Drinking Water Before Meals Aids Weight Loss

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/health/16really.html?_r=1&ref=health

by cwan • 16 years ago

76 38 16 years ago

jeromec5• 16 years ago

I was having a debate with my brother about when salad should be eaten, before or after a meal. I said it would make a difference. He said it made no difference. (Americans seem to be in the minority for eating salad before meals) Some light research on the Internet was not completely conclusive, but it appeared there is not much difference. However, since salad digests slower it's generally considered better to eat it after a meal. On the other hand, eating salad before a meal can make a person feel fuller, so that they eat less.

It may be a good combination to both eat a salad and drink water before meals. However, one caveat would be that water dilutes stomach acid, so it's probably not a good idea to drink a lot of water before meals.

matwood• 16 years ago

I said it would make a difference. He said it made no difference.

Difference in what though? Satiety? Hunger? Weight loss? The underlying method for all weight loss is to eat fewer calories. How someone accomplishes that is up them and may come down to personal preference.

sudont2• 16 years ago

A salad before a meal, particularity 20-30 minutes beforehand, will start the enzyme processes that eventually render satiety.

However, most American salads are loaded with decidedly non-healthy items, so a 200-300 drop in meal calories would be offset by the salad itself.

Better just eat them to increase vegetables, then. (No iceberg!)

jeromec5• 16 years ago

I wasn't thinking it would make a difference in weight loss necessarily, but thought it would be better one way or the other for digestion.

carbocation3• 16 years ago

Water does not meaningfully Change the acidity of your gastric mucosal lining. Even antacids only do so temporarily.

jeromec5• 16 years ago

Really? One of the things I read while checking into the salad timing was about Americans also drinking cool liquids before and during a meal, which was not really advisable for good digestion.

xentronium• 16 years ago

> Americans seem to be in the minority for eating salad before meals

I always believed that's the only way it's eaten by etiquette (after appetizer and before the main course).

jeromec5• 16 years ago

Etiquette for whom though? The English? Apparently the French eat salad after meals. I found an interesting link concerning this about dinners at the White House. (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/599224)

Looking at this photo of the menu from the White House National Governors Association dinner, it looks like the salad course follows the main course, as is common in Europe. At the risk of sounding like a hick, is this arrangement of courses standard for formal dinners in the U.S.? (looks yummy, btw).

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2b_SPCr78uQ/SaMrIOb1FzI/AAAAAAAAHu...

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jules2• 16 years ago

> Americans seem to be in the minority for eating salad before meals

Nope, it's like that in most (all?) places in Europe I've visited too (certainly in restaurants).

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maneesh• 16 years ago

italians eat it at the end of a meal

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loewenskind3• 16 years ago

I think this actually depends on the situation. If you eat in a restaurant you'll probably get salad first because there is no cooking time involved. If you eat at a Europeans house you'll probably eat the main course first because you all eat together and you don't want the hot stuff to get cold.

I think how it's done has to do with practicality, not any insight on good eating practice.

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rdzah• 16 years ago

To lose weight, first we burn some fat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_oxidation "...Hydration: The next step is the hydration of the bond between C-2 and C-3." enoyl CoA hydratase <--H2O--> L-β-hydroxyacyl CoA

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hackermom2• 16 years ago

Water prior to dining does not affect your metabolism in any way what so ever - dire tabloid-style allusion error here. The article points out the obvious: if you feel less hungry (read: a bit fuller) before eating, as you would by filling your stomach with water, you might eat less of the food. Duh.

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qeorge• 16 years ago

There is no mention of metabolism anywhere in this article. Not sure where you got that.

3rd sentence:

"Dieters have been encouraged to employ this trick for ages, with the reasoning quite simple: the water fills the stomach, thus reducing hunger."

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hackermom2• 16 years ago

Exactly - that was the grave allusion error thrown about in the article. I'm sure you're familiar with the term. And as pointed out, it is just a trick; not a sure-shot.

Something interesting to reflect on: Why is this topic always such an incredibly sensitive sore spot to HN commons, taking on the form of stigma everytime it's brought up? It's like commenting on it instantly means stepping on a nerve - or possibly the protruding underbelly of someone lacking self-esteem.

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chachacha• 16 years ago

You dilute the enzymes in your stomach, making them less effective. This is a good way to get fetid gas in your lower intestine and colon.

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rick_2047• 16 years ago

Everyone talks about weight loss. What about weight gain? I a skinny boy and would like to have tips on weight gain rather than loss. But considering obesity is an epidemic and weight loss (even if you are underweight) a rage, such tips are hard to find.

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varaon• 16 years ago

http://www.reddit.com/help/faqs/Fitness#WeightGain

In addition: -Figure out your current calorie intake using http://www.fitday.com/ You may be undereating and be unaware of it.

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alexyoung• 16 years ago

This sounds like the Shangri-La Diet:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shangri-La_Diet

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ZeroGravitas• 16 years ago

That's quite a different hypothesis, involving tasteless calories taken well spaced in time from anything with a flavor or taste resetting your appetite. This is just about adding calorie-free bulk directly before meals to trigger "fullness".

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konad2• 16 years ago

Seth Roberts reported on this a long time ago, though he added a bit of fructose to his water

http://www.sethroberts.net/about/whatmakesfoodfattening.pdf

A farmers know, taking water with your meals increases calorie uptake too.

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dalore• 16 years ago

Why would taking water with your meals increase calorie uptake?

I would think it would reduce it, since it takes up space in the stomach. Also the effect it has on quenching your thirst so you don't reach for a soda instead.

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konad2• 16 years ago

The theory is that liquidising your food means more chemical reaction can take place.

I don't have soda in reach. One 330ml can of soda a day is 5kg of weight gain per year to work off.

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Drinking Water Before Meals Aids Weight Loss

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