Drinking Water Before Meals Could Help You Lose Weight

Drinking a glass of water before your meal could help you lose weight, according to a new study.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham found that consuming 500 ml - 16 ounces - of water 30 minutes before main meals was associated with weight loss in overweight adults during a 12-week study period.

"The beauty of these findings is in the simplicity," said Dr. Helen Parretti, study author and 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."

'Doesn't take much work'

Drinking water before meals can help to increase feelings of fullness, which could lead to eating less.

The group of study participants that were advised to "preload" with water before all three main meals lost an average of 9.5 pounds over the study period. The participants who only preloaded with water once per day or not at all lost an average of 1.8 pounds.

Another 2010 study from Virginia Tech researchers found that middle-age dieters who drank two cups of water before eating consumed about 75 to 90 fewer calories per meal than people who didn't drink water before meals.

"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," Parretti said. "It's something that doesn't take much work to integrate into our busy everyday lives."

Source: University of Birmingham