Does drinking water help you lose weight?

"Water doesn't flush fat out of your system," says Chris Rosenbloom, Ph.D., R.D., associate professor of nutrition at Georgia State University, "but when you diet sensibly, you metabolize more fat and may therefore need more water since it is an integral component of metabolizing food." Hydration can also give your stomach the sensation of being full and can minimize fatigue, she adds, which is useful because people tend to eat when they feel tired. "You should generally have eight glasses of water per day," says Rosenbloom, "but when dieting, I recommend increasing the daily total to ten glasses." And don't worry about feeling bloated: "You don't retain more water with the more water you drink," she explains; your kidneys will just send you on more frequent trips to the bathroom.