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Drinking a generous amount of water such as 8-12 glasses per day is an essential habit to follow especially considering the hectic schedules of the people who work hard and oftentimes forget to drink water during work hours.
Drinking water improves the overall functioning of the body and improves mental performance. It also allows for the digestive tract to do its work with ease and comfort.
Some people such as marathon runners, exercise lovers, and people who work outdoors tend to overdrink water due to their daily lifestyles which makes them drink more water than usual.
Most people complain that they tend to accumulate belly fat after they drink too much water, but is there any truth to that? How can water, a liquid cause the belly to become big and large unless you are doing something wrong with it?
Others argue that water actually helps them reduce belly fat and overall weight as when they drink water before their meals, they tend to eat less which allows them to maintain their weight and keep it in strict check.
This article is going to debunk the myth related to drinking too much water and hopefully answer all your questions such as does drinking water actually give you a big belly or are you doing something wrong that’s causing that problem.
Here’s a detailed insight on the topic:
Does Drinking Water Make You Fat?
Air intake
Many experts say that the way you drink your water is the actual problem. So many have gone so far to say that drinking bottled water is the cause of that large belly that you are so worried about. According to them, when you drink from a water bottle, you end up consuming extra air along with the water. Instead, they say, pour the water into a cup or glass and measure how much you drink.
Another reason they mention is when people eat with their mouths open or don’t chew enough food is why their belly becomes large and bloated. It is not just the water causing that, other factors may be affecting your stomach.
Timing
It is often believed that the amount of water that you consume should keep the timing in mind. For a healthy water intake, experts say that drinking a glass of water half an hour before you consume any kind of food will allow your stomach to digest the food better and it will also make your body hydrated so you don’t need to drink water during or after the meal.
But that depends on the type of food you are consuming. If the food is hot, spicy, high in sodium, contains a lot of carbohydrates, or is too sweet, you may end up drinking water during or after the meal. In addition, drinking water after a bath or a shower may also increase and expand your belly if you are not careful.
Water intoxication
As we discussed earlier, the timing of the water is important. According to health experts, there is a limit to how much water you can drink within an hour and that also depends on the time of the day. For instance, if you wake up early in the morning or around 8 am, which is considered standard timing, 2 glasses of water are adequate before your breakfast.
If you tend to be obsessed with staying hydrated, you need to cut down your water intake, try to follow a water tracker so that you don’t end up drinking a lot of water in an hour or just in one go. In all seriousness, drinking excessive amounts of water can cause brain damage and can lead to death as it causes the cells to store more water than they are capable of.
Water temperature
While this may not seem a usual choice for most people, it is an essential indicator of the effects of water on the belly. If we talk about the summers, many people tend to drink a lot of cold beverages and water is usually refrigerated to be consumed at a colder temperature because we feel that cold water decreases the body heat.
This is true for most cases but if you drink cold water after you have just finished your meal, you may cause tons of stomach problems for yourself including constipation which makes your belly appear bigger than usual.
Similarly, drinking hot water that your tongue cannot tolerate causes your stomach to expand to a larger size and may need a bit of time to come back to its original shape. Therefore, drinking water at an optimum temperature is considered an ideal choice because it allows your body to stay in control.
Bloating
A lot of people notice that they seem to be bloated after they drink water, now that depends on the timing as mentioned above or if you tend to drink a lot of water at once, your belly is bound to expand if you continue filling it.
If it continues or is at an extreme level, you can check your water quality, maybe there is a certain type of water or your lifestyle regime that is causing the problem and not exactly just the water intake.
FAQS
How much water should a person be drinking at a time?
The ideal amount of water that you should be consuming is around 400 to 500 ml, if you drink more than that at once, it may cause you vomiting and nausea and you might feel drowsy.
Should I be worried if the stomach bloating continues?
Normally, the bloating should go away after a day or two but if it continues then it is better to go see a specialist.
Final Thoughts
I hope this article helped draw a clear image of how and why drinking water makes your belly look bigger. You definitely cannot gain fat though it can be called water weight when you drink water it can cause temporary bloating if you drink too much or at the wrong time.