The most effective way to lose weight, a new study says, isn't by taking pills or adopting extreme diets. It's by drinking water before meals. Nutrition researchers at Virginia Tech found that subjects who drank 16oz or about two glasses of water before each of their three daily meals lost 50% more weight than control subjects did. THe study volunteers, 48 overweight and obese men and women, were put on a low-calorie diet for 12 weeks. Half were given no instructions about what to drink; half were instructed to drink two glasses of water shortly before their meals. The first group lost 11lbs. on average, but the water group lost more-15.5lbs on average. Notably, the diet itself seems to stick: A year after the study, the water drinkers had continued the regimen on theie own and lost additional weight. Scientist aren't sure why this works, but they do know water is filling, has no calories, and may take the place of other high-calorie drinks that might be consumed. "It's a simple way to facilitate weight management," study author Brenda Davy tells Scientific American. She suggests that dieters drink from a refillable water bottle throughout the day, in addition to their pre-meal infusions.
