Can Drinking Hot Water Help You Lose Weight?

You don't need to be a nutritionist or a personal trainer to know that cutting excess calories from your diet while increasing your activity level is the basic formula for successful weight loss.

And while exercise makes you stronger and boosts your metabolism, your dietary habits can have an even greater effect on your waistline, per the Mayo Clinic.

One of those habits includes drinking plenty of water, and choosing water over sugary beverages. In fact, choosing water over soda is an easy way to jumpstart and sustain weight loss, per Johns Hopkins University.

But does it matter what temperature water is at when you drink it? Are there benefits to drinking hot water for weight loss? Read on to find out.

Ultimately, you shouldn't worry about heating up water before you drink it. No matter the temperature, water can have a positive effect on your weight-loss efforts. It can help suppress your appetite and help you feel fuller longer, per Johns Hopkins University.

The claims that a cup of hot lemon water every morning can stimulate weight loss (more so than cold or room-temperature water) are myths. While it may be tempting to think that a "quick-fix" like drinking warm water could help you lose weight or burn fat with little effort, it's simply not true.

And drinking hot water won't speed up your metabolism, either. Your body's metabolic rate is fairly stable and is mostly determined by your size, body composition, age and genetics, not by the temperature of water you drink, per the Cleveland Clinic.

However, if you notice that drinking hot water helps you stay hydrated and helps curb food cravings, then it might be part of an effective weight-loss strategy for you.

Apart from the claims that hot water helps you lose weight, there's also claims that hot water has specific health benefits (like improving digestion and congestion), but there is little scientific research to support these claims, per the Cleveland Clinic.

These claims include:

When you're sick with a head cold or sinus infection, you may experience a lot of congestion. That's where a cup of hot water or tea can help. It's thought that the steam can help open your airways, and that hot water itself can be soothing on the throat and help you get to sleep.

Hot water with cinnamon and honey, for example, may be used to soothe a sore throat when you're sick and help open up your sinuses, per the Mayo Clinic.

Achalasia is a rare disorder where your esophagus cannot move food and liquid down to your stomach. This is because your lower esophageal sphincter (LES) doesn't open as it normally should, per the Cleveland Clinic.

It's believed that hot water (and food) could help the LES relax and open in people with achalasia, helping them better swallow and digest food, per a small October 2012 study in the ‌Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility‌. (Note: This is a small and old study. More research needs to be done to support this connection.)

Some people think drinking hot water is better for your digestive health, by breaking down food faster and reducing the risk of constipation.

But drinking water at any temperature can help improve your bowel health, as water helps keep your stool soft, per Johns Hopkins University.

It's been thought that drinking hot water requires your body to cool it down to your core body temperature, thereby burning calories and boosting your metabolism in the process, but there is not enough evidence to support this.

This is a process called thermogenesis, but the effect on metabolism is insignificant, per Johns Hopkins University.

Although it's true your body uses 10 percent of its calorie intake to digest food and drink, per the Mayo Clinic, you don't expend a significant amount of energy to absorb water — no matter its temperature.

There are no major health differences between drinking hot or cold water.

However, if you want to feel hydrated faster, cold water may be your best bet. According to the Cleveland Clinic, your body has some kind of "cool-down" reflex that kicks in faster when drinking cold water versus room-temperature or hot water, especially after sweating.

Ultimately, neither are necessarily the "healthiest option." Water at any temperature is healthy (and vital) for your body. It simply comes down to personal preference.

When it comes to water's role as a potential weight-loss aid, cold water doesn't necessarily have a leg up, either.

Cold water is warmed up slightly by your body through a process called thermogenesis, thereby burning a few calories, but it is not significant enough to see weight loss.

You're more likely to see weight-loss results through maintaining a calorie deficit (burning more calories than you consume), eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.

If anything, drinking water at ‌any‌ temperature can help suppress your appetite and help you eat less. According to a small March 2016 study in the ‌European Journal of Nutrition,‌ people who drank two glasses of water immediately before a meal ate 22 percent less than those who didn't drink any water prior to eating.

This means drinking water before snacking or eating meals could help you curb cravings and stick to your balanced diet and weight-loss goals.

Drinking water — whether hot or cold — can help you stay hydrated, suppress appetite and keep you fuller longer, which are all things that can aid in weight loss.

Here are a few tips for getting more water in each day, per the Mayo Clinic and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Having a designated water bottle that you refill each day can be an effective way to get more H2O. It's especially helpful if the bottle has measurements on the side, to see how much you've had throughout the day.

Just make sure you're cleaning that water bottle often, so it doesn't harbor bacteria or germs.

Filling up on water before a meal, or drinking a glass after, can help your stomach feel full. Not only that, but it'll help you get into a routine of drinking water if you remember to drink it around mealtime.

This concept is called "preloading," or drinking approximately 16 ounces of water 30 minutes before a meal. In fact, dieters who drank this amount of water before eating consumed an average of 40 fewer calories per meal, and lost more weight than those who didn't "preload" with water, according to a September 2015 randomized controlled trial in ‌Obesity‌.

If you don't necessarily like the taste of still water, you can incorporate sparkling water into your routine. You could also try water that's naturally flavored with fruits.

In fact, sparkling or carbonated water may actually have its own potential weight-loss benefits.

According to a small 2012 study in the ‌Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology‌, drinking carbonated water on an empty stomach offers a satiating effect compared to drinking regular water. (Keep in mind, this study was small and only included healthy young adults who identified as women.)

To keep from getting bored, try adding fresh ingredients to plain water for a little change. A squeeze of fresh lemon will make hot and cold water a little more refreshing, as will crushed mint leaves, cucumber slices or slices of peeled fresh ginger.

Water at any temperature, whether hot or cold, can help keep you hydrated, satiated and fuller longer, which can aid in your overall weight-loss goals.

Drinking hot (or cold) water alone will not lead to weight loss: It takes a combination of diet, exercise and other lifestyle factors to lose weight in a healthy way.

Ultimately, the temperature of the water you drink comes down to personal preference.

As long as drinking more water becomes an integral part of your daily routine, you can reap all its benefits.