Drink Water to Lose Weight?

Put on a little extra weight during the summer BBQ, beer and patio season? Well, you can close the books on a lot of weight loss methods - the latest trick may be as easy as drinking a couple of glasses of water before eating.

A recent study found that adults over the age of 55 who drank two cups of water before each meal consumed less calories than those who did not drink water prior to eating.

Researchers divided two groups of overweight and obese adults between the ages of 55 to 75. One group followed a low-fat, low-calorie diet while the other followed a similar diet but drank two cups of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner.

After 12 weeks, the group that drank the water lost 15.5 pounds, compared to 11 pounds for the non-water drinkers. These results were nothing short of astounding - the water drinkers lost nearly 30% more than the non-water drinkers.

Drinking water before a meal resulted in eating 75 to 90 fewer calories at each meal. The researchers weren’t sure if the water drinkers would compensate for the fewer calories by snacking more throughout the day but after 12 weeks, that didn’t happen.

Drink water as an easy, cheap and safe strategy to weight loss. Put down the sugary drinks and add more water to your diet. This will get you staying hydrated, refreshed and can aid in losing weight over the long term.

The research was presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.