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Conference rocks::weight_control

Title: Weight Loss and Maintenance
Notice:**PLEASE** enter notes in mixed case (CAPS ARE SHOUTING)!
Moderator:ASICS::LESLIE
Created:Tue Jul 10 1990
Last Modified:Tue Jun 03 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:933
Total number of notes:9931

727.0. "Drink More WATER!" by DENVER::DAVISGB (I'd rather be driving my Jag) Fri Mar 06 1992 02:08

    
    (I wrote this as a response to the WATER note, but decided that it
    needs it's own topic after reading many other notes.  I think drinking
    water has been *THE* most important thing in my weight loss, more than
    cutting down fats, salt, etc....)
    
    I just opened this conference and turned to this note on water first. 
    After having a physical in mid February, I took the advice of my
    doctor, and am 1/5th of the way toward my goal of losing 50 lbs.
    
    One of the things that has REALLY helped me is drinking a LOT of water. 
    I checked it out with my doctor, told him about the following paper,
    and he agrees wholeheartedly.
    
    Besides, I *like* taking a break from work to run to the potty ten
    times a day.... 8')
    
    Read on, and enjoy
    
    
    			HEALTH REPORT: WATER
    		How Eight Glasses a Day Keeps Fat Away
    
    	Incredible as it may seem, water is quite possibly the single most
    important catalyst in losing weight and keeping it off.  Although most
    of us take it for granted, water may be the only true "Magic Potion"
    for permanent weight loss.
    	Water suppresses the appetite naturally and helps the body
    metabolize stored fat.  Studies have shown that a decrease in water
    intake will cause fat deposits to increase, while an increase in water
    intake can actually reduce fat deposits.
    	Here's why:  the kidneys cannot function properly without enough
    water.  When they do not work to capacity, some of their load is dumped
    on the liver.
    One of the liver's primary functions is to metabolize stored fat into
    usable energy for the body.  But, if the liver has to do some of the
    kidney's work, it cannot work at full throttle.  As a result, it
    metabolizes less fat, more fat remains stored in the body and weight
    loss stops.
    	Drinking enough water is the best treatment for fluid retention. 
    When the body gets less water, it perceives this as a threat to
    survival and begins to hold every drop. Water is stored in
    extracellular spaces (outside the cells).  This shows up as swollen
    feet, hands, and legs.  Diuretics offer a temporary solution at best. 
    They force out stored water along with some essential nutrients. 
    Again, the body perceives a threat and will replace the lost water at
    the first opportunity.  Thus, the condition quickly returns.  The best
    way to overcome the problem of water retention is to give your body
    what it needs --- plenty of water.  Only then will stored water be
    released.
    	If you have a constant problem with water retention, excess salt
    may be to blame.  Your body will tolerate sodium only in certain
    concentrations.  The more salt you eat, the more water your system
    retains to dilute it.  But getting rid of unneeded salt is easy - drink
    water.  As it is forced through the kidneys, it removes excess sodium.
    	The overweight person needs more water then the thin one.  Larger
    people have larger metabolic loads.  Since we know that watyer is the
    key to fat metabolism,  it follows that the overweight person needs
    more water.
    	Water helps to maintain proper muscle tone, by giving muscles their
    natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration.  It also
    helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss. 
    Shrinking cells are bouyed by water which plums the skin and leaves it
    clear, healthy, and resilient.
    	Water helps rid the body of waste.  In weight loss, the body has
    more waste to get rid of - all that metabolized fat must be shed. 
    Again, water helps flush out waste.
    	Water can help relieve constipation.  When the body gets too little
    water, it siphons what it needs from internal sources.  The colon is a
    primary source.  Result?  Constipation.  But when a person drinks
    enough water, normal bowel function returns.
    	So far, we have discovered some remarkable truths about water and
    about weight loss:  the body will not function properly without enough
    water and cannot metabolize stored fat efficiently.  Retained water
    shows up as excess weight.  To get rid of excess water you must drink
    more water.  Drinking water is essential to weight loss.  How much
    water is enough?  On the average a person should drink eight 8 oz.
    glasses a everyday.  However, the overweight person needs one
    additional glass for every 25 lb of excess weight.  The amount that you
    drink should be absorbed if you exercise or if the weather hot and dry. 
    Water should  preferably be cold -- it's absorbed more quickly into the
    system than warm water.  Some evidence suggests that drinking cold
    water can actually burn calories.  To use water efficiently during
    weight loss,  follow this schedule:
    
    	o Morning: 1 quart over 30 minutes
    	o Noon:    1 quart over 30 minutes
    	o Evening: 1 quart between 5 and 6 pm
    
    When the body gets it needs to function optimally,  its fluids are
    perfectly balanced.  When this happens, you have reached the
    "breakthru point".  What does this mean?  Endocrine gland function
    improves.  Fluid retention is alleviated as stored water is lost.  More
    fat is used as fuel because the liver is free to metabolize stored fat. 
    Natural thirst returns.  There is a loss of hunger almost overnight. 
    If you stop drinking enough water,  your body fluids will be thrown out
    of balance again and you may experience fluid retention, unexplained
    weight gain and loss of thirst.  To remedy this situation you have to
    go back and force another breakthru.
    
    
    
    
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
727.1RANGER::PESENTIOnly messages can be draggedFri Mar 06 1992 14:005
    
>>    Besides, I *like* taking a break from work to run to the potty ten
>>    times a day.... 8')
    
Not to mention how many calories the "run" burns off!
727.2Gotta go....!DENVER::DAVISGBI'd rather be driving my JagFri Mar 06 1992 22:076
    Hey!  I never thought of that...and the little boys room is at the
    other end of the building, too!
    
    Down one more pound this morning....
    
    
727.3MILKWY::ZARLENGAmiss, I coulda gotten that for yaSun Mar 08 1992 11:0611
    Just don't get carried away with the idea.  Overdoing it could make
    you not feel well (hyponatremia, hypocalcemia, etc) if you're healthy
    or it could kill you if you have a kidney disfunction.  Overdoing it
    would be more than 16 glasses of water while not thirsty.

    That line about the kidneys not functioning without enough water is
    out of place.  Long before that happens, you'll have been thirsty
    for hours.

    And remember, if you eat fruits and vegetables, you'll get lots of
    water from them.
727.4Source?MCIS5::CORMIERWed Mar 11 1992 23:104
    .0, can you quote the source of this information, or is it something
    you authored?  Also, how long does it take to get to "breakthru"? One
    day?  Several days?
    S
727.5PINCK::GREENLong Live the Duck!!!Fri Mar 13 1992 00:5010
    
    I have a copy of this article, the gym at my apartment complex had it
    on the wall.  It is authored by Donald S. Robertson, M.D.,M.S.c,
    whoever that is.
    
    If anyone wants a copy, send me e-mail and an internal address and I
    will mail you a copy.
    
    Amy
    
727.6WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE???FSOA::JGARDINEROpen Services ProgramMon Mar 23 1992 18:5010
    What value (if any) does the water (liquid) in coffee, orange juice, or
    any other mixed drinks (including booze) contribute to (or take away from)
    your water quota for the day?
    
    I understand that caffiene doesn't contribute to displacing fat, but
    the water that it is mixed with may???
    
    Thanks
    
     
727.7I VOTE THAT THEY COUNT!!YAHOOS::VASQUEZMon Mar 23 1992 23:319
I bet that you get several opinions on this one---

The nutritionist I work with says that liquid is liquid is liquid.  The caffiene 
in sodas and coffee is not particularly good for you, and even detrimental is
some cases, but the liquid counts as part of your overall intake.  :-) 

(I know, though, that other specialists don't necessarily share her feelings!) 

-jer
727.8re:.6MILKWY::ZARLENGAhow'd ya ever score so much?!Tue Mar 24 1992 04:1612
    Water in foods counts as water in your diet.
    
    However, with foods like coffee, you also consume a pretty strong
    diuretic (caffeine), so that you actually LOSE water from your body.
    Alcohol will also cause you to lose water, because it takes plenty
    of water to metabolize alcohol, more than is in a drink, even a dilute
    drink like beer.
    
    Water doesn't displace fat, dissolve fat, or do anything else magical.
    
    You need water on hand to metabolize fat, but once you have enough,
    any additional water is pretty much useless and will be excreted.
727.9Osmotic PressureESCROW::ROBERTSTue Mar 24 1992 20:4718
    A friend of mine who is a physician told me sometyhing interesting
    about water in foods, water in soda, etc.  She said what you have to
    think about is a process called osmotic pressure.  WHat this means,
    simply, is that if you have one solution that has lots of sugar, salt,
    whatever dissolved in it, and you place it next to a solution with a
    lesser concentration, and separate them with a permeable membrane, then
    the solutions will tend to equalize , i.e., the more concentrated one
    will become less concentrated by drawing water from the other.  In
    terms of your body, if you drink a very concentrated solution, then it
    will draw water from your body in this process of equalizing.  So, for
    instance, if you drink soda, you will actually lose water from your
    body.  Why?  Because soda is a very concentrated sugar solution -- the
    average can of soda contains 10 - 12 teaspoons of sugar -- and this
    highly concentrated solution will attempt to absorb water to equalize
    itself with the fluids in your body.  
    
    Ever notice that one can of soda makes you thirsty for another, and
    another, and another.....?
727.10is he a physician, or a medical student?MILKWY::ZARLENGAhow'd ya ever score so much?!Wed Mar 25 1992 03:5012
    Your physician friend is wrong.
    
    The process of osmosis is certainly applicable to cell membranes,
    HOWEVER, and this is key, cells are more than just a membrane.
    They cannot intake or release fluids in strict accordance with
    osmotic pressure.
    
    If cell membranes passed fluids to cells strictly according to
    omsotic pressure, the cells in your stomach would burst, those in
    your extremeties would dry up.  As you know, this doesn't happen.
    
    He's misapplying his knowledge of osmosis.
727.11ASICS::LESLIEDigital - we're #2Wed Mar 25 1992 11:0210
    .9 Soda can make you thirsty when it contains sugar. Some so-called
    healthy drinks in the UK have so much sugar in (Lucozade 'Sport' for
    instance) that the stomach has to pull water out of the bloodstream in
    order to digest the sugar. Eventually the water is released back to
    your body, but drinking such drinks when you are already dehydrated is
    a bad idea.
    
    Caveat emptor!
    
    /andy
727.12everything is more complicated ESCROW::ROBERTSWed Mar 25 1992 16:418
    re .10
    
    I did not mean to imply that osmotic pressure was the only process
    going on in your body, and if you took my note to mean that, then
    I'm sorry.  As for my friend, she did not imply this to me either.
    Yes, "she" -- not all physicians are male, in case you've not noticed.
    
    
727.13HEYYOU::ZARLENGAsee ya, wouldn't wanna be yaWed Mar 25 1992 20:131
    Well, I guess that explains it.
727.14HEYYOU::ZARLENGAno, I said "sheep dip"Tue Mar 31 1992 22:423
    A response to the woman who finds .13 (and I quote) "HIGHLY OFFENSIVE."
    
    If you feel that was a comment on the doctor's gender, you're mistaken.
727.15Huh?ESCROW::ROBERTSTue Mar 31 1992 22:463
    So, someone else found it offensive too?  
    
    Perhaps you'd care to explain just what you meant...
727.16ASICS::LESLIEAndy LeslieTue Mar 31 1992 23:174
    That seemed obvious to me. He was referring to the first part of the
    previous note.
    
    /a
727.17NOW KIDS......YAHOOS::VASQUEZWed Apr 01 1992 00:454
Gosh, for a moment I thought that I was in Soapbox.  ;-)  (It gave me quite
a start, too.)

-jer
727.18Soda WaterSMAC::MACARTHURSun Apr 05 1992 01:284
    Does any one know if there are any problems with substituting flavored 
    soda water for plain water. I find drinking so much plain water a day
    gets boring. The flavored soda waters provide a variety which makes it
    easier to drink different flavor once you get tired of one.
727.19MILKWY::ZARLENGAFREEZE! ...drop the duck.Sun Apr 05 1992 01:583
    Isn't soda water just carbonated water? 
    
    If so, there's no problem.
727.20waddah..DENVER::DAVISGBI'd rather be driving my JagThu May 07 1992 19:547
    The large bottles of water I have bought at the local crocery are
    grapefruit or other various flavors, and list 0 sodium, 0 calories,
    etc.
    
    Doesn't look like much difference between them and plain water, except
    the taste....they're rather cheap too!  95 cents for 50-60 ounces.
    
727.21water consumptionDECWET::WILKINSSat Aug 15 1992 01:539
About water - 

I have a severe health problem and must limit my intake of fluids - including
water.  I can have a maximum of 64 oz a day.  That includes water, milk, coffee,
juice, etc.  So just a note, don't drink water constantly.  You need to be aware
of your body and how it is reacting to whatever you do.  Drink some certainly,
but body can react adversely to anything, including water.

--karen
727.22strawsSMURF::HAECKDebby HaeckThu Jan 14 1993 20:419
    This is slightly off topic, but...

    Does anyone know where, or if, you can buy replacements for the straw
    that comes with those quart bottles?  I used one for a while, but the
    straw got dirty looking, and I found it difficult to impossible to
    clean.  

    Thanks
    Debby
727.23try a mini bottle brushSPEZKO::DESCHENESFri Jan 15 1993 23:224
    You can buy a very small "bottle cleaning" brush at a kitchen
    speciality store to clean the straw.  I bought one a few months ago,
    and it does the trick!