People who want to lose weight often drink more water hoping to feel full and burn more calories, not knowing if it’s effective.
If you want to lose weight, you usually drink a lot of water cleanse the body., reduce appetite j burn calories. All mechanisms that would help you lose weight. However, there is little scientific evidence to support these claims, and drinking a little more water is not enough to lose a few pounds, as explained in an article published in The Conversation.
Water and calories
A small study of 14 young adults found that drinking half a liter of water increased resting energy expenditure by 24%, i.e. the calories our body uses to maintain vital physiological functions such as breathing, blood flow, etc. However, The effect lasted only an hour. For example, a 150-pound adult would consume only 20 extra calories (about a quarter of a cookie) for every pint of water they drank.
Another small study of eight young adults found an increase in energy expenditure only when the water in the refrigerator was cold, with a very modest increase in calorie expenditure: just 4%. This may be because the body has to expend more energy to bring water up to body temperature or to filter the increased amount of liquid through the kidneys. And even in this case, the effect was observed for only an hour. From a practical point of view, drinking a liter and a half of water a day would use fewer calories than a slice of bread.
Water and loss of appetite
The other reason why those who want to lose weight choose to increase their water intake is because in the stomach, which is partially filled with water, there is less space for food and therefore you end up sinking in the stomach eat less. Overall, the claim makes sense and is supported by numerous studies, particularly those conducted on middle-aged and older adults.
For this reason, people who are feeling unwell or have a poor appetite are advised not to drink before meals, as this will cause them to eat even less. However, for people who want to lose weight, especially when they are young, things are not so simple.
One study showed that middle-aged and older adults You have lost more than two kilos in three months when they drank water before meals compared to people who did not drink water at lunch and dinner. However, the youngest participants (aged 21 to 35) did not lose weight regardless of whether they drank water before the meal.
However, the study was not blinded (meaning information that might influence the participants was kept secret until the end of the experiment), meaning the volunteers knew why they drank water before a meal. This realization may have prompted some participants to intentionally change the amount of food they eat in hopes that it would help them lose weight.
Another flaw in this type of study is that it examines whether participants eat less after drinking water for just one of their daily meals. Additionally, there is very little qualitative evidence that decreased appetite in general leads to it weight loss. Although water can reduce appetite, it doesn’t appear to result in weight change over time.
Water alone is not enough
Water alone isn’t enough for weight loss, but while feeling full and not wanting to stop eating aren’t perfectly compatible with the possibility of weight loss, they are still one useful starting point.
Part of what helps us feel full is our stomach. When food enters the stomach, it activates receptors that lead to the release of signaling hormones saturation to the brain. But since water is a liquid, the stomach empties quickly: This means that it doesn’t really fill us up.
Also, due to the shape of the stomach, liquids bypass semi-solid food contents that are digested in the lower part of the organ. This means that water leaves the stomach faster, so satiety doesn’t necessarily last longer if taken at the end of a meal.
While water doesn’t directly help you lose weight, it can help diet Because it is the healthiest drink there is: if you drink it instead of alcohol or fizzy drinks, it is undoubtedly a good choice for anyone who wants to lose weight.
Additionally, when water is mixed with other substances, such as fiber or soups, it can slow the rate at which the stomach empties, resulting in longer feelings of fullness. In practice, it’s like starting the meal with a generous helping (at least 300 grams) of seasonal vegetables.
