Contributed by: Dustin Gonzalez, NASM-CPT

You may have heard that drinking more water is a good weight loss tip; but recent research shows even more compelling support for this weight loss tactic. New, unpublished clinical evidence shows that drinking water prior to eating can be an effective weight loss tool.

The researchers found that people who drank two eight ounce cups of water right before eating a meal, ate 75-90 fewer calories during that meal. In this recent study, they found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals three times per day lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake.

Water may be effective simply because it fills up the stomach with a substance that has zero calories. People feel fuller longer as a result and eat less calories containing food during the meal. Increased water consumption may also help people lose weight if they drink it in place of calorie-containing beverages. In addition, there are other benefits for consuming water on a daily basis: 1) it helps maintain the balance of bodily fluids, 2) helps flush out toxins, and 3) aides in normal bowel function.

References:

Webster, Sandy Todd. “Drink Water, Drop Weight.” IDEA Fitness Journal
7.10 (2010): 56. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 19 Sept. 2016.