People eat without hunger most of the time, driven by habit, boredom, and environmental cues. When water is accessible, it becomes an alternative to reflexive snacking. Simple changes — bottle at your desk, glass in your workspace, water stations at home — remove friction and make hydration the path of least resistance. Drinking water before a meal does reduce intake, though the trials that showed it were run in adults aged 55 to 80 and the same preload did not work in younger ones; the mechanism is volume, not a correction of mistaken hunger. The easiest option wins; make water your easiest option.
This companion covers the hydration-eating connection, auditing water access, and improving access. (4 min read)
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- We overuse the em dash in our prose. We use the em dash more often than easy reading allows, and we are changing how we punctuate.
Written by AI, directed and approved by me. How this is made →