The need to drink more water is old news. Here’s how it applies to your incinerator. You could easily mistake hunger for thirst, making you reach for something to eat when you are not “technically” hungry. When you are not actually physically hungry, the hormone ghrelin has not been released to signal the need for fuel. Yet, sometimes you still feel empty when you’ve actually had enough food. That empty feeling can be the need for fluid, not food.
Staying well hydrated will help you more clearly distinguish hunger from other feelings. Low energy or weakness, while often a sign of hunger, can also be a need for fluid. Fluid plays a strong role in detecting hunger.45 If you’re not sure whether or not you’re hungry, it’s highly likely you are not. You are probably just thirsty.
To explore it, drink a tall glass of water to see if the feeling disappears for a period of time. I’ve outlined hydration guidelines so you have an idea of how much water will keep your body and incinerator hydrated each day. This will increase your ability to decipher physical hunger from needing fluid. These are my recommendations – your baseline of water intake.
For some of you it will mean significantly increasing your water intake. I’m aware that it also means you are significantly increasing the number of times you’re visiting the restroom. Well, would you rather hang on to those pounds that you don’t like or visit the restroom a little more often? For many, peeing more often is a small price to pay to get the benefits of drinking adequate water.
I recommend not counting soda, coffee, tea, milk, juice, sports drinks and other beverages towards your total intake of water. My experience is that people do better with a baseline of water for hydration.25, 46-48 Treat other drinks as extra. If you hate water, you can add non-caloric flavoring such as Crystal Light™ to help you out.
References
- Meinders AJ, Meinders AE. How much water do we really need to drink? Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd (Dutch). 2010;154:A1757.
- Dennis E, Dengo A, Comber D et al. Water consumption increases weight loss during a hypocaloric diet intervention in middle-aged and older adults. Obesity. 2009;18(2):300-307.
- Mahan L, Escott-Stump S. Krause’s Food and Nutrition Therapy. 12th ed. St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier; 2008:147-148.
- Duff R. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Complete Food and Nutrition Guide. 5th ed. Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 2017: 444-445.
- An R, McCaffrey J. Plain water consumption in relation to energy intake and diet quality among US adults, 2005-2012. J Human Nutr Diet. 2016;29(5):624-632.
- Popkin B, D’Anci K, Rosenberg I. Water, hydration, and health. Nutr Rev. 2010;68(8):439-458.
- Muñoz C, Johnson E, McKenzie A et al. Habitual total water intake and dimensions of mood in healthy young women. Appetite. 2015;92:81-86.
- Wöber C, Wöber-Bingöl Ç. Triggers of migraine and tension-type headache. Handb Clin Neurol. 2010:161-172.
- Water & Nutrition. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website
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