Drink More to Lose More
On Thursday, people across the US will celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday by gorging themselves with food. It’s a tradition that I’ve never fully understood. I get the point of pausing to be thankful for our blessings, and I know the origin of Thanksgiving. However, I don’t understand why everyone uses the holiday as an excuse to overeat. Given that food was scarce in the Pilgrim days, I doubt they ate to the point of gluttony.
Yes, we’re supposed to be thankful for our blessings and our food, but we shouldn’t make ourselves sick because of it. Personally, I think it’s a little sad that people get more excited about preparing and eating their food than they do about being thankful for their blessings, but I digress. That’s a blog topic for another day. Today’s post is all about tips for staving off those extra holiday pounds.
If you have a problem keeping holiday eating under control, here’s a what the experts recommend: drink more. You’ve probably heard this before (especially if you’ve been on a diet), but it’s true. Drink at least one glass of water before your meal. This simple step can help you eat less. In fact, scientists at Virginia Tech, who studied overweight subjects for three months, found that people who drank 2 cups of water before every meal lost 40% more weight than those who didn’t. Other studies have shown similar results with a 13% reduction in calorie intake when people drank water before breakfast.
Most people gain at least one pound between Thanksgiving and the start of the new year, so start drinking that water now — and watch how much you eat on Thursday — to help stave off those extra pounds.
