Does water help you lose weight?
28 Apr 2010

Does water help you lose weight?

2 mins to read
Water is often talked about as a weight loss essential, but is there any proof? Online personal trainer Andrew Cate dips his toes into water on this much debated topic.


How does water help you lose weight?

Water plays a significant role in weight control, helping to reduce your kilojoule intake and improve your metabolic rate. Water has no kilojoules, so whenever you drink it instead of fruit juice, soft drink, cordial, or sports drinks, you are helping to reduce your kilojoule intake. Any kilojoules you drink are will have a negative impact on fat loss, as they provide less fullness than an equivalent kilojoule amount of solid food. In fact, the kilojoules you drink virtually make no difference when it comes to satisfying your hunger. The following table demonstrates the kilojoule count of some common beverages, and also shows how much walking you need to do to burn them off.

Kilojoule content of common drinks

Drink (250ml) Calories Kilojoules  *Slow Walking
minutes to burn off
Water 0 0 0
Soft drink, diet 1 5 0
Sports water (fructose sweetened) 25 105 9
V8 (vegetable juice) 36 150 9
Fruit drink, (35% juice) 101 425 25
Cordial, average diluted 1:5 102 430 26
Fruit Juice, average 105 440 26
Energy drinks, average 105 440 26
Soft drink, average 105 440 26

Did you know? – Water plays a significant role in weight control, helping to reduce your kilojoule intake and improve your metabolic rate.

Does water boost your metabolism?

Another way that water intake can influence fat burning is it’s affect on your metabolic rate, which is the rate at which your body burns kilojoules.

A study published in 2003 found that drinking 500 ml of water increased metabolic rate by 30% in both men and women. This increase was observed within 10 minutes and reached a maximum 30-40 minutes after water drinking. The effect was sustained for more than an hour. These results suggest that drinking water and staying hydrated may play a role in maintaining your metabolic rate and preventing it from slowing down rather than significantly boosting it.

Did you know? – Research has shown that drinking cold water can result in a small elevation in your metabolic rate, which may help to boost fat loss.

How much water should you drink to lose weight?

A practical guide is to avoid thirst (a sign of dehydration), and to drink water to quench your thirst. If your goal is fat loss, only drink other kilojoule laden beverages in small amounts. Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule on exactly how much water you should drink. This is because water needs vary considerably between individuals and circumstances. Some of the factors that will impact upon your fluid needs include:

  • weight
  • age
  • gender,
  • diet and other beverages consumed
  • air temperature and humidity
  • occupation
  • fitness and physical activity levels
  • illness

A 2002 American research review found there is no scientific evidence supporting the view that we all must drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Also, caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea, and soft drinks), mild alcoholic beverages (beer in moderation) and solid foods all contribute to total fluid needs.

Did you know? – A recent research review found no scientific evidence supporting the view that we all must drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

References available on request



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