This article has been Fact-Checked by Kendall Kennedy MS, RD, RYT
These 9 water drinks can help you lose weight. Detoxes can work for weight loss but for different reasons than people claim.
Drinking more water can help you lose weight for a few different reasons. One of the ways you can help yourself reach your fluid goals for the day is by mixing things with water to flavor it up.
Are there magical weight loss drinks?
You’ve probably heard of so called “detoxes” to lose weight. These claim that by drinking certain drinks you can remove more harmful substances from your body.
The thing is that your body always works on detoxing. There is not a lot of evidence that these detox drinks improve those processes that much.
Detoxes will most likely work for someone in the short term because they are usually accompanied by these other habits:
- Fasting
- Calorie restriction
- Higher water intake
- Eating more weight loss friendly foods
- Eating less unhealthy, calorie dense foods
- Exercising
These habits will most likely help you feel better and lose weight. It’s easy to attribute those things to the “detox” part but that’s most likely not what’s happening.
Less toxins is most likely good for your body but it’s not completely clear if these detoxes actually accomplish that. If this is your goal it’s better to get a high-quality water filter.
Drinking more water can help you lose weight
That being said, drinking more water can actually help you lose weight.
Drinking water can make your body burn more calories. This can come down to about 24 calories for every 500 ml you drink (1, 2).
By filling up your stomach with water you can also reduce hunger and cravings. These are a big reason people fail to stick to their weight loss habits. Avoiding them is a big plus.
Drinking more water alone probably won’t get you to your weight loss goals but it can help you burn some extra calories every day.
How much water should you drink?
Now before you start sipping water all day keep in mind that too much can be bad too.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommend:
- About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) a day for women
- About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) a day for men
These recommendations include fluids from water, other beverages and food. For most people around 20 percent of their daily fluid intake comes from food, the rest from drinks like water.
Of course this amount varies from individual to individual because of height, weight,….
If you live in a warm climate and sweat a lot you will most likely need more water. Being physically active can also increase the amount of water you need.
If you have trouble hitting your daily water goals a water bottle with time markers might benefit you.
List of 9 water drinks for weight loss
Flavoring up your water can help you drink more. Most people can drink these every day. Some of these do have times when you shouldn’t drink them.
1. Lemon water
This first water drink is a common one in a lot of detoxes.
Lemons are great weight loss fruits. They have a very low calorie count and a nice amount of fiber.
Adding a great fruit to water makes lemon water a great drink for weight loss.
If you find the taste a bit lacking you can add herbs and spices like for example mint.
2. Coffee
Coffee is technically a water drink. You pour hot water over coffee beans.
It’s one of the drinks that can actually help you lose more weight than regular water. The main reason for this is the caffeine in it.
Caffeine is a substance that can increase your metabolism, the amount of calories you burn (3, 4).
The thing you do need to keep in mind is that caffeine can also decrease your sleep quality if you drink it at the wrong time. Sleep is extremely important for weight loss.
Try not to consume any caffeine 8+ hours before bed. A part of the world population should avoid caffeine altogether. Even one cup in the morning can disrupt their sleep.
3. Lime water
Limes are very similar to lemons in terms of nutrition. Low in calories and a decent amount of fiber.
You can add lime as the only ingredient to your water but its taste also combines well with lemon.
4. Ginger water
Ginger is a spice that gets used mainly for flavoring food. If you like the taste you can also add it to your water.
This spice does possible provide some benefits for your health but at the moment extra weight loss isn’t one of them.
If you like ginger water you can add it to your list of weight loss drinks. If not there are not too many benefits to making yourself drink it.
5. Tea
Tea is the next drink that can acutally help you burn more calories than just regular water.
It’s true that a cup of green tea contains less (24-40 mg) of the metabolism boosting substance caffeine than a cup of coffee (100-200 mg). The extra calorie burning is welcome anyway.
White and green tea also contain antioxidants called catechins. One of these is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a substance that can boost metabolism.
The same as coffee goes for tea. Try to avoid it 8+ hours before bed for quality sleep. Some people should just stick to caffeine free tea.
6. Watermelon water
Watermelon is not the most nutrient dense fruit out there. It’s mainly good for weight loss because it’s mostly water.
That being said, it’s still a great ingredient to flavor up your water.
7. Celery water
Not everyone will like the taste of celery water but it is weight loss drink approved.
Celery is very low in calories and a good source of vitamin K. With the quantity in celery water you will probably not get too much of this vitamin but even small amounts are welcome.
8. Cucumber water
Cucumber is another commonly used ingredient to flavor up water.
Like most of the other options you can mix and match to find your favorite flavor combination.
9. Cayenne pepper water
The last drink that has some calorie burning effects on top of the water is cayenne pepper water.
Cayenne peppers contain a substance called capsaicin which can make your body burn slightly more calories.
In studies with a concentrated supplement this would come down to about an extra 50 calories a day. Not that much but possibly worth it.
Can you lose belly fat by drinking water?
Since losing belly fat is about total calorie intake, water can help you with that.
The extra calorie burning is not that impressive but small amounts do add up. On top of that drinking enough water can provide other health benefits as well.
