The internet is rife with quick-fix weight loss tips: Make this one diet change and you’ll magically drop 10 pounds!
Lemon water has found itself in that category. Headlines, Instagram posts and TikTok videos laud the beverage as an easy “fat-burning” diet. But these kinds of posts are missing an important component: qualified experts.
“Lemon water is hydrating and naturally acidic – qualities that might make you go to the bathroom after drinking it,” Virginia-based registered dietitian and diabetes educator Caroline Thomason tells USA TODAY. “If you weighed yourself before and after going to the bathroom, sure, you may find that you’ve lost weight. However, it’s not loss from magically drinking lemon water in the morning.”
Here’s what licensed nutrition experts actually think about the idea of drinking lemon water for weight loss.
Does lemon water help you lose weight?
The short answer: no.
“As a dietitian, I’m not really sure where this myth originated, but there’s not a magical food or drink that can help you lose body fat,” Thomason says. “Unfortunately, the boring basics still work for weight loss: Diet and exercise are the two most important factors you can change to lose weight.”
Drinking lemon water could still offer you benefits including providing vitamin C and potassium, and helping to keep you hydrated.
While there’s some research to suggest that drinking water before eating a meal may help consumers feel fuller and in turn eat less, experts say there’s nothing specific about adding lemon to water that would make someone drop any pounds.
For those looking to lose weight, Thomason recommends starting with the following daily lifestyle tweaks:
- Exercise: Walking, strength training a few times a week and increasing cardio to 150 minutes per week
- Diet: Emphasizing “protein, increasing your fruits and vegetables, swapping refined grains for whole grains, and incorporating healthy fat into your diet”
- Tracking food “to get a better idea of calories you’re taking in per day”: While some experts are wary that focusing too much on tracking daily calories can lead to disordered eating, Thomason notes that it can also be beneficial in creating a baseline “awareness of your eating habits and clearly help you see where you can make changes for weight loss.”
Benefits of drinking lemon water:Options for healthy, hydrating drinks
Who should not drink lemon water?
An acidic drink such as lemon water can cause heartburn, especially for those who are prone to acid reflux. There’s also some research to suggest citric acid, which is found in lemons, could also erode tooth enamel when consumed regularly over a long period of time.
The fastest way to lose weight?Let’s shift the perspective.
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