Drink More Water for Weight Loss
Engaging in healthy behaviors is the key to successful weight loss. Sometimes, small healthy habits can make a huge difference in your ability to reach your weight loss goals. One of these healthy habits that you’ll want to focus on as you embark on your medical weight loss program is drinking plenty of water. While water has always been recognized as an essential ingredient to our survival, researchers have recently found that being extra careful with your water intake during your weight loss program can help suppress your appetite and boost weight loss results.
Why Water?
Water has been an important aspect of your life since the day you were born. Every one of us relies on water for survival. If pushed, you could survive weeks without food, but only a day or two before you’d need water. Your body is comprised of almost 60% water. It is in every cell, tissue, and organ that makes your body work. Without enough water your body will go into dehydration, in which your body will systematically begin to shut down until you regain a proper fluid level. Water is also zero calories, meaning that increasing how much of it you drink every day won’t negatively impact your diet in the slightest.
It is clear that water is important, but during your weight loss program, water becomes even more valuable. According to recent research, drinking just a glass of water before every meal could help suppress hunger and stimulate weight loss.
At Mealtime, drink Water
Researchers from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom published the findings of their recent study in the journal Obesity in the summer of 2015. They found that drinking 16 ounces of water before a meal lead to greater weight loss success. This means that drinking one large glass of water, a pint sized glass to be exact, could make a huge difference in your weight loss progress.
The idea that drinking water is good for your health and weight loss goals is not new. However, this research team wanted to know the exact benefits of this practice, and set up a 12-week study to find the effects. They found that people who drank a large glass of water about 30 minutes before a meal were more likely to lose weight, losing about 9 pounds on average over the course of 12 weeks, without making any larger changes to their overall dietary practices.
Why does water help with weight loss? The easy answer is that filling your stomach with water before a meal will seemingly “fill you up.” That way, when it comes time to eat your meal, you simply aren’t as hungry and thereby won’t eat as much.
Using water as a natural way to suppress your appetite can give you an added boost during your weight loss program. The bigger benefit is that water is essential for healthy living, and drinking 16 ounces at least three times a day is a great way to make sure you are getting enough water daily. If you are worried about adjusting eating habits to fit in line with your medical weight loss program, you might want to consider upping your water intake. Of course, before you make any changes to your diet, consult with your weight loss doctor.
