What if I told you there is something you can drink that is easily accessible, free, healthy, and can help you lose more weight? Does it sound too good to be true? For years, people have speculated that this drink helps with weight loss. But until now there hasn’t been much scientific evidence to back up that claim. So what is it? If you didn’t already guess, it’s water. New research, presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society, compared people who drank two, 8-ounce glasses of water before a meal with those who drank nothing. The 48 participants, ages 55-75, were all on a low-calorie diet. Over a 12-week period, the people who drank the water three times a day (before meals), lost about 5 pounds more than those who did not increase their water consumption (15.5 pounds compared to 11 pounds.) There are a few reasons why drinking water before a meal could be a good weight loss strategy. One is that it helps fill your stomach a little, so you end up eating less. Water can also replace high-calorie sodas and juices, which can save hundreds of calories per day. The Institute of Medicine says that most people can let thirst determine how much water they drink per day. There are no exact requirements of how much you should drink, but per haps if you could time your water intake around your meals, you could see a change in your weight loss progress. Still not sure how much and what you should be drinking daily? Check out SparkPeople’s Healthy Beverage Guidelines for more information. What do you think? Have you tried drinking water before meals? Do you find it has an effect on your weight loss? |
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