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Is Water Better Cold Or Room Temperature? By Christina Ryckman

I was recently talking with a client of mine and started talking about an interesting subject about how water, cold or room temp, could possibly affect weight gain or weight loss, so I did a little research and found an article on this topic. please visit the link below to read more of the article on this

The most direct way that water helps increase calorie burn and weight loss lies in the way your body absorbs water. The body must first warm (or cool) fluids that enter the body to 98.6°F (body temperature) before they can be utilized. This process requires energy (calories) to either create heat (if drinking something below body temperature) or remove heat (when drinking something above body temperature). The calories required to do this are not a lot, but over time it can make a big difference.The following example is specific to cold fluids but the effect of hot fluids is the same though the numbers are slightly different.

You burn roughly one calorie for every fluid ounce of water you drink, but this only counts if the water is extremely cold. Lets say you drink a liter of ice cold water – that is an extra 32 calories burned without doing any extra physical activity. That does not sound like much but keep this in mind; if you drink only one liter of ice-cold water everyday that is an extra expenditure of 224 calories per week, 896 calories per month and 10,752 per year – that is equal to 3 pounds of fat that you will have lost (or at least not gained) by simply drinking cold water. Though every individual has varying hydration needs, it is likely that you need a lot more than just one liter of water per day (particularly if you are physically active), so these numbers could easily be more impressive if you just increased your intake. How easy is that! Now keep in mind that this is just the first and most direct effect water has on the body. In actuality, being properly hydrated can have an even more significant effect on calorie burn.

Hydrations Effect on Physical ability:

One of the most important ways your level of hydration affects your caloric burn is in relation to your ability to perform physical activity. You may know that you need to drink water when you exercise but do you know why? Lean muscle in the human body is made up of around 80% water and it needs that water to function properly. When you start to become dehydrated your muscle tissue starts to lose water and it makes it harder for that muscle to contract effectively, reducing your strength and endurance. It has been stated that as little as a 1% drop from optimal hydration can reduce your physical ability by up to 5%. You could actually see your caloric burn from your workouts drop by 5%, not to mention that you will feel weaker and less capable, which can slow your exercise progress in many ways.

For example, lets say you burn an average of 300 calories per day from your workouts; that would be a 15 calorie per day loss of potential expenditure. That’s 105 calories per week, 420 calories per month and 5,040 calories per year. That is equivalent to 2 pounds of fat content that you could have lost – double or triple those figures if you are even more dehydrated or if you burn more than 300 calories per workout.

“you’ll never regret working out”

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