The Best Appetite Suppressant

"What's the best appetite suppressant?" Many people ask me this question on a weekly basis. Some want to know about natural appetite suppressants, some are interested in finding out about herbal and even drug-based appetite suppressants. I tell them all the same thing: If you want to suppress your appetite in a healthy and safe way, stick with 2 proven solutions -- high-fiber foods and pure water. These are the best appetite suppressants around because they're what the human body is designed to consume and process. We are literally 'optimized' to eat lots of high-fiber fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. We also function best when we consume a large amount of pure water.

So, if you want to be less hungry -- and eat less food -- the solution is simple. 20-30 minutes before a meal do one or both of these things:

1. Eat a piece of fruit, some fibrous vegetables, or a small salad (with low-fat dressing and no crutons, bacon bits, etc.).

2. Drink a medium-size glass of water.

You'll be much less hungry and less likely to overeat (or to eat the wrong things). You'll also feel great!

More about why water is one of the best appetite suppressants available...

From eDiets.com:

The BEST appetite suppressant in the world: Learn what it is and how to get enough of it to solve your weight loss woes!

To find out more about this incredible appetite suppressant -- this virtual MIRACLE weight loss aid, you are going to have to do some visualization with me for a moment, OK!?

First off, I would like for you to picture the ickiest, muckiest and smelliest pond that you have ever seen in your life. Picture the gook sitting on the top of the water’s surface, the murky greenish color that attached itself to every nearby vine and tree limb and became slimy and gross. Got a visual in your mind?

Now, picture a beautiful fresh water flowing river. Picture the water flowing over rocks, carrying healthy fish downstream, the sounds of the river -- ah, so refreshing and pure!

Got both of those pictures in your mind? Good!

Which of these two bodies of water would you rather jump into for a swim? Which of them would you rather take a drink of?

I am going to assume that you chose the fresh water river, correct!? That is the correct answer.

Water. It is such an important and integral part of our weight loss journey, yet it is the least discussed and most overlooked. Not anymore!

I had the pleasure of speaking with the renowned Dr. Batmanghelidj (Dr B. for short!), author of Your Body's Many Cries for Water and Water: For Health, For Healing, For Life: You're Not Sick, You're Thirsty! and he really opened my eyes about not only the importance of adequate water consumption, but also as to the reasons WHY we must drink so much of it.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj passed away on November 15. For the past 25 years he devoted his life to researching the health value of water in preventing and treating disease.)

On his website, www.watercure.com, you can find many testimonials about people whose health conditions were virtually improved through the consumption of adequate water. Let’s start with the basics, what is "adequate" when it comes to how much we should consume?

Dr. B told me that you should drink one-half your body weight in fluid ounces of water, therefore for my 150-pound body, I should be consuming 75 ounces of water a day (jeez, and I thought 64 was plenty!). I asked him if there was such a thing as drinking too much water and he said certainly there is, but that would be three to four gallons of water a day and not many people could, or would want to, consume that much, but that you don’t want to drink so much that you feel lightheaded.

I asked him what to tell the person who says they "hate" water. He laughed and said, "Ask them if they hate themselves!" I was confused and asked why that would help. He replied that our bodies are made up of 75 percent water and our brains are 85 percent water, therefore if you hate water, you hate just about everything about yourself. He advises that someone take a look in the mirror, see who he or she is and realize that water nourishes and serves them and they must drink it, no matter what.

It is funny that we take for granted other things that we do just because they are good for us, such as brushing our teeth, bathing, paying taxes, etc., but too often when it comes to our weight we have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to do that which is good for us.

Dr. B. went on to explain (most of which was way over my head!) that water is the main source of energy for human function and that without water, food has NO value! Water increases the energy content of everything it breaks down (apparently food with no water in it doesn’t give us energy -- like Twinkies?!). And, there is also a way to tell if you are getting enough water or are dehydrated. If your urine is dark or orangish in color -- you are dehydrated. If it is lighter yellow you are slightly dehydrated and if it is almost clear -- you are hydrated and that is a good thing!

He believes that education about water will change a person’s mind and therefore get them to drink the amount their body requires. He stresses that he has no commercial gain from telling people to drink more water -- you can merely turn on your tap and drink from it! He said it is purely personal preference whether one drinks tap, bottled, mineral or designer water.

Best news about water? Consuming the correct amount can attribute to weight loss of up to four pounds a week (sadly, not every week, but some!).

And, about that appetite suppressant I promised to tell you about? You guessed it -- WATER! Dr. B recommends drinking two 8-ounce glasses of water 20-30 minutes before a meal. Wait for the water to settle and you will realize a much-decreased appetite! Talk about good news! He states that while water isn't really an appetite suppressant, it replaces the energy in the food we eat and is a much cleaner source of energy.

He explained it to my very unscientific mind this way: water is like hydro or clean fuel and food is like fossil fuel that leaves pollution in its path. More simply put, "Obesity is the pollution of relying on food for energy."

All this talk has made me thirsty! Go get a bottle of water and drink it, it will do you more good than you realize!

Learn more at eDiets.com...


Related resources:

Wikipedia: Appetite Suppressants