You’ve heard the advice: Drink 8 glasses of water a day. In reality, our bodies need about 12 cups of water daily.
Does that sound like a lot? Compared to other animals, our bodies are extremely efficient at using water. Many animals require much more. For example, shrews need to drink their entire body weight in water daily to survive.
Despite our body’s low need for water, hitting our hydration goals is hard, and chronic dehydration is common. Nearly half of Americans are chronically dehydrated. In the hustle and bustle, we forget that drinking water should be near the top of our to-do list.
In the heat of the summer, our risk of dehydration drastically increases.
So today, we’re diving into the bottom of your water bottle. You’ll learn what hydration has to do with fat loss, what happens when we’re dehydrated, and my favorite hydration hacks to help you reach your health goals faster.
What Does Hydration Have to Do With Fat Loss?
Hydration affects your body composition in several ways:
First, it affects digestion. When your body is dehydrated, it can’t easily flush out and remove waste from your body. When waste builds up in the body, you’ll feel bloated, swollen, and tired.
Second, it’s involved in muscle function. Your muscle tissue is about 70% water. Drinking enough water will help your muscles stay elastic and prevent fatigue. Additionally, proper hydration will keep your body from breaking down muscle for fuel instead of burning fat.
Third, it increases lipolysis. Without water, your body can’t metabolize stored fat or carbohydrates. This process is called lipolysis. Water molecules in your body trigger the first step of this fat-burning process.
Fourth, it increases metabolism. One study found that people who drank 500mL of water burned 3% more calories in the following 90 minutes.
Fifth, it increases insulin sensitivity. Water aids in insulin sensitivity in several ways. For example, adequate hydration increases blood volume, which naturally dilutes the concentration of sugar in your bloodstream. This makes it easier for insulin to manage and transport the remaining glucose to your cells.
Sixth, it leads to better workouts. Water helps your muscles, connective tissues, joints, lungs, and heart to move and work correctly. Dehydration during workouts leads to muscle cramps and fatigue.
Seventh, water is a natural appetite suppressant, creating a feeling of fullness. It helps reduce other high-calorie liquids (replace that soda with a glass of sparkling water!).
Summer: The Season of Dehydration
Your risk of dehydration drastically increases during summer months. Hot weather, high humidity, and the hustle of summer activities cause our bodies to lose water much faster.
Summer heat leads to more sweating. And even if sweaty isn’t your style, your body is trying to help. Your sweat glands are working overtime to regulate your body temperature. Unless you’re replenishing your body, sweating during the summer will deplete your body of its water and vital electrolytes (like sodium and potassium).
Sweating isn’t your body’s only survival tactic in the hot weather. Your breathing rate also increases in the heat, which causes you to lose more moisture vapor as you exhale. Then, by the time you feel thirsty, your body is already dehydrated.
The solution? Staying ahead with these hydration hacks.
Hydration Hacks to Boost Fat Loss
Boost your energy and weight loss this summer with these four hydration hacks.
🍹 Drink Before You Dine
Drinking water on an empty stomach allows your body to absorb it faster, quickly raising your blood volume and restoring fluid balance. That’s why a big glass of water first thing in the morning feels so rejuvenating.
In addition to your morning glass, grab your water before you eat. Water before a meal can help with weight loss in two ways:
- Reduced overeating: Our bodies signal to our brains that we’re full when our stomachs reach a certain stretching point. Water physically takes up space in your stomach, helping you feel fuller faster and preventing overeating.
- Thirst check: Sometimes hunger and thirst signals cross wires, especially if you’re experiencing a strong craving. When a craving hits, drink a large glass of water and wait 20 minutes to see if your body really wanted water.
The How To: Keep a glass of water in your kitchen close to the fridge (or in your lunchbox). It’ll be your visual reminder to drink water before a meal or when cravings hit.
🍹 Add Apple Cider Vinegar
This is an old trick, but now we know more about why it works.
Apple cider vinegar contains this special active component called acetic acid. It’s what gives vinegar its distinctive pungent smell and sour taste.
It turns out that acetic acid is excellent at balancing blood sugar. The benefits are fourfold:
- Slower carb digestion: Acetic acid inhibits enzymes in your gut that break down starches. That means less sugar is absorbed from your meal into your bloodstream.
- Delayed gastric emptying: Acetic acid slows down food as it leaves your stomach. Glucose, then, enters your bloodstream more gradually.
- Improved insulin sensitivity: Acetic acid helps your muscles and liver respond to insulin and clear excess glucose more efficiently.
- Reduced liver glucose production: Acetic acid may also lower the amount of glucose released by your liver overnight, improving your fasting blood sugar levels.
A little apple cider vinegar before dinner will help to stabilize blood sugar, which will decrease the amount of fat you store. It will improve your insulin sensitivity and prevent post-meal glucose spikes.
The How To: Never drink apple cider vinegar straight. Instead, mix 1 or 2 tablespoons of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar into a large glass of water.
On hot summer evenings, enjoy this Sparkling Apple Cider Vinegar Limeade.
🍹 Stir In an Electrolyte Supplement
Hydration is crucial for fat loss, but drinking plain water isn’t always enough. Your body needs electrolytes (minerals like sodium, potassium, and magnesium) to maintain proper fluid balance, muscle function, and energy levels.
When your body has adequate electrolytes, you won’t have as many cravings, your metabolism will strengthen, and your workout performance will improve.
The How To: Treat yourself to a tasty electrolyte water every day. You can keep it simple or make it as special as you like! Add a packet or scoop to your morning water bottle. Or beat the heat with a hydrating mocktail or electrolyte popsicles.
🍹 Fill Up on Hydrating Foods
Summer brings an abundance of delicious, hydrating foods and drinks to help you stay hydrated. Keep these in your lunchbox, bring them to picnics, or snack on them at the ballfield.
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Strawberries
- Avocados
- Pickles
- Yogurt
- Watermelon juice
- Aloe vera juice
- Coconut water
The Glass is Half-Full!
Good news. Water, the free, flavorless resource at your fingertips, can help you reach your weight loss goals. Research shows that hydration should be a central part of your health plan.
Try these summertime hydration hacks and watch them work.
For more practical weight loss steps you can actually follow long term, join LEAN. We’re all about realistic habits that fit your real, busy, and changing life. Come see for yourself. Join us.
