Does Lemon Water Aid Weight Loss?
If you want to lose weight, you can resort to different nutritional strategies. However, not all of them have enough scientific evidence regarding their effectiveness. One of the most famous is drinking lemon water to lose weight. Is this very traditional remedy really useful?
Citrus fruits are rich in vitamin C. One of the functions of this nutrient is to allow lipid oxidation while exercising. However, we’re going to tell you if ingesting this vitamin through this drink influences weight loss or not.
Lemon and weight loss
Lemon is a citrus fruit that contains vitamin C and antioxidants. Both substances can intervene in fat oxidation, according to a publication in the International Journal of Sports Medicine. This is due to its promotional effect on interleukins, proteins with very specific functions.
In any case, the fact that these nutrients are related to fat oxidation doesn’t mean that they aid weight loss, but rather that they intervene in metabolic aspects that allow the release of energy. No scientific evidence confirms that drinking lemon water directly aids weight loss through any physiological mechanism.
Lemon water, a satiating remedy
Although its function isn’t to stimulate weight loss, you can use lemon water for this purpose. For this, you’d need to take advantage of its stimulating satiety property.
Drinking this preparation before a meal can help to reduce the volume of food you eat later. This, of course, will have an impact on your caloric intake.
Stimulating satiety mechanisms is an effective way to stimulate weight loss, as a study conducted in 2015 confirmed. Likewise, it’s a good idea to introduce other anorectic foods into your diet to suppress your appetite, such as coffee and tea.
Weight loss, a mathematical mechanism
If you want to lose weight, you need to take into account the calories you consume and those you burn. If the balance tips in favor of the latter, there will be a progressive reduction in fatty tissue.
To achieve this goal, it’s a good idea, for example, to introduce a protocol that limits your intake during certain hours of the day, such as intermittent fasting. This has been shown to be effective compared to other more calorie-restrictive diets, according to a publication in the journal Nutrients.
However, some substances are capable of increasing the rate of weight loss within the framework of a low-calorie diet. For example, spicy foods and caffeine.
You must incorporate both in a varied and balanced diet to achieve this positive effect. If you consume more calories than you burn, there’s no effective way to prevent weight gain.
Lemon water doesn’t help you lose weight
Unless you drink it before your meals to promote satiety, lemon water isn’t going to help you lose weight. Vitamin C is involved in fat oxidation in the context of intense exercise. However, it doesn’t promote the loss of fatty tissue in significant quantities.
To plan an effective weight loss plan, it’s best to tip the energy balance in favor of burning calories, either by reducing food intake or increasing physical activity. Also, some dietary protocols, such as intermittent fasting or partial carbohydrate restriction, can help you in this process.
On the contrary, you need to forget about miracle diets and magical products and substances. The most important thing to promote weight loss is to follow a varied, balanced, and healthy diet. In addition, you need to combine this with regular physical exercise to maximize fat oxidation and to increase the formation of lean tissue, which is metabolically active.
If you have questions about how to do this, consult a nutritionist you can trust and seek the help of a physical trainer who can teach you how to exercise correctly. With their guidance and supervision, as well as your willpower, you’re sure to achieve the desired results!
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Pérez Lopez A., Martin Rincon M., Santana A., Perez Suarez I., et al., Antioxidants facilitate high intensity exercise IL 15 expression in skeletal muscle. Int J Sports Med, 2019. 40 (1): 16-22.
- Tremblay A., Bellisle F., Nutrients, satiety, and control of energy intake. App Physiol Nutr Metab, 2015. 40 (10): 971-9.
- Rynders CA., Thomas EA., Zaman A., Pan Z., et al., Effectiveness of intermittent fasting and time restricted feeding compared to continuous eneergy restriction for weight loss. Nutrients, 2019.
