Our bodies send out hunger signals when we are thirsty, or when our bodies’ water supply needs replenishing. All food contains liquid to varying degrees, so if you are confusing thirst with hunger and reaching out for things like muffins and cakes instead of a glass of water, you will end up eating more to satisfy your body’s thirst, and that will lead to weight gain.

If in doubt, drink a glass of water first.

Water also helps to flush your system out, and plays a vital part in preventing constipation; it also hydrates your skin and increases your metabolism.

So how much water should you drink?

The eight glasses a day theory has no real scientific base – it was probably meant as a good starting point, as each person’s requirements depends on body weight, activity levels and where you live. Here is a formula though, that will give you a good estimate on how much to drink:

Take your body weight and divide it by 16, and you will know how many 8 ounce glasses of water you should drink. For example : If you are 160lbs, you should drink 160÷16 = 10 (8 ounce) glasses of water per day.

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