NEWB Question: How does drinking water lower bf%

[PRiSM92289]

I tried seraching for the answer to no avail. I drink a lot of water because its the 'right' thing to do (usually a gallon+ a day). However after drinking so much I think I might be retenting water in my stomach because I can usually see my stomach get a lil bigger (When i drink water I usually drink about 3 - 4 cups in a row). That would be obvious, but how exactly does water help reduce bf% if I am either gonna hold it or piss it out?

[Rune]

I tried seraching for the answer to no avail. I drink a lot of water because its the 'right' thing to do (usually a gallon+ a day). However after drinking so much I think I might be retenting water in my stomach because I can usually see my stomach get a lil bigger (When i drink water I usually drink about 3 - 4 cups in a row). That would be obvious, but how exactly does water help reduce bf% if I am either gonna hold it or piss it out?

Plain and simple, it doesn't...

[Def2k1]

It's not that drinking a lot of water specifically makes you lose body fat. There's a little bit more to it.

When you drink cold water, your body has to heat that water up. It's not ice cold when you piss is it? Anyway, it boosts your metabolism so that is where the fat burning part comes from. Also, drinking a lot of water PREVENTS water retention.

[PRiSM92289]

ok kinda makes sense thanks man

[monkeydan]

Yeah, it takes 1 calorie to raise the temperature of water by 1 degree celcius.

So the more ice-cold water you drink, the more evergy your body has to expend in heating it up.

Being fully hydrated also allows the liver to function optimally which aids in fat loss.

[Chipman]

What is really happening is that your body is flushing itself of the water it has been storing throughout all those years of "survival mode". It takes a while, but this is a beautiful thing happening to you. As you continue to give your body all the water it could ask for, it gets rid of what it doesn't need. It gets rid of the water it was holding onto in your ankles and your hips and thighs, maybe even around your belly. You are excreting much more than you realize. Your body figures it doesn't need to save these stores anymore; it's trusting that the water will keep coming, and if it does, eventually, the flushing (of both the body and the potty) will cease, allowing the human to return to a normal life.

bottom line bassically what it does is rid the body of excess fluid which makes you slimmer.

[Rune]

Yeah, it takes 1 calorie to raise the temperature of water by 1 degree celcius.

So the more ice-cold water you drink, the more evergy your body has to expend in heating it up.

Being fully hydrated also allows the liver to function optimally which aids in fat loss.

"Cal The unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C at 1 atmosphere pressure"

So you drink say 1 gallon of water a day = 8 pints = 8lbs = 3.63 kg

Now say you drink your water at a temperature of about 5 degrees C, this gets raised to 96 degrees C (body temp) = 91 degrees

so then 3.63 * 91 = 305.75 cals (give or take cuz your probably not at 1 atm)

Now since food is measured in kcals NOT cals you've only burned like .30575 calories according to food measurements. As you can clearly see, you've burned little to no calories by simply drinking water... it's there to keep you hydrated and to help partition nutrients to your body. Your body needs water to function well, thats the reasoning behind drinking it.. not because it makes you loose fat.

End Science lesson

[monkeydan]

"Cal The unit of heat equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C at 1 atmosphere pressure"

So you drink say 1 gallon of water a day = 8 pints = 8lbs = 3.63 kg

Now say you drink your water at a temperature of about 5 degrees C, this gets raised to 96 degrees C (body temp) = 91 degrees

so then 3.63 * 91 = 305.75 cals (give or take cuz your probably not at 1 atm)

Now since food is measured in kcals NOT cals you've only burned like .30575 calories according to food measurements. As you can clearly see, you've burned little to no calories by simply drinking water... it's there to keep you hydrated and to help partition nutrients to your body. Your body needs water to function well, thats the reasoning behind drinking it.. not because it makes you loose fat.

End Science lesson

He he, nice try.

1 kcal raises the temp of a kg (1 litre) of water by 1 degree C, 1 cal raises the temp of 1 g of water by 1 degree C.

Also, in case you hadn't noticed, human body temperature isn't 96 degrees C, Mr Science Guru. It's about 37 degrees C.

So raising the temp of 1kg (1 litre) of 5 degree C water to human temperature (an increase of 32 degrees C) would burn 32 kcal. If you drink 4 litres a day that would be an extra 128 kcal burnt, or 896 kcal a week. This equates to about a quarter of a pound of fat.

Of course you shouldn't base your weight loss efforts on water alone, and you're obviously right about the main benefits of water. The additional benefits of ice cold water on weight loss are a nice little bonus. And it's free!

EDIT: I think where you got confused is in the first quote you posted: when calorie is spelt with, or abbreviated to, a capital 'C' this denotes kcal, what normal people mean when they refer to a 'calorie'.

[bobburn]

i was about to explain why he was wrong too, rep to you.

[Rune]

He he, nice try.

1 kcal raises the temp of a kg (1 litre) of water by 1 degree C, 1 cal raises the temp of 1 g of water by 1 degree C.

Also, in case you hadn't noticed, human body temperature isn't 96 degrees C, Mr Science Guru. It's about 37 degrees C.

So raising the temp of 1kg (1 litre) of 5 degree C water to human temperature (an increase of 32 degrees C) would burn 32 kcal. If you drink 4 litres a day that would be an extra 128 kcal burnt, or 896 kcal a week. This equates to about a quarter of a pound of fat.

Of course you shouldn't base your weight loss efforts on water alone, and you're obviously right about the main benefits of water. The additional benefits of ice cold water on weight loss are a nice little bonus. And it's free!

EDIT: I think where you got confused is in the first quote you posted: when calorie is spelt with, or abbreviated to, a capital 'C' this denotes kcal, what normal people mean when they refer to a 'calorie'.

Yeah.. seemd alot off even while I was typing it... oh well, what can I say, I'm an idiot

[amjzzz]

At best it would be 128kcal per day for 4 liters. This is assuming your body is burning brown fat to heat up the water, when realistically it's mostly gonna be warmed up by excess heat. When you are in a warm environment how much brown fat does your body burn? I assume it's very little, I don't know the answer.. anyone got a biology book?

[monkeydan]

As far as I know, most (if not all) brown fat is lost in infancy. So brown fat would not be responsible for heating the water.

However, this isn't relevant anyway; the calories burnt are calories burnt. It's 24 hour calorie balance that dictates fat loss, so any extra calories burnt (in any form) will increase the calorific deficit and therefore increase weight loss. The energy to heat the water still has to come from somewhere.

[Andrew99]

At best it would be 128kcal per day for 4 liters. This is assuming your body is burning brown fat to heat up the water, when realistically it's mostly gonna be warmed up by excess heat. When you are in a warm environment how much brown fat does your body burn? I assume it's very little, I don't know the answer.. anyone got a biology book?

Doesn't matter. If the water wasn't heated up, your core temperature would go down. So effectively, you'll end up burning more calories to maintain your core temperature.

[iBswole]

you need water to sustain your increased metabolism. The other stuff about it warms the water is not enough for fat loss. You want high metabolism you'll need to drink alot of water to maintain that + your 6 meals with 40%protein in it.