meat like chicken or fish with lots of salad/ steamed veges - red meat is ok just make sure to trim it.

My vice is late night snacks lol...... and the fact that baked goods are ALWAYS kept in the house -_-

[sisk]

Drinking more water will hydrate your cells and potentially increase their ability to do metabolism. So drinking plenty of water should help you lose weight, just don't drink too much since there is an natural limit to this effect and you might hurt your kidneys, in any case it's better then depriving your body of water for this purpose.

[Pacific]

ya i figured no was the answer to the water question even though i was worried about "water weight" and all that"

the problem with the "starving yourself" thing for me is that some mornings i wake up at like 6 and i have work from 7-2, sometimes later, and i wont get home until 4 or 5. BUT im going to go on this p90x system soon and i wont be able to do it until after work and i know its best to work out without eating anything so that your exercise burns stored fat instead of food you ate. so i feel like i could eat a quick something during the day, even a small thing like a granola bar, but then when i go to work out later in the day my workout will be less effective.

i CAN workout without eating but im afraid that this "starvation=gain weight" thing will hinder me and im not sure what to do

[jbombard]

Drinking more water will hydrate your cells and potentially increase their ability to do metabolism. So drinking plenty of water should help you lose weight, just don't drink too much since there is an natural limit to this effect and you might hurt your kidneys, in any case it's better then depriving your body of water for this purpose.

Pretty much this. Note though that water is heavy so if you weigh yourself after drinking a bunch of water you will weigh more. So try to weigh yourself on a schedule, so that the results can be more easily compared.

[Lotus55]

You should be drinking around 3l/day. You might notice that you "lose weight" when you don't drink as much although, it's really just you beeing dehydrated. Losing weight is a process that takes a long time, don't be discouraged if you don't see any results right away.

Here's a few tips.

losing weight means you have to consume less calories than you burn, calculate the amount of calories you need per day and stay below that amount and you will see results. Calculate the amount of calories in everything that you eat don't estimate, weigh it, if you don't have a kitchen scale, get one.

Eat healthy, avoid fat food and products will alot of sugar, don't drink high calorie beverages. Eat alot of vegetables it fills your stomache and you will feel really full even though you haven't consumed that many calories in the process.

Here's a good video on why you should't drink high calorie beverages. And i recommend you subscribe to this channel and watch ALL of the videos on it. He have alot of good content that i think you will find very interesting. I whish you the best of luck!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAFdWifkt0E

[akro]

Well.... P90X is some insane shit. I did the insanity workout for about 6 weeks ( roughly halfway through) and the biggest problem I had was its just so damn boring. Just be sure to hydrate hydrate hydrate!

[caninepawprints]

I've been told drinking large quantities of water causes weight loss, but I believe this is because it fills your stomach. If your stomach is full, you won't feel hungry, so you likely won't eat.

"Starvation mode" is a misleading term. You aren't going to starve if you stop eating for a few days. You could stop eating for a week and you still wouldn't be in starvation mode. In fact, there are people who go on 40-day fasts who never enter starvation mode. As long as your body has fat on it, it's going to be consumed for energy. Once that's gone, then you're well and truly starving. What people are referring to is a mechanism in the body where it slows down your metabolism after a few days (and it does take a few days for it to be activated) because it realizes it's not getting sustenance. It's going to conserve what it already has and use it sparingly. It's a survival mechanism, not a starvation mechanism. As long as you're eating everyday, even if it's only two meals, you won't activate this mechanism (though your metabolism will slow down after about three days).

People really need to do their research before parroting what they've heard from other people.

[Rennadrel]

Hydrating your body is important. I drink 2L of water in an 8 hour work shift alone, then I come home and I drink probably another 1.5L of water between exercise, dinner and bed time. I work in a factory mind you and it can get warm, especially in the summer. Keeping your body hydrated and your muscles energized is important. Your body needs protein and healthy carbs in order to recover from workouts. Consider getting protein powder and making shakes for post workout, your body is less likely to crash on you when you are working out nearly every day doing P90X. My regiment has been 4-6 times a week the last couple of months, I have burned off some fat and put on muscle between weight lifting and running, so my weight isn't changing very drastically, but I have noticed it in my waist size for sure, I was wearing a snug 44 inch waist in December, now I can wear a 42. Eating right and giving your body the proper vitamins is key to keeping your muscles healthy. Multivitamins are good to have, and with exercise various B type vitamins are great for your muscles but you don't want to overdo it in that regard so if you take a 2000mg multivitamin twice a day, you don't need additional vitamins.

Also bear in mind that water weighs a lot as well and you are going to find yourself in Flushing Meadows quite often so to speak because your body is constantly draining out water. Don't weigh yourself after having consumed copious amounts of water, you are better off doing it first thing in the morning after you have drained the tank. Liquids always add to your weight, so it's something to keep in mind when weighing yourself that water fills you up and bloats you, however I don't believe that it stops you from being hungry, you just won't eat as much.

[Jaxsz]

I've been told drinking large quantities of water causes weight loss, but I believe this is because it fills your stomach. If your stomach is full, you won't feel hungry, so you likely won't eat.

"Starvation mode" is a misleading term. You aren't going to starve if you stop eating for a few days. You could stop eating for a week and you still wouldn't be in starvation mode. In fact, there are people who go on 40-day fasts who never enter starvation mode. As long as your body has fat on it, it's going to be consumed for energy. Once that's gone, then you're well and truly starving. What people are referring to is a mechanism in the body where it slows down your metabolism after a few days (and it does take a few days for it to be activated) because it realizes it's not getting sustenance. It's going to conserve what it already has and use it sparingly. It's a survival mechanism, not a starvation mechanism. As long as you're eating everyday, even if it's only two meals, you won't activate this mechanism (though your metabolism will slow down after about three days).

People really need to do their research before parroting what they've heard from other people.

I like this guy. This is pretty accurate.

"Starvation mode" is one of the most BS and misused things around. You won't be entering "starvation mode" if you don't eat for 16 hours, or even 72 hours. It takes a very long time.

Even after weeks your body will still mostly consume body fat, even if you're eating nothing. Muscle will be catabolized but not at nearly the rate people like to think. That said, it's obviously not the healthiest route but what you're describing with not eating until later after you've finished P90X honestly sounds very very good, if anything.

Also, I think you're misunderstanding the reasoning behind working out while fasted. There is a lot of research to support it - and I agree with it - and if you're interested in delving into it further, check out leangains.com as a good starting point.

However, the point of it isn't to burn the body fat on your instead of the food you ate. That really doesn't matter. If you instead burned all of the food you ate for the day while working out, then the rest of the day (and especially when sleeping and then in the morning before you eat again) you'll be fasted and burning a lot of body fat. It's really fine either way.

[Rabidewok]

Slightly OT, relating to other posts but drinking too much water before a meal may fill you up, but it can also cause digestive issues as water dilutes your natural digestive enzymes.

Drinking water is good and healthy, do so with the intention to re-hydrate rather than purely to lose weight. Get in the habit of drinking water regularly and you'll feel much better without the need for pick-me-ups like sugar and caffeine. If it's too boring for you to get into the habit, try naturally flavouring the water with lemon or lime.

Eating small, healthy portions can speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight long-term. It also can curb binges and keep you energized without feeling like you're completely carb starved. A good rule of thumb is more fruits & grain in the morning, protein in the afternoon then leaning towards veggies in the evening.

Don't ever intentionally starve yourself, it's completely unnecessary. If this is a path you want to take, never fast unsupervised. Always discuss with a medical professional. You know your body, but maybe not well enough to know that a drop in blood sugars could be seriously damaging to your well-being.

Try treating your goals as 'getting healthy' rather than 'losing weight'. Nourish your organs and muscles! Remember, you only get one body so treat it right!

Good luck

[Harzaka]

1. No
2. Staving yourself makes your body go into survival mode and it actually eats away at the muscle faster then it does at fat. Fat keeps you warm etc. It is better to eat 4 to 5 smaller meals a day.

What I do is a few pieces of fruit in the morning like and orange and a banana. Then depending if I'm at work I take more fruit for a snack. Lunch is generally a small sandwich and sometimes some chips. Small snack after work of nuts/seeds. And then a dinner of generally lean meat like chicken or fish with lots of salad/ steamed veges - red meat is ok just make sure to trim it.

My vice is late night snacks lol...... and the fact that baked goods are ALWAYS kept in the house -_-

1. Water intake does matter. Drink atleast 3 liters.
2. Starvation mode is a myth, but you will lose alot of muscle. And no, you dont need to eat breakfast / 6 small meals a day.
There is nothing wrong with late night snacks. Carbs at night dont make you fat, a high caloric intake makes yo ufat.