Everyone is looking for that miracle weight loss cure, but, you may need to look no further than you supermarkets bottled water aisle!

Whether you are grossly overweight, or just cannot seem to lose those stubborn last few pounds, the simple formula for you to achieve your weight loss goals may just be –H-2-O.

Drinking enough water is not only the best way to stay healthy, but it has also been clinically proven to lead to weight loss – and it is a lot less expensive than those dozens of mostly worthless “weight-loss” products you find on supermarket and drugstore shelves.

Two recent studies published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism determined that drinking just 17 ounces of water, raises the metabolism — or your body’s ability to burn calories — by as much as 30% or more. By increasing your consumption of purified water by about 40 ounces a day, researchers estimate that the average person can increase weight loss by about five pounds per year.

Proper Hydration and Metabolism

How does proper hydration boost metabolism? Metabolism, or more especially the metabolism of the burning of fat – is primarily handled by the liver in the body. Processing of liquid waste, that’s the kidney’s job. Keep the kidneys and all of the rest of your organs happy and hydrated, and all is well – but when we are not drinking enough, the body starts a kind of internal “water rationing process.” When that happens the kidneys cannot do their job properly, so the liver is called upon to pick up the slack. When the liver is aiding the kidneys in the processing of liquid waste, it cannot concentrate on its primary job – of metabolizing fat. When you increase your water consumption, among other things you improve kidney function, and free up the liver to burn, rather than store fat.

Beyond what it does to improve fat metabolism, drinking water fills you up and can fight “mindless” or habitual snacking. Next time you reach for that bag of chips, go for an 8-ounce glass of water or two instead. You’ll find you have curbed your hunger – which you probably were mistaking for thirst – and have done your body a lot of good in the process!

According to weight loss and fitness experts, such as certified nutritionist, Shereen Jegtvig, to rapidly lose weight you need to increase your water intake to about 100 ounces a day. The recommended 8 glasses a day is for healthy people to maintain their weight. If you want to experience the fat-burning, metabolism boosting power of purified water you have to significantly increase your intake, to around 12 – 13 glasses a day.

Going, Going – Gone!

In the beginning, it could be a little uncomfortable handling such a significant increase in your water intake. In fact, the first (and only) side effect you will notice – is many more trips to the restroom!

While this can be a bit annoying, it really is a wonderful thing. It may seem to you that you are just giving back everything you are taking in with your constant trips to the bathroom, but in reality that is not the case. The increase in nature’s call is not a return of what you have been drinking – but rather your body letting go of all the water it had been storing up all these years. Now that it finally “thinks” the drought is over, it has figuratively and literally “opened the floodgates.” All of that water is “flushing” out, from your hips, your thighs, your ankles, your midsection, and everyplace else your body was storing it away while in “drought mode.”

Eventfully you will reach a breaking point where you will achieve a proper balance of your intake and output, and you will see your bathroom habits return to normal, plus you will like what you see in the mirror when you get in there.

Do not rely on soda, coffee or alcohol to get your required water amount, these kinds of drinks not only add empty calories, they can actually cause dehydration!

Drink a full glass of water before every meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A study conducted by Virginia Polytechnic Institute found that drinking a glass of water before a meal, reduced the amount of calories consumed in that meal, by as much as 75 calories. That may not sound like a lot but 3 meals a day, 365 days a year, that’s over 82,000 calories or about 14 pounds on the average person.

Furthermore, water helps you to lose weight by giving you more energy to exercise and stay active. Consuming adequate amounts of water helps to maintain blood volume and oxygenation. When blood flows it carries oxygen to your muscles, which keeps them energized. Proper hydration also helps us to keep going during exercise or activities by decreasing muscle stiffness and soreness.

Increasing your water consumption will not only make you healthier, and improve your looks by losing weight, proper hydration keeps skin healthy, and younger looking too!