Nutritionist recommends drink to have with meals to aid weight loss

Michael Mosley discusses health benefits of drinking water

Being overweight or obese is often associated with multiple health problems.

Therefore, to prevent or ease the symptoms of certain conditions most health bodies will advise losing weight if necessary.

To safely lose weight a number of factors need to be taken into account, with a combination of a healthy diet and exercise one of the best ways to go about doing so.

However, the way in which you eat your meals could also help.

Jess Hillard, sports nutritionist at sports nutrition brand Warrior, spoke with Express.co.uk to explain more.

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She advised drinking water during meals to prevent overeating.

“It is circulated that water will ‘fill you up more’ if you drink through your meal,” Ms Hillard said.

“This is slightly true, but more through the fact that it can slow you down whilst you eat so you enjoy your food more.

“It takes 20 minutes for your stomach and brain to catch up with one another so slowing down your eating and having water between can help you be more in tune with hunger hormones, and could consequently lead to eating less.”

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When asked about the weight-loss properties of water as a drink, she said: “Drinking water will not magically make you lose weight.

“However, it is common that when you are dehydrated, the body can often confuse it for hunger.

“Therefore, if you do not think you drink enough water and are on a weight loss journey, I would always recommend having a glass of water when you first feel hunger in case it is just dehydration.

“If you do still feel hungry after having a drink, then you can have a healthy snack as you know it is genuine hunger.”

How much water should I be drinking?

She commented: “The recommended daily intake of water is six to eight glasses or 1.5 to two litres per day.

“However, this is a general recommendation and as with anything in the nutrition world, it is not one size fits all.

“Hydration and how much you drink can hugely vary depending on your height, weight, gender, sweat rates, exercise levels, temperature outside and humidity.

“There are a lot of factors! Take it into account and be sensible about it. Often, people are not consuming enough water.”

Ms Hilliard added: “There is no drink which will aid weight loss.

“Weight loss is complex and comes from consuming a balanced diet, with correct portion sizes and a regular varied exercise regime.

“However, there are ways to make plain water more ‘hydrating’ or more ‘filling’.

“Adding the extra hydration factor can be great if sweating a lot due to exercise; this can be seen naturally through coconut water, or you can use hydration tablets dissolved into water.”

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