Keto Tip: 5 Reasons You Need To Drink More Water on a Ketogenic Diet!

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Keto Tip: 5 Reasons You Need To Drink More Water on a Ketogenic Diet!

It’s often been said that most problems you run in to on a ketogenic diet can be solved by doing one of three things; drink more water, eat more salt, or eat more fat.  

Over the years as I’ve done this, I’ve found this adage to be fairly accurate as most of the “tweaks” I’ve done to get over a plateau or speed up my weight loss has been some variation of these 3 things.

Probably the most powerful part of that truth is to drink more water.  I’ve seen over and over again how upping my water intake leads to faster weight loss and a healthier overall feeling as I continue on this little weight loss journey of mine.

Here are 5 reasons you should be drinking more water on a Ketogenic Diet

Replaces Lost Water

This is something I just didn’t know when I started cutting out the carbs and wasn’t prepared to deal with in those early days.   Your body stores glycogen in water in your muscles.  As your body burns through that stored glycogen and you don’t replace it because you aren’t eating carbs, your body’s water stores get depleted as well.  

This is why you tend to lose up to 10 lbs in the first week on keto and also what causes the “keto flu” or the miserable feeling that happens just before you switch over to being fat adapted.  

That feeling is caused by mild dehydration and can be shortened tremendously just by drinking more water.  Like I said, that would have been awesome to know in those early days.

Suppresses Appetite and Curbs Cravings

This is another one of those things that I really wish I had known early on but every time you have a hunger pang or a sugar craving, just drink some water and they’ll go away fairly quickly.  

In fact, even though I’m almost so many years into this journey of mine, it is still the ever present glass of water on my computer desk that keeps me on the dietary straight and narrow more than anything else.

 It took a while but I eventually trained myself to drink water first when I’m hungry before reaching for a snack.

Puts Less Stress on the Kidneys

Your kidneys do yeoman’s work to filter all the junk out of your blood so make their life easier by drinking more water.  Think of the water as a lubricant that keeps your kidneys working smoothly.

UPDATE:  A helpful reader left the following comment.

Ketones are acidic, so some of your ketone bodies are flushed out rather than burned for energy to make sure they don’t accumulate.

Your kidneys concentrate the ketone bodies and urea (also acidic) into urine, so the continued health of your kidneys depends on having lots of water so the concentration of these acids doesn’t become high enough to harm the kidneys.

I’ve followed the work of nephrologist Jason Fung very closely over the last few years and I’ve yet to see him say anything that would suggest a ketogenic state can be harmful to the kidneys under any circumstances so I’m not sure how much I would ever be worried about “acid build up” in my kidneys but having said that, better safe than sorry. 

I also know that ketone levels in the urine fall over time as the body becomes fat adapted.  (This is why urine ketone strips become less accurate over time.)  So given that, I’m not sure how worried I would be in the long term about kidney damage.  Either way, drink water folks!

Improves “Keto Breath”

Sometimes as you slip into ketosis, the ketone acetate can cause bad breath.  More water helps reduce the effect of acetate on your breath and keeps your breath minty fresh.

You Metabolize Fat Faster

I’m going to be honest here and say I don’t really understand the science behind this.  Everything I’ve read throws this out as fact and never bothers to explain exactly why drinking more water would help your body break down and use fatty acids more efficiently.  

All I can tell you is that when my weight loss slows down, the culprit is almost always the fact that I haven’t had enough water.  Once I bump up my water intake, the weight comes off again.

Update: A helpful reader left the following comment.

Burning fat costs one water molecule per two carbon atoms in a fatty acid molecule. The repeated process of pulling two carbons at a time from fatty acids is called “beta oxidation” or the “fatty acid spiral.” You can see here that H2O is invested in the second step. http://chemistry.elmhurst.edu/vchembook/621fattyacidrx.html

Carbohydrates are the opposite. “Hydrate” is in the name so they bring a little of their own water to the party, about one water molecule per glucose molecule as they’re burned.

Burning carbs, fats, or proteins eventually gives back water at the very end of the process, but burning fat costs more water during the process compared to carbs, and more overall.

Thank you so much for explaining the science here.  So water is needed for the process by which we break down fatty acids for energy.  Makes total sense and explains why drinking more water helps speed up my fat burning.

So drinking water is great for your health but how about some tricks to help you drink more water.  We’ve got that too!

Keep Water Close

It’s a lot easier to drink water if the water is always around.  Keep a water glass near you and full at all times. You will be surprised at how quickly you will power through a gallon or more a day just by always having it around.

Flavor Your Water

Stay away from anything with sugar obviously but try cutting a few lemons or limes and putting it in the water and see if it tastes good to you.  

About a month ago I started drinking water with a little Raw Apple Cider Vinegar in it because there is some evidence that it speeds up weight loss and found I liked the taste.

Salt Your Water

A little salt in your water will make it taste better and help your body retain more of it.  Just a pinch is all you will need.

I hope these tips help you drink more water and lose weight faster!

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