Could losing weight be as simple as drinking a glass of water? A new diet author claims so.

Blake Sylvia says he lost 70 pounds by drinking a glass of water before a meal, one during and another after. Hence, his booklet is called "Before, During and After."

“It's completely turned off the mechanism that triggers hunger. When you're not hungry, it's easy to stick with a program,” Sylvia told KUTV.com.

But the diet has its critics. “I wouldn't recommend using water as a weight loss tool because it kind of sounds like a fad diet to me,” said Dr. Lashanda Jones of the University of Pennsylvania.

Check out Sylvia's site, BeforeDuringandAfter.com, to get the booklet.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com