Water to Lose Weight

The Water Diet was developed by a professor and scientist. Many weight loss diets restrict what you can and can't eat, but the Water Diet only adds one small request onto your daily food and drink intake--drink more water. If you like drinking water and want to feel healthier, more energetic and lose weight, the Water Diet may work for your lifestyle.

How to Use the Water Diet

The Water Diet, developed by Douglas Silver Porter, revolves around the consumption of cold water, which makes the body use energy to warm itself up. According to the Water Diet, you should drink 64 ounces of water every day. This is the equivalent of eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day. The water should be at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit but can also be colder. The water should optimally contain electrolytes, but it can also be spring water or plain tap water that has been filtered. The water should not be carbonated, sweetened or flavored in any way.

What to Eat on the Water Diet

If you eat as you regularly do, without changing any dietary or exercise habits other than drinking 64 ounces of cold water, the idea is that you will lose between one and three pounds by the year's end. Although this may not sound like much, if you incorporate exercise and healthy foods into the diet, you can lose more. The majority of the food you eat every day should be fresh fruit and vegetables. Avoid canned food and opt for fresh instead. Round out your meals with lean protein, like chicken breast, lean pork, black beans and lean turkey.

Supressing Appetite With Water

According to dietitian Tanya Zuckerbrot, "Water helps to rid the body of toxins and chemicals that may be slowing down your overall metabolism." Zuckerbrot suggests drinking eight glasses of water per day to rid the body of harmful toxins and to suppress appetite. Dehydration often mimics hunger, so Zuckerbrot believes that drinking water as a first response to hunger pangs may eliminate the desire all together. According to dietitian Rachel Brandeis in Fitness magazine, water also speeds metabolism. Although she states that it may not lead to rapid or extreme weight loss, drinking a glass of water when you feel hungry may speed up your metabolism for a short period of time after drinking.