Having trouble shedding those last few pounds? No worries, say researchers from the University of Birmingham–just drink water.
The findings, which appear in the journal Obesity, reveal that people who sipped 500ml of water just 30 minutes before a meal shed 10 pounds more than people that did not during a 12 week time span. That’s definitely more than a few pounds–and an effortless way for dieters to speed up their weight loss.
For researcher Dr. Helen Parretti, the findings are promising.
“The beauty of these findings is in the simplicity,” says Parretti, who serves as the NIHR Clinical Lecturer at the University of Birmingham. “Just drinking a pint of water, three times a day, before your main meals may help reduce your weight. When combined with brief instructions on how to increase your amount of physical activity and on a healthy diet, this seems to help people to achieve some extra weight loss–at a moderate and healthy rate.”
Recruiting a group of obese adults, researchers initially came across these findings after subjecting them to two different eating tests, designed to determine the efficacy of certain diet methods. In this case, the group was split into two and advised to do one of two actions: Drink 500ml of water 30 minutes before a meal or drink nothing at all.
All of the participants were also advised on how to change their dietary needs in order to lose weight, which resulted in them losing weight.
But when it came to measuring their weight loss 12 weeks later, there was a distinct difference between those who sipped or did not sip water. So what was the difference? According to researchers, it was nearly 10 pounds–the amount of additional weight they lost just by drinking water.
As for the reason why, it’s simple, say health experts: Water makes your stomach fuller.
“It’s something that doesn’t take much work to integrate into our busy everyday lives,” says Parretti. “Losing a few extra pounds over the course of a year can be significant to an individual, and this could be an easy way to help with that weight loss. It’s a simple message that has the potential to make a real contribution to public health.”
So if you’re having trouble losing weight, don’t fret just yet–instead, try sipping water before eating a meal.
What This Means For You
Having trouble shedding that stubborn weight? Forget diet pills, say researchers; instead, you’re better off drinking at least 500ml of water 30 minutes before a meal. It’s a simple trick, but it could result in losing up to 10 more pounds when combined with a healthy lifestyle plan, say researchers.
Readers: How do you personally reduce hunger levels?
Sources:
Glass of Water Before Each Meal Could Help in Weight Reduction – ScienceDaily.com
Efficacy of Water Preloading Before Main Meals As a Strategy For Weight Loss (Study) – Wiley.com
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