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That's the question I have asked over and over again as I have tried to lose those extra pounds because, like many people, I don't drink the minimum eight, eight ounce glasses of water every day that is recommended by most health professionals.

And since I'm not drinking the 64 ounces of water a day recommended by most health professionals, it sure means I'm not drinking the ' to 1 ounce of water per pound of weight some experts recommend you drink if you really want to shed those pounds.

I've read countless stories from people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off. One of the main things I hear from those people is that they drank a lot of water.

Just a few months ago the landscape guy who delivered shrubs to our house was talking about all the weight he lost (he looked great) and he said the two keys to the weight he lost were exercise and drinking a lot of water.

Why do health and weight loss experts feel it is so important to drink water as part of a successful weight loss plan? From what I've read they say it's important because many people mistake thirst for hunger and eat something when taking a drink would have satisfied them. So theoretically this means a person would eat less food, or at least have less potential to overeat if he or she were drinking enough water.

Water keeps a person hydrated and I've read over and over again that many people are continually dehydrated and don't drink enough fluids each day. And water is the best fluid for the body.

Also, when a person drinks really cold water (think water that's been poured over a huge glass of ice) it does force the body to expend some energy, but don't fool yourself into thinking that drinking ice water is going to cause you to lose huge amounts of weight.

And the biggie is that water has zero calories so no matter how much water a person drinks it won't do any damage to their diet unlike soda, sugar filled juices, or many of the energy drinks.

So I decided to do my own unscientific experiment and see if drinking the recommended amount of water would have an effect on how I felt and on my weight. After only one week of drinking 4-5 sixteen ounce bottles of water a day, I lost 2 pounds. I don't think it was just from drinking the water. I think it was partly because I was drinking a lot more water I wasn't drinking nearly as much soda. My Pepsi consumption went way down that week which cut a lot of calories out of my diet.

It wasn't easy to drink that much water. To make it easier, I always kept a bottle or glass handy so it was convenient to drink it. And I started pouring it over ice at night and using a straw to make drinking it a little more fun. I also added Crystal Light to some of the water to make it tastier.

Another bonus to drinking that much water was that I felt better. I had more energy and the headaches I'm prone to getting were less frequent and less severe.

So maybe those experts are right when they say drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day is important to weight loss and also important for a person's overall well being.