OK, you've probably heard this one before, "You need to drink lots of water to lose weight".   Well, guess what? It turns out that it's actually true. According to a new study, drinking water before meals can help you lose as much as five pounds or more!

The common belief is that drinking water can help people feel full so they eat less.  The problem is, there has been very little scientific evidence to support the claim. Now there has been the first randomized controlled trial looking at drinking water to lose weight. The study was funded by the charity the Institute for Public Health and Water Research.

Researchers say people can lose an average of five pounds if they drink two cups of water before each meal, three times a day.

The research consisted of 48 adults split into two equal groups. The first group followed a low calorie diet but did not drink any extra water before meals. Meanwhile, the second group followed the low calorie diet but they also drank two cups of water before each meal.

After three months, people who drank water lost about 15 and a half pounds compared with the non- water drinkers, who lost about 11 pounds. There are really two reasons for the additionalweight loss. Drinking water may help people shed pounds just because it has no calories and fills up the stomach, making people less hungry.  The added benefit is that it helps flush out the body of extra waste and toxins that contribute to retaining fat.

Soft drinks have been on my list of things to avoid for a long time.  Now there is even one more reason for expectant mothers to avoid diet soft drinks.  According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the consumption of artificially sweetened soft drinks, both carbonated and noncarbonated, is associated with an increased risk for preterm births occurring before 37 weeks' gestation.
 

So, what is the real culprit to this problem?  If you said “artificial sweeteners”, you are totally correct.  Even one per day can pose a problem, and it gets worse by drinking more.  The odds of a preterm birth for women consuming at least one artificially sweetened carbonated soft drink per day went up to 1.38.  The odds went up to 1.78 for those consuming at least four of these drinks per day.
 

The risk was greater risk for early and moderately preterm birth than for late preterm birth. The researchers found no such association between sugar-sweetened beverages and preterm births. 
   

If you do an internet search on aspartame, which is the number one artificial sweetener, you will find millions of posts about the problems it causes.  It has more complaints than anything else the FDA has tested.  Why is it still on the market?  Money talks!  I have noticed a shift to other types of artificial sweeteners in the past couple of years.  I’m not suggesting you drink a lot of sugar-sweetened soft drinks, because they are empty calories and the carbonation raises the acid level in your body. 
 

An occasional soft drink is not a problem.  Just limit the amount you drink and don’t make it part of your daily diet.  Drink more water and tea, and your body will thank you.

A new study shows that about half of women surveyed say they would rather go without sex for the summer than gain 10 pounds. And what about men? Nearly one fourth of men feel the same way.

That does not mean that sex is out of the picture.  In fact, it is the driving force. About 66 percent of people say they need to lose an average of 23 pounds to feel sexier than they now do.

The survey of 1,001 adults, conducted for the diet company Nutrisystem, also found a third of those surveyed have tried to diet during the last year. Over a lifetime, participants attempted to diet an average of 13 times, with women averaging 16 times, and men, eight.

My guess is that this is not a total surprise to you. You may even feel the same way. At the same time, I realize that this study by Nutrisystem is set up to create a result that they think will sell their products. A study of 1,001 people is actually rather small and probably becomes highly predictable.

I’m not against this because it is a good example of creating emotional leverage to help you create a change. The more ways you can create emotionl to change your feelings about food, the more successful you will be.

As far as Nutrisystem as a weight-loss plan, it is okay to get started, but not for long term change. I have to say that I am not a fan of any plan that wants you to buy food from them. Their underlying motive is to keep you as a customer for as long as possible. That is not my idea of success.