Science: Ice Water, Diet, and Weight Loss Question

[theben]

The Ice Water Diet:

Although I have not bothered to do the simple calculations myself, drinking on gallon of water that is approx. 37 degrees F should require about 130Kcal of heat energy to reach body temperature.

I would guess that much of the heat that the cold water would absorb is the body's waste heat and would provide little to no benefit in weight loss. However, I am sure the body will be forced to spend some additional energy that it would not otherwise have used to equalize the temperuatures.

Does anybody have knowledge of this topic? (strong educational background in the field or well read on this subject via legitimate publications)

[NutzyClutz]

If 80% of body's heat is lost through the head. When I take off my hat, why doesn't my body temperature go down to 19.9 degrees?

If its 98.5 or 97 degrees outside, why don't I feel cool?

Body heat regulation probably has much greater effect than just a bunch of water. Rambling. Don't people gain weight in winter when its coldest?

[FNHinVA]

This help?

"The Claim:

You can eat all the pizza you want as long as you drink ice water with it. Your body uses the excess calories from the pizza to warm the ice water to body temperature.

Seriously now:

In physics, 1 calorie of heat warms 1 milliliter of water by 1 degree centigrade. The calories commonly counted by nutritionists are really kilocalories (1000 calories): warming a liter of water by one degree centigrade uses only 1 calorie. Warming 1 liter (about one quart) of water from 40 degrees Fahrenheit to 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit only uses about 33 calories. How much ice water can you drink with each slice of pizza?"

Source: http://www.professortangent.org


Of course, this analysis disregards the calories consumed by getting up and going to the bathroom x times (further assuming you don't simply sit there and pee in your pants; further assuming you are wearing pants; further assuming anyone is still reading this nonsense.)

Further...

[FredJones888]

If you drank a gallon of ice water and consumed absolutely no food you might lose a little weight every day.

[Dov]

[ QUOTE ]
If you drank a gallon of ice water and consumed absolutely no food you might lose a little weight every day.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course you would lose weight on this diet! Especially when your body starts Ketosis. (Metabolising your own proteins (like muscle mass) for energy)

[K C]

Just to throw something else here in the mix that is interesting consider this. There are two main variables to weight gain or loss. The first is metabolic in the sense that we can "burn" off potential energy stored in food. The second and by far more important is the input output structure. The mass lost by burning of energy isn't really that significant as a percentage of the mass of ingested materials. Elimination of course is.

As far as the metabolic side of the equation goes, sure you will require more energy if you're cold, which includes cold beverages as well as being in a cold climate. Again though there are other more significant factors to consider here.

KC