Virginia Tech researchers have discovered a safe and successful way of losing extra pounds while maintaining a low calorie diet. They suggest that drinking an 8 ounce glasses of water before each meal will cause fewer calories to be consumed.
The study was carried out for 12 weeks on two groups of overweight people whose ages ranged between 55 and 75 years. One group did not drink water prior to their meals but were also on a low calorie diet. At the end of the 12 weeks, the group not drinking water succeeded in losing 11 pounds whereas the water drinking group lost 15.5 pounds by the end. Unfortunately, the same method of weight loss cannot be used for those aged between 18 and 35 as within this age group water is not so easily retained and goes straight through the stomach.
The researchers had thought that by drinking the 2 glasses of water before the meal, the participants would compensate for the reduced calorie intake at another stage during the day but this was not the case. One year later, it also proved to be a successful way of keeping the weight off over a period of time. These dieters kept on losing weight.
Barry Popkin of the University of North Carolina Nutrition Obesity Research Centre, pleased with the results, whose past research has shown that those who drink more water drink and less sugary/ calorific drinks and eat more fruits and vegetables thus have an overall lower calorie consumption than those who do not drink as much water. Americans drink a staggering 300 calories more per day drinking sugary drinks than they did 30 years ago. They are one of the worst perpetuators in the junk calorie consumption league table but we Brits are not far behind.