The researchers actually divided two groups of overweight and obese men and women aged 55 to 75 into two groups: one group was told to follow a low-fat, low-calorie diet; the other group was told to follow the same diet and to drink two cups of water before breakfast, lunch and dinner.

After 12 weeks, they found that those who drank water before meals had lost 15.5 pounds, compared to 11 pounds for the non-water drinkers, a nearly 30 percent difference.

Thus, this gave them the idea for the weight-loss program from their prior research, which found that when middle-aged and older adults drank water before meals, they ate between 75 and 90 fewer calories at the meal.

What they weren’t sure about, however, was if water drinkers would compensate by eating more throughout the rest of the day, said senior study author Brenda Davy, an associate professor in the department of human nutrition, foods and exercise at Virginia Tech. But after 12 weeks of dieting, that didn’t happen.

“Drinking more water is a pretty simple strategy that may be helpful to people trying to lose weight,” Davy said. “We’re not saying, ‘Drink more water and the body fat will melt away’. But for people who are trying to lose weight and trying to follow a low-cal diet, it’s something they can do as part of that.”

One of the most vexing issues with dieting is how difficult it is to keep the weight off long-term, Davy said. After the 12 weeks were up, Davy and her colleagues have continued to follow the participants.

After one year, preliminary data shows that those who continued to drink water before meals not only kept those pounds off, but have even continued to lose a bit more — about 1.5 pounds on average.

Yet pre-meal water chugging comes with one caveat: it may only work if you’re middle-aged or older, Davy said.

Prior research has shown that in those aged 18 to 35, drinking water before the meal did not cause them to eat fewer calories at the meal, Davy said.

In older people, it takes longer for the stomach to empty, which may be why the water helps them feel fuller and less hungry, while in younger people, water begins leaving the stomach almost immediately, Davy said.

Another challenge to the water-before-meals weight-loss strategy is getting people to do it, said Carla Wolper, an assistant professor in the Eating Disorders Center at Columbia University and a research faculty member at the New York Obesity Research Center at St. Luke’s Hospital in New York City.

“The question is, do people continue to drink the water in a non-study situation?” Wolper said. “We know there are a lot of simple things people could do to lose weight. Clinical trials have shown if people write down what they eat, they lost twice as much weight. Yet it’s very hard to get people to write down what they eat. Or, if people would reduce portions just a little bit, they would lose weight. But people don’t do it.”

The same goes for drinking more water. Even seemingly small changes require commitment. “Changing a pattern of behavior is complicated, and requires time and energy,” Wolper said.

It is worth the try because water is harmless and inexpensive. Try it today.

Do you know that when your body suspects you’re starving, it stores extra fat around your middle? Why, you must be wondering? Reason:  so you could survive longer in a real starvation situation.

An average woman needs 1,200-2,000 calories a day. So, you should never drop below this. Extreme dieting often leads to a cycle of starvation and overeating, which can slow your metabolism.

If a diet is unrealistic you won’t stick to it, and you will start to overeat. In the end, you’ll be disappointed and go back to your diet, then fall off it again. Yo-yo dieting creates havoc with your metabolism, thus, it is making it harder for you to keep the weight off.

According to Carina Norris, a nutritionist, she said that alocholic drinks are packed with calories and it is true that people drink more when they go for holiday or during summer.

A Long Island Iced Tea cocktail contains 280 calories. So three is the equivalent of a portion of fish and chips.

A Pina Colada has 275 calories, so avoid that too. Instead, have a Cosmopolitan, which weighs in at 99 calories. Or if you’re really thinking about your bikini, have a vodka and cranberry juice for only 60 calories.

Similarly, wine and beer are equally bad. A large glass of wine can contain up to 160 calories, and a pint of beer has 200 calories. So stick to smaller glasses of wine and drink water in between.

To help you to get rid of the toxins the next day, Carina suggested to have poached or scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast for breakfast. Why? Eggs mop up toxins in your liver, and the fibre in the wholemeal bread will fill you up and satisfy your hunger.

If you just want to have a cool drink without putting on weight, how about drinking a cool tea instead? Check out the tea below:

You think that stop eating chips, chocolate and just having salad everyday would solve your problem. Instead, you find yourself not losing weight at all.

WHY?

Under the impression, anything that is cold and green food means healthy and waist-friendly. Hot and stodgy food means lots of calories and fat. Unfortunately, it is not true all the time. Carina Norris, a nutritionist explained “Many seemingly innocent summer salads are packed with fat and calories. Anything containing croutons, dressing, potato salad or cheese probably contains more calories and fat than a regular sandwich. Always ask for the dressing on the side so you can add it sparingly.”

Do you know that McDonald’s Crispy Caesar chicken salad weighs in at a whopping 530 calories and 30g fat? Even eating a Big Mac is better off as it has only 493 calories.

For instance, eating at Pizza Express, you will think that eating Chicken Pollo Salad is a good choice. Wrong again. It contains 739 calories and 43g fat – compared with one of the restaurant’s hot, tasty Margherita pizzas which boast a more bikini-friendly 668 calories. “Don’t automatically assume a salad is a healthy option,” says Carina.

Carina’s suggestion: Forget about butter. Ask for only a small sprinkling of cheese, get salad on the side and you’ll only be getting around 450 calories. Do not keep thinking that a hot and filling food is always too much calories for you. Sometimes, a jacket potato with plain tuna or baked beans is very filling, and does not cause any increment in your calorie-intake.

Nancy Makin weighed an astounding 703 pounds in May 2000. She was forty-five years old and suffered from diabetes and other obesity-related maladies. The weight gain started after a divorce and fear at her job. Makin began overeating to avoid her feelings and soon she just couldn’t stop.

After 12 years of weight gain, Makin had spiraled into despair. The more food she ate, the more shame she felt, and nothing could stop the cycle. At her heaviest, she wore a skirt with a 108-inch waistband and missed her son’s wedding and father’s funeral.

Then one day her sister gave her a computer. Inspired by the friends she’d made online and no longer judged by how she looked, Makin finally took control of the situation.

“The anonymity of the computer gave me access to a world that would have just as well have left me alone, alone to die but I did not,” Makin wrote in a letter describing her saga.

It was the gift of getting online that ultimately let Makin escape her misery. Before she knew it, the political junkie was surfing through chat rooms and making friends, beginning to find value in herself again.

“I was being loved and nurtured by faceless strangers,” she said in 2007. “Friends accepted who I was based on my mind and soul. “I was so busy and happy to get up every morning that I like to say I lost weight in my fingers first.”

Conclusion: Makin basically changed her mindset and her perception of herself. It is her own psychological transformation that helped her to lose all that weight without diet pills, exercise or even a diet. She just stopped gorging.

“I achieved this on my own, in a natural way, with no surgical procedures having been performed. No particular ‘diet’ plan was followed; no pills, potions or ab-crunching exercises played a part in my recovery,” she wrote in a congratulatory letter to herself.

After losing 530 pounds, she wanted people to know that crucial first step is realizing that the weight is not the problem.

Advice: Unless you focus on what’s going on inside and start to feel better about yourself, you won’t be able to stop the cycle. It is important to find contentment and value in yourself by reaching out and doing something not for you, and the weight will come off as a side effect.”

Now: Today Makin weighs a healthy 170 pounds and hopes others will be inspired by her story to take back their own lives.

Are you inspired by her story? I am. In fact, I just ordered a copy of her book from Amazon. Have you?

Do you want to achieve the same success as Nancy Makin? Get her book – 703: How I Lost More Than a Quarter Ton and Gained a Life today and start to lose weight seriously for good.

1) Are you working out?
I always get in my 10,000 steps. I have taken this seriously, since I live in Ohio I got a treadmill. I have made a deal with myself that I DO NOT allow myself to watch any of my favorite shows unless I am walking on my treadmill. One 1hr show is 5000 steps. Now that it is nice outside I walk to school and pick up my son (his suggestion) and then he and I walk home. It is 5300 steps from home to school and back. It has both helped me get out and helps me hear more about my sons day. Also we have picked up many of my sons friends along the way. Now 3-4 boys walk with me a day, of course as long as it is nice! So one soap opera (treat) and walk to school 10,000 steps – plus anything else is a bonus!

2) Has the show changed your life and in what way?
I have made MANY life changes. You find when you change for the positive not many want to change with you! We are not doing a diet we are making a lifestyle change and the people in your life have to be ready for that. The biggest challenge YOU need to be ready for that!

3) Will you compete in beauty contests after you lose the weight?
I would like to and hoped to make it a goal but there is a key missing I am not a “Mrs” like Jill. LOL. As well as everything else I have recently called off an engagement.

4) How old are you?
I am 41 – so Wow I am the OLDEST.

5) How are you losing weight?
I have been consistent every week!! The belief in the commercials that 20lbs in 20 days or 10lbs in 2 weeks. Don’t believe it! Or you can believe it but you wont stay with it!

6) Do you like Jill? (Editor’s note: Dr Oz brought beauty queen, Jill Knapp, in to coach the ladies.)
I love Jill. She is my saving grace. I can call/email her anytime. She knows what we have been through. She has been there and she understands.

7) What do you do for a living?
I am unemployed right now which is why I was motivated to do the show. I was a Sr. Program Manager/consultant for a Fortune 500 Company. This is why I went looking for SOMETHING to change what I had become. I was in a panic that I was going to HAVE to interview in front of people. I know the show only portrayed that I only didn’t want to take my son to school. But editing for time is not always a good thing. I refused/refuse to leave my house. I spent the last 18 months working from home HIDING. If you recall Dr. Oz stated at the beginning of the show that I had a great deal of changes in my life. I had a great deal of loss that brought me here. I have lost a child (recent miscarriage – 2 in past year), loss of a job, engagement canceled (loss of upcoming marriage) and basically a loss of self. I am the type of person that has a strong self worth and identity through work, so being without a job is not good for me.

8 ) Do you have kids?
I do have one 14 year old son (will be 14 in April)

Thank you Julie. We wish you the best of luck and feel you are already a winner. Watch for announcements for the rest of the beauty queen interviews and next Dr. Oz show.

[Source: The Dr Oz Show]

Order  Dr. Oz’s latest book: YOU: The Owner’s Manual: An Insider’s Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger

Are you concerned that it will sabotage your weight loss attempt? Eat some dark chocolate. It may help you feel full, according to a new study from Denmark. Researchers gave 16 participants 100 g of either dark or milk chocolate, and 2 hours later offered them pizza.

Those who consumed the dark chocolate ate 15% fewer calories than those who had milk chocolate, and they were less interested in fatty, salty, and sugary foods.

Try a chocolate with 70% or more cocoa. Two tablespoons of dark chocolate chips alongside fresh berries as a mid-afternoon snack should give you some of the weight loss benefits without breaking your calorie budget.

The reason: Dark chocolate’s bitter taste might help the body regulate appetite, or its higher amount of cocoa butter (it has stearic acid, which can slow digestion) may make the stomach stay full longer.

Another benefit: Recently, German researchers studied more than 19,300 people over a decade and found those who ate the most chocolate — an average of 7.5 grams a day — had lower blood pressure and a 39 percent lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke than those who ate the least amount of chocolate — an average of 1.7 grams a day.

Now, you have every reason to eat your dark chocolate easter eggs. Have a great weekend.

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