It’s stinking hot here is Samoa today. And as luck would have it we have experienced our first (of what according to locals will be frequent) water outage.
No water to wash the dishes, clothes, hands or have one of my daily cold showers to bring the temperature down a notch or two.
Fortunately (or unfortunately as the case may be) we don’t drink the water in Samoa unless it is boiled or bottled. So thankfully I have a stash of ice cold water waiting in the fridge and the freezer. Crisis averted.
Now what has this got to do with the fastest way to lose weight you ask?
What would you say if I said to you that staying hydrated – in particular drinking water – was the number one tip I could give you on how to lose weight? Would you believe me? Well it is definitely right up there – for many it is the difference between losing belly fat and achieving results, versus remaining stuck in their current weight loss rut.
Water performs a bunch of different (and super important) functions throughout the body. Helping out with food digestion, transportation of nutrients throughout the body, energizing your muscles, flushing toxins and bringing your body temperature into line to name a few.
But here is where a lack of hydration could be adding pounds of belly fat to your mid section.
Water curbs your appetite.
If you fail to drink your required dosage during the day – then your body will compensate for this. How? By increasing your food consumption. You will probably have noticed in the past that you feel much hungrier when you are dehydrated. What’s more… if you feel thirsty… you are probably already very dehydrated.
Your liver is less effective
Among other things, your liver is really crucial in metabolizing your fat stores for energy. But when you haven’t been downing enough H2O your kidneys start to struggle. So? Well, so the liver will be called upon to help out the struggling kidneys, meaning that the liver can’t metabolize that extra fat for energy. Net result? You will store more body fat that you could be using for energy.
Drink your water ICE COLD!
I love an ice cold water when the temperature creeps up over here, although that is more about temperature regulation than anything else. But here is a simple water trick that might also be a candidate for the fastest way to lose weight.
Drink your water ice cold. Room temperature water has zero calories… none whatsoever! So you can drink it as much as you please. However, recent research published in theInternational Journal of Obesity also demonstrated that cold water forces your body to work harder to warm up liquid that is cooler than you body temperature.
In the process of warming up this cold beverage your body is also burning off additional calories as heat energy!
Translated… this means that drinking your water ICE COLD is negative calories! Great news.