water is critical to losing weight. Although drinking water is certainly a good thing to do for your overall health, there is scant scientific evi- dence to back up the claim that it helps weight loss. In fact, studies have found that drinking water before, during, and after a meal makes no significant difference in the amount of food eaten.
Women and men do have some favorite strategies in their pursuit of weight loss, but they’re not particularly helpful. Both genders gravitate toward eating strategies that provide only a temporary fix and set them up for future weight regain. The first is skipping meals as a means of cutting back their overall food consumption. This strategy often back- fires because eventually the dieter becomes so hungry that he or she overeats. And if the skipped meal is breakfast, it may be an even big- ger mistake. According to the National Weight Control Registry, eat- ing breakfast every day is one of the strategies associated with lasting weight loss.
A second failed strategy is completely eliminating certain foods, like chocolate or potato chips, because they are hard to resist. While that strategy can be effective in the early days of weight loss, as weight loss progresses, the effectiveness wanes. In fact, most people find them- selves desiring the forbidden food to the point that when it is finally eaten, what’s eaten is a supersized portion. Rather than deciding to eliminate certain foods forever, a more effective strategy is to learn how to include them periodically in an overall eating strategy that supports weight loss.A third approach with questionable effectiveness is becoming a veg- etarian. Although it can be a healthy eating alternative, simply avoid- ing meat and animal products doesn’t guarantee weight loss—candy, cookies, and many snack foods are all vegetarian choices.Finally, it seems as though every other decade, many women and men try to follow a very-high-protein diet to lose weight. Thank- fully, people have come to realize that such a diet does not work in the long term.Looking at the more positive side, men and women do share some safe and effective eating strategies that can help them eat less food and lose weight. As we discussed, both women and men prefer to reduce their sugar and fat intake as a strategy for cutting back. In addition, Weight Watchers research has found that women and men are equally likely to try to reduce their between-meal snacking. That is a good thing, given that snacking is on the rise in the United States. Accord- ing to the USDA’s nationally representative surveys, snacks now account for up to 25 percent of our daily energy intake, which many health professionals think may account for the extra calories that all Americans, including kids, are consuming. Also, in a study by Weight Watchers, both women and men said that they were cutting back on alcohol. Again, that is another excellent tactic, given that alcoholic bev- erages provide a generous number of empty calories. In addition, peo- ple who drink alcohol are often more vulnerable to letting down their guard and may find themselves overeating in social situations—at a party, in a restaurant, or at a ball game.Basically, both women and men seem to have some unique prefer- ences for eating strategies that can help them cut back. Women fre- quently opt for a more structured eating plan, whereas men often do better when they cut back on their snacking and drink less alcohol. The bottom line: one size doesn’t fit all.
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