Eating Habits to Avoid If You Want to Lose Weight, Experts Say

There’s a routine many of us follow unconsciously during meals. Without realizing it, we often fall into the same patterns at the dining table. However, some of these habits may be detrimental, especially when it comes to losing weight. Notably, these include not chewing our food thoroughly and eating too quickly. These practices not only hinder proper digestion but also delay the feeling of fullness.

Another mealtime habit that might need reconsidering, according to popular belief, involves the timing of water consumption. The claim? Drinking water during meals can cause bloating, lead to gas, and slow down digestion by diluting gastric juices. Often, we hear that it’s bad to drink water while eating. But is this fact or fiction? It turns out this is a misconception, as no studies have proven that drinking water during meals reduces the effectiveness of digestive juices. Consuming a few glasses of water during a meal should not be an issue. In fact, according to the health website santé.fr, water can even help achieve a sense of fullness sooner, which is “a good thing when monitoring one’s weight“. The key to not feeling too full while drinking during meals is to sip slowly.

But, there is inevitably a “but”. Yes, when it comes to eating sugary foods, water can cause a higher spike in blood sugar levels. “To put it another way, drinking water while consuming them can increase the glycemic index of sugary foods. These spikes in blood sugar trigger insulin spikes, which promote fat storage in cells“, the site continues. Therefore, in the context of a dietary rebalance, it’s best to avoid sugary foods during meals. Instead, save them for snacks throughout the day! If sugar is a must during a meal, it’s better to wait half an hour before drinking water. As for sugary drinks like sodas, they should obviously be avoided or consumed only occasionally.