Does drinking cold water burn calories? Yes, but the number is tiny. Each glass of cold water burns about 4 to 8 calories. That is the same as eating one plain M&M or a small pickle.
The idea sounds great. You drink cold water, your body works to warm it up, and you burn extra calories. But the math tells a different story.
How many calories does cold water actually burn?
Your body burns about 8 calories to warm one glass of ice cold water to body temperature. This comes from basic physics. Your body sits at about 37 degrees Celsius. Cold water from the fridge sits at about 5 degrees Celsius. Your body needs energy to close that gap.
A 2006 study tested this idea directly. Researchers gave people cold water at 3 degrees Celsius and measured what happened. The cold water caused a small bump in calorie burn of about 4.5% over 60 minutes. But this fell well below what physics would predict if your body was doing all the work to heat the water.
Room temperature water at about 22 degrees showed no effect on calorie burn at all.
If you drank eight glasses of ice cold water per day, you would burn roughly 56 extra calories. That is less than half a banana.
Why did one study claim a 30% boost?
A 2003 German study made headlines when it found that drinking 500ml of water boosted metabolism by 30% for about an hour. Researchers said this could add up to 100 extra calories per day if you drank two liters of cold water.
Other scientists tried to repeat these results and failed. A 2006 follow up study found the effect was much smaller. The researchers said the original study measured calorie burn using a flawed method. When they used better tools, the big effect vanished.
A 2015 study in the journal Nutrition and Diabetes put this to rest. Using proper measurement tools, they found that drinking room temperature water did not boost metabolism at all. Their conclusion was direct. Water by itself does not burn extra calories in healthy young people.
Does the temperature of water matter for weight loss?
The temperature makes almost no difference for losing weight. A 2024 study in PLOS One looked at this question with real people trying to lose weight. The surprise finding was that people who drank more cold water actually had higher body weight on average.
This does not mean cold water causes weight gain. It means the tiny calorie burn from cold water does not matter enough to show up in real weight loss. The people drinking cold water were not losing more weight than anyone else.
What does matter is drinking water before meals. One study found that people who drank 500ml of water 30 minutes before meals lost 1.4kg more over 12 weeks than people who did not. But the temperature did not change the results.
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What about eating ice?
Eating actual ice burns more calories than drinking cold water. One doctor calculated that eating one ounce of ice burns about 5 calories because your body must melt the ice and then warm the water.
A letter in the Annals of Internal Medicine estimated that eating about a litre of ice could burn around 150 calories. That is the same as running about one mile.
But eating that much ice comes with risks. It can damage your teeth, hurt your throat, and cause stomach problems. Doctors do not recommend it as a weight loss method.
What actually burns calories?
Your body burns calories through three main paths
- Resting metabolism makes up about 70% of your daily burn. This is the energy your organs need to keep you alive.
- Physical activity accounts for about 20% of your daily burn. Walking, lifting weights, and moving around all add up here.
- Digesting food takes about 10% of your daily burn. Protein burns the most calories during digestion at 20 to 30% of its calories. Fat burns the least at 0 to 3%.
Cold water fits into none of these categories in any meaningful way. The 8 calories from a glass of cold water is less than the calories burned from standing up and sitting back down a few times.
Does water help with weight loss in other ways?
Yes. Water helps with weight loss through paths that have nothing to do with temperature.
Drinking water before meals reduces how much you eat. The water fills your stomach and makes you feel full faster. Studies show this can cut your food intake at the meal.
Replacing sugary drinks with water saves hundreds of calories. One can of soft drink contains about 140 calories. Swap that for water and the savings add up fast.
Staying hydrated helps you exercise harder. When you exercise harder, you burn more calories. Dehydration makes workouts feel harder and cuts your performance.
Some research suggests exercise helps you regulate appetite better. A classic study from the 1950s found that sedentary people ate more food than lightly active people. When people became active, they ate the right amount of calories for their bodies.
How much water should you drink?
Men need about 3.7 litres per day from all fluids and food. Women need about 2.7 litres per day. Most people can let thirst guide them.
If your goal is weight loss, try drinking a glass of water before each meal. The temperature does not matter. What matters is the water filling your stomach before you eat.
FAQ
Will drinking ice water boost my metabolism?
No. Cold water causes a tiny and short bump in calorie burn. The effect lasts about 60 minutes and burns fewer than 10 calories per glass. This is too small to affect your weight.
How many calories does 8 glasses of cold water burn?
About 56 calories per day if you drink ice cold water. That equals less than half a banana or about 15 minutes of standing instead of sitting.
Is cold water better than room temperature water for losing weight?
No. The temperature of water does not matter for weight loss. What matters is drinking water before meals, replacing sugary drinks with water, and staying hydrated so you can exercise well.
Can eating ice help me lose weight?
Eating ice burns more calories than drinking cold water because your body must melt it first. But the amounts are still small, and eating large amounts of ice can damage your teeth and throat. Doctors do not recommend this.
What burns more calories than cold water?
Almost everything. Walking for 10 minutes burns about 40 calories. Standing for an hour burns about 50 more calories than sitting. Eating high protein foods burns 20 to 30% of the food’s calories just through digestion.
Does cold water burn belly fat?
No. Cold water does not target belly fat or any specific body fat. Your body chooses where to lose fat based on genetics, not what temperature water you drink.
Should I stop drinking cold water?
No. Drink water at whatever temperature you enjoy. The goal is to stay hydrated. Cold water will not hurt you, and it will not help you lose weight either. Pick what helps you drink enough water throughout the day.
While cold water may give your metabolism a minor temporary boost, lasting results require a broader strategy that includes exercise and nutrition. Understanding how long it takes to get into shape helps set realistic expectations, and if you’re after faster progress, learning how to lose 5kg in 2 weeks can outline more impactful methods. A personal trainer in Yarraville can help you combine these small advantages into a comprehensive fat-loss plan.
