Have you ever been told that if you’re looking for appetite suppression, you should drink more water? Sounds like nonsense, doesn’t it? After all, water is just…water. It doesn’t have any calories. It doesn’t have any taste. How could it possibly help you to control those hunger pangs that make it very difficult to control your impulses to eat?
The truth is that water is one of the most effective means of natural appetite suppression available to dieters. Moreover, it is extremely healthy and highly affordable, too. There are many reasons to explain why keeping yourself hydrated is a great way to control your appetite and to enjoy other diet-friendly benefits, too. Consider the following to understand why you should be drinking more water throughout the day.
Why Water?
Your body is mostly water. Water is also the most important part of your body control center, the brain, which is made of fat and water. Water is important to the health of your body, as well as maintaining proper bodily function. Drinking the right amount of water can impact your body’s ability to lose weight.
Equally, not getting enough can cause you to gain weight. Proper hydration helps you maintain a healthy metabolism. To process foods correctly your body needs certain vitamins and nutrients to operate optimally.
This means that you need to be properly hydrated, and your body has the right water level. The average healthy adult male needs about 13 cups of water daily. The average healthy adult female needs about 9 cups of water daily.
Why is Hydration Important?
Drinking the right amount of water daily ensures that every system in your body including your metabolism is going to operate optimally. When and if you get hungry you can refocus by drinking water.
After all, every system in your body depends on water, so drinking more couldn’t hurt. Water flushes toxins out of vital organs, provides a moist environment for all your tissues, carries your nutrients to your cells, and enables weight loss. The best way to suppress your appetite is to drink water.
In fact, a lot of times when we are dehydrated your body thinks that you are hungry when in fact you are actually thirsty. It is a signal that is commonly crossed between the body and the brain. As much of the water we receive can be through food, many people feel hunger pangs in cases of thirst. As a result, if you drink more water throughout the day you will find yourself less hungry.
This will also help you to develop a better relationship with your eating habits. After all, if you are continually mistaking thirst for hunger, you’re eating unnecessarily. By enjoying the appetite suppression of keeping yourself hydrated, you’ll eat only when there is an actual need for food. The hunger that you do feel will in fact be hunger and not dehydration misinterpreted.
How to Enjoy Drinking Water for Appetite Suppression
Many people do not like the tastelessness of water or don’t enjoy the taste of their tap water. Many times, people who do not like the taste of water don’t realize that there are extremely simple and affordable ways to correct any flavors from chlorine, chloramines or city water pipes.
The first thing you can do is to purchase a charcoal filter. You can build a filtration system into your faucet, or you can much more affordably purchase a reusable water bottle with a charcoal filter built in. The charcoal naturally removes the taste from your water and will continue to do so for several months. This makes it a far more eco-friendly option than buying bottled water. Moreover, as bottled water is far less regulated than municipal water, you’re more likely to drink clean water if it is flowing from your tap than purchased in bottles.
How to Flavor Your Water Without Swamping Yourself with Calories
If you’re fine with the taste of your water but get bored with it, there are some terrific options to add flavor. Just make sure you choose options that won’t end up spiking your calorie or sugar levels.
You can add a squirt of lemon or lime to the water, add clean mint leaf, and strawberry halves, or add cucumbers to your water. If you are trying to switch from sugary drinks to water you may need to add healthier alternatives in with your water routine. These can include water flavor enhancers sweetened with stevia leaf or erythritol.
From a psychological perspective, you can trick yourself into liking water by associating your drinking water with something that makes you happy. This can be someone you love, an activity you enjoy, a food you like, a song you love, or beautiful landscape. Keep telling yourself how much you love the taste of water. Eventually, you will believe it.
Additional Tips to Use Water for Appetite Suppression
Another way to help you drink more water and help suppress your appetite is to always keep water with you and near you. If you’re going to be sitting for a long time keep a glass of water next to you. Always carry a reusable eco-friendly water bottle with you so that you can refill your water bottle as needed and you do not have to buy bottled water. Some people prefer to keep a glass of water next to their bed at night as well.