Water is essential — we know that — but how much water should you drink every day, especially if you're on a weight loss journey? Drinking water helps to support vital bodily functions and your physical and mental performance, but it also plays a role in weight management.
With this in mind, we're exploring the importance of fluid intake, how it helps with weight loss and how much you should be consuming each day — but, we're doing it in the form of myths.
Ready? Let's dive in.
Myth 1: You need to drink 8 glasses of water every day
This is well-trodden advice — 8 glasses of water is the recommended amount. But, who actually recommended this?
Unfortunately, the 8 glasses a day myth has no clear origin but it may have originated from an article from the 1940s suggesting that 2L of total water intake (plus food and other beverages) across the day is adequate, but there is a lack of evidence around this [1][2].
Plus, this doesn't take individual needs into account and we know that water intake isn't one size fits all.
In reality, generalised recommendations for water intake are flawed as your individual needs depend on environmental conditions, the amount of physical activity you engage in, fluid losses (for example, vomiting or diarrhoea) and your metabolism.
And, on average, solid foods tend to contribute about 20% to your total water intake, while other beverages like tea, coffee, fruit juice and other drinks make up a large portion of your daily fluid intake.
The human body has a fine-tuned process that regulates your fluid and salt balance so it's important to listen to your body and act on cues, including the following.
Thirst
Thirst is largely regulated by receptors in your brain, as well as your carotid arteries (blood vessels in your neck) that detect osmotic pressure and blood volume.
This is why it's important to tune into your thirst signals — as this is arguably the most important cue — and when you feel thirsty, drink some water!
Urine colour
Your urine colour is an easy way to track your hydration levels. It's advised that you maintain the urine colour seen in the top 2 bars of the 8-shade scale — you're looking for a pale yellow colour.
But, beware of variables like alcohol consumption, vitamins, medications and some foods as they can influence urine colour.
Myth 2: Hydration doesn't impact your health that much
If you don't tend to drink much water day to day, you might think that it's not that important for your overall health.
But, your hydration levels impact everything from your cognitive performance to your sleep quality, athletic capacity and body temperature. Here's what dehydration can do in your body.
Dehydration affects cognition and mood
A lack of water intake can wreak havoc on your mood, as well as your attention, immediate memory and psychomotor skills [3][4].
But, interestingly, your working memory, long-term memory and executive function appeared to be preserved, particularly if the dehydration is the result of exercise [3].
Dehydration impacts sleep quality
Dehydration may impact your melatonin cycles, and experiencing poor sleep quality may lead to greater dehydration due to less fluid retention, which can create a vicious cycle [5].
Evidence is mixed for mild dehydration, though [6].
Dehydration affects your athletic capacity
Most evidence around dehydration shows that it can impact your exercise capacity, specifically aerobic maximal power at >3% dehydration and muscle strength at >5% dehydration [7].
Low levels of dehydration, up to 2-3% body weight, seem to be tolerated relatively well, with few health risks or exercise under-performance [8].
Myth 3: The more water, the better
While it might seem impossible, you can actually overdo it and become hyperhydrated.
When this happens, the excess fluid can overfill your cells and dilute the salt content, which in turn upsets electrolyte balances. Alarmingly, it's always known as water intoxication or water poisoning.
While this is a rare occurrence, it's good to know that there is a time when water becomes unhelpful. Stay hydrated, in moderation.
Myth 4: Caffeine is dehydrating
Caffeine is a weak diuretic and as such, the net effect doesn't dehydrate you. The fluid you lose from this effect is not greater than the amount of liquid in a cup of coffee so net/net it's not dehydrating; even more if you're exercising [12].
Alcohol, on the other hand, is a powerful diuretic so it is important to be on top of your hydration before, during and after drinking to help avoid the adverse effects of alcohol [13].
Myth 5: Sports drinks are designed to keep you hydrated
While it can be tempting to grab a blue-coloured sports drink when you're feeling dehydrated, be aware that they contain excessive amounts of sugar.
While the electrolytes might be helpful, if you're not an athlete, your body had a sufficient energy available in glyocen and fat and you don't actually need sugary drinks.
What's the deal with water and weight loss?
You may have heard that water is particularly important when on a weight loss journey and this is because it may help boost your metabolic rate and the number of calories you burn [13].
A study from 2023 found that participants who consumed up to 250mls of warm water after every meal experienced more weight loss and recorded a lower BMI compared to the control group who didn't have warm water after eating [14].
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Over 14% body weight is lost on average by people using one option Pilot can recommend. Learn to control hunger and cravings, target appetite and eat less. Plus, with medical professionals at your fingertips, the program can help rewire your relationship with food to achieve sustainable weight loss.
How much water should I drink every day?
So, just how much fluid do you need to consume each day? There's no hard and fast rules about exactly how much you should be drinking everyday, except for children and older people, who have slightly more precise fluid needs.
In general, men should aim for about 10 cups of fluids each day, which is around 2.6 litres [15].
Tips for staying hydrated
Ways to ensure you're appropriately hydrated throughout the day.
Drink water upon waking
You tend to lose 0.5-1L of water during sleep, mostly thanks to sweat, so it's a good habit to start drinking water as soon as you wake up.
Keep fluids handy
It's easy to forget to drink water when you don't have it easily accessible. And, plain water isn't the most engaging thing to drink, we know. So, to make it as easy as possible, get yourself a water bottle and be sure to keep it handy so you can quench the first signs of thirst when they strike.
Monitor your hydration levels
It's easy to get distracted and not monitor your hydration levels — life is busy, after all. Try to get into the habit of tuning into your thirst, keeping an eye on urine colour and listening to cues (for example, agitation) that remind you to drink water.
Photo credit: Pexels x Liliana Drew
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