Cold Water Diet
I recently profiled Mel B, aka Scary Spice who is now strutting her stuff on Dancing with the Stars, for saying that she didn’t diet or count calories. However, it’s clear that her diet of fruits, veggies, lean meats and whole grains, is healthy and frankly looks like a typical “diet” to me. For someone who says she doesn’t “diet,” she does report using a dieting trick. Her secret is the cold water diet.
Mel B says she burns more calories by drinking cold water with all her meals because the body uses energy to heat up the water during digestion. So does it work? Theoretically yes, practically not very much. Yes it’s true that you’ll burn 4 % more calories drinking ice cold water over the course of an hour, and at 3 glasses of ice cold classes of water per day, you could theoretically lose 2-3 pounds after a year. Drinking room temperature water will not increase your metabolism, so there is a small theoretical benefit to cold water. I say small because you’re better off concentrating on your diet than drinking cold water.
I am always taken aback by all the “spin.” First it’s I don’t diet, but here I use this diet trick. Well, Mel B may actually believe this but it sends the wrong message to those trying to lose weight. The magazines are always trying to “spin” a new angle on a diet. Unfortunately, potential dieters may get the wrong impression and jump on the latest quick fix only to be disappointed. A good healthy diet is still the key to successful weight loss, by far… And I do recommend drinking water, just don’t expect miracles.
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7 comments
and here I thought I was about to read some miracle diet review on cold water. lol. i have heard that cold water makes you burn more calories, but to me its a little unpleasant to drink ice cold water, sometimes it freezes my teeth.
For those who have been dieting permanently, it’s not a “diet” as in some planned meal plan. I would fall into that category. If asked whether I am dieting, I’d say no.
I can see how it is sort of a gray area….I regularly eat mainly fruits veggies lean protein (hate beef, love fish and chicken,personally) and whole grains but Im not trying to lose weight. I just want a healthy diet and avoid fried fatty foods (as well as processed things like white bread and sugar). Its more of a lifestyle than a “diet”. When I think diet I think Atkins or Nutrisystem. But to each his own, right?
Diet? Or lifestyle?
Personally, I believe if you choose to eat a certain way for the rest of your life, that’s a lifestyle. If you are trying to shed a few quick pounds so you’ll look better at Christmas parties, that’s a diet.
In short:
Diet = short-term changes to eating/exercising habits
Lifestyle = long-term wide-spread changes to eating/exercising habits
But I’m just a twenty-something going through a lifestyle change (eating better and exercising regularly) so that I can get and stay healthy.
Ok, I got this information regarding cold, warm and hot water from this website above, according to that site, you shoudn’t drink HOT water while eating but this site says MEL B recommends it.. who do I believe??
COLD
Cold water shocks the system and will make the stomach contract for a short period of time. We all want that but it’s only temporary. However, cold water will work the body and help burn off calories as it heats it up. It’s like going out in the cold and shivering. Our body will naturally try to heat us up.
Cold water is suitable to be taken before exercising. It is also suitable to be taken in between meals. Cold water should not be taken with meals because it will lessen the body’s ability to digest the food taken and lengthens the digestion time. There is also a potential increase in the amount of food that will be converted to fat.
HOT
Drinking hot water will raise the body’s core temperature which in turn boosts metabolism and causes you to sweat. Hot water helps our body to digest food better. It’s rather complimentary.
WARM
Warm water doesn’t really do anything to cause your body to work. It’s okay to drink warm water at anytime of the day. Here’s a way to continuously drink water throughout the day. I drink water after every 2nd time I pee. =)
MEL B didn’t diet she changed her eating habits which is a lifestyle, diets are those fad things like the grapefruit diet, cabbage diets, which are temporary etc, she said she eats lean meats, fruits, veggies, heck its sad some people consider that a diet because that’s really the way everyone is supposed to eat anyway, its wonder why we have so much cancer, high blood pressure, etc in this country but anyways, she changed her eating habits completely which is a lifestyle so the editor is mistaken when he says she’s on a diet, she added she drinks cold water to aid in metabolism but thats about it..Lets not get diet and lifestyle confused.
I know that drinking water helps your body burn fat. Yo can work out all you want, but not drinking enough water can hinder weight loss. I thought the “water diet” would build upon this and give some foods high in water content to help….the more I read/hear about celebrity diets the more I realize these people will do anything to stay thin & have us think it is all natural
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