WATER WORKS: Kim Benjamin, executive director of Bradford Water
Authority, had passed along an article touting water as a way to
lose weight.

To support his claim, Kim included an article from the Georgia
Rural Water Journal titled, “Water: Eight Glasses a Day Keeps Fat
Away.”

We quoted part of the contents yesterday; today, we conclude
this paean to water:

“Water helps maintain proper muscle tone by giving muscles their
natural ability to contract and by preventing dehydration. It also
helps to prevent the sagging skin that usually follows weight loss.
Shrinking cells are buoyed by water, which plumps the skin and
leaves it clear, healthy and resilient.

“Water helps rid the body of waste. During weight loss, the body
has a lot more waste to get rid of: All that metabolized fat must
be shed. Again, adequate water helps flush out the waste.

“Water can help relieve constipation. When the body gets too
little water, it siphons what it needs from internal sources. The
colon is one primary source. Result? Constipation. But when a
person drinks enough water, normal bowel function usually
returns.

“How much water is enough? On the average, a person should drink
eight 8-ounce glasses every day. That’s about two quarts. However,
the overweight person needs one additional glass for every 25
pounds of excess weight. 

“Water preferably should be cold. It is absorbed into the system
more quickly than warm water. Some evidence suggests that drinking
cold water actually can help burn calories.

“To utilize water most efficiently during weight loss, follow
this schedule: Morning: one-third consumed over a 30-minute period;
Evening: one-third consumed between 5 and 6 p.m. Ideally, a person
drinks a glass or two of water at a time. Space these drinks out
over morning, noon and evening.

“When the body gets the water it needs to function optimally,
its fluids are perfectly balanced. When this happens, you have
reached the ‘breakthrough point.’ What does this mean?

Endocrine gland function improves; Fluid retention is alleviated
as stored water is lost; More fat is used as fuel because the liver
is free to metabolize stored fat; Natural thirst returns; A loss of
hunger occurs almost overnight.”