Water – The Simplest Weight Loss Tool Of All!

By now we all know that drinking enough water is essential to good health. It keeps us hydrated, and this can easily be seen and felt in a person's eyes and skin. A healthy person should drink between 8 and ten glasses of water in a day.

But did you know that drinking enough water can also help you lose weight? It's not a miracle cure, of course – no more than a handy little trick, really. But if you're trying to lose a few pounds, or to break some unhealthy eating habits, consider the following:

A lot of people think that they're hungry when they're actually thirsty. And they say that by the time you feel thirsty, you're already dehydrated – so prevent dehydration and hunger confusion by drinking enough water in the first place! If you find yourself craving 'wet' food – such as ice cream, or something that's 'dripping' in butter – do yourself a favor: drink a glass of water first. Did the craving go away? Chances are that it did – and that's a sure sign that you have a tendency to mistake thirst for hunger. Make it a habit to stay hydrated by drinking throughout the day, and drink a glass of water before you eat.

Furthermore, drinking enough water can make you feel fuller. For some people, this is enough to keep from snacking between meals and eating excessively. If you're eating food with a high fiber content – which is, by the way, another great way to lose weight – then drinking enough water is an even better idea. It causes the fiber to expand in your stomach, giving you the illusion that you've eaten more than you have. You could say that fiber and water together act as a sort of appetite suppressant, in a sense.

If you have a habit of snacking or 'picking' at food while you do certain activities, try a glass of water instead. Many of us are overweight because of a very bad habit – picking or 'grazing' at food, maybe while cooking or watching TV. The calories that you eat in this way add up very quickly, and the worst part is that you're probably unaware of how much you're eating. One of the best ways to kick this habit is to give your hands and mouth something else to do. Presumably, in this day and age, you don't want to take up smoking – giving up excessive eating for potential lung cancer is hardly a fair trade. But taking sips from a nice cold glass of water just might do the trick – there are so many benefits to it that it's worth a try, anyway. Put the water in a nice glass and add an ice cube. For a change, you can try fizzy mineral water with a slice of lemon.

Whether or not these weight loss techniques work for you, it is well worth your while to get into the habit of drinking enough water. Eight to ten glasses a day might seem like a lot at first – you might need to force yourself to finish them. After a while, however, your body gets used to it and you miss those eight glasses if you fall a little short one day. There are multiple benefits aside from weight loss. For instance, drinking enough water helps keep your skin hydrated and pure. If you wear contact lenses and suffer from 'dry eyes', you may be surprised to find that this problem goes away after you start drinking enough water. The reason some people don't have enough tears is simply because they don't have enough water in their systems to produce enough.

As long as you drink enough water, it generally doesn't make much difference whether you buy it, filter it at home, or drink it straight from the tap (provided that the drinking water in your community is safe, according to the local health authority). Over the past few years, the emphasis on bottled water has become a little excessive. There's really no need to spend money on your water, however.

All in all, there's no reason not to drink enough water, and every reason to do so. It may very well help you lose weight, but even if it doesn't, your overall health will still benefit.