A New ‘Diet’ Water to Help you Lose Weight

By Dietitian, Juliette Kellow BSc RD

First we had Diet Coke. Now, we’ve got Skinny Water – and yes, you did read that right!

Despite the fact that regular water is completely calorie-free, Bio Synergy has launched a ‘low-calorie’ bottled water that claims to contain a unique combination of ingredients to help you lose weight.

The two magic ingredients are chromium and L-carnitine.

Chromium has been added on the basis that some studies have shown it helps regulate blood sugar levels and therefore curbs cravings.

L-carnitine – a vitamin-like ingredient that’s naturally found in meat and dairy products and is made in the body protein building from two amino acids (protein building blocks) – has been included to help turn fat into energy.

Pomegranate juice adds taste and antioxidants, the latter of which help to protect against free radical damage. After drinking this wonder water, apparently ‘most people’ reported that they felt less hungry the next day and had fewer sugar cravings.

It’s recommended you drink a 500ml bottle of the water two to four times a day, 30 minutes before a meal – and of course whenever you feel thirsty! Each 500ml bottle contains 9 calories (compared to calorie-free tap water) and costs 99p.

WLR says:

Call us cynical, but we’re not convinced about the benefits of this product with its claims to help you lose weight.

Chromium is a trace mineral that’s important for processing carbohydrates and fats and helping the cells respond properly to insulin – the hormone that controls blood sugar levels. However, there’s not enough evidence to suggest that chromium is an effective ingredient for weight loss. It’s the same story for L-carnitine.

There’s simply not enough proof that boosting intakes will help people to lose weight. Furthermore, there appear to be no clinical studies carried out to confirm whether Skinny Water actually works to reduce hunger, beat cravings and help people lose weight.

Swapping regular calorie free water for water that contains calories also seems crazy if you want to lose weight. Okay, 9 calories per bottle may not sound a lot, but drink the recommended four bottles a day and that adds up to an extra 252 calories in a week – enough to actually make you gain almost 4lb in a year!

This product can work out expensive. Four bottles will set you back almost £4 a day – if you really want to lose weight, you’d be better off spending this money on doing something active such as an aerobics class, dance class or a swim.

It’s worth remembering that drinking water in general can help to fill you up and take the edge off hunger in the short term so that you perhaps eat less overall. Therefore, the claims that people felt fuller after drinking this product are probably more to do with upping their fluid intake than any magic ‘weight loss’ ingredients.

Drinking more water will help most people to stay hydrated. This is important because when we are dehydrated we get thirsty and sometimes our bodies confuse thirst for hunger so that we eat when really our body is crying out for fluids.

Bottom line: avoid this gimmicky product and stick to calorie-free tap water and your daily calorie allowance.