Can Water Really Help You Lose Weight?

The short answer is YES, drinking the recommended amount of water per day can help you lose weight.

water is an appetite suppressant, drinking it before meals can make you feel fuller, therefore reducing the amount of food you eat. Health resource website WebMD states that drinking water before meals results in an average reduction in intake of 75 calories per meal. Drinking water before just one meal per day would cause you to ingest 27,000 fewer calories per year. Do the math: You’d lose about eight pounds per year just from drinking water! Now imagine if you drank it before each meal.

If you really want the water you drink to help you lose weight, you should follow the “8×8” rule recommended by most nutritionists: Drink eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day for weight loss and to maintain an ideal weight. You might need to drink more water if you exercise a lot or sweat heavily, or less water if you drink other beverages like herbal tea (make sure they are decaffeinated).