It’s believed that over 25 percent of UK adults are obese, and a further 37 percent are overweight. This puts people at greater risk of life-limiting conditions like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and numerous cancers.
And while losing weight is a common aspiration for many people, this is a lot easier said than done.
A whole range of factors can influence your weight from your diet, how often you exercise, your age, genetics, illnesses and injury, making it more difficult for some than others to achieve.
While experts will differ in their advice on how to lose weight, many agree you need to find a way to do it in a way that is healthy and sustainable.
According to one expert, there is a simple eating hack that could help achieve these results.
Dietitian Sarah Abdula, from The Slimming Clinic, urged people to give mindful eating a try.
Mindful eating is based on the Buddhist concept of mindfulness, which encourages you to be fully aware of what is happening in and around you at the moment.
More specifically it is the practice of being fully attentive to your food, your feelings, your hunger, and your satiety cues.
The idea is that it can help prevent overeating and allow you to make healthier food choices.
Sarah explained: “Paying attention and being fully aware of what you’re eating and how you’re eating it can be an extremely important step in weight management.
“Instead of focusing solely on what you eat, pay attention to how you eat.
“Slow down, savour each bite, and listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues.
“Mindful eating can help prevent overeating and promote healthier food choices.”
Mindful.org shared six important steps for mindful eating:
- Listening to your body and stopping when full
- Eating when our bodies tell us to eat (for example, when your stomach is growling, energy is low)
- Eating with others, at set times and places
- Eating foods that are nutritionally healthy
- When eating, just eating – so eating in front of the TV is not recommended
- Considering where your food comes from.
According to experts at Harvard Medical School, a number of studies have linked mindful eating to successful weight loss.
They explain some of the mechanics of this: “Digestion involves a complex series of hormonal signals between the gut and the nervous system, and it seems to take about 20 minutes for the brain to register satiety (fullness).
“If someone eats too quickly, satiety may occur after overeating instead of putting a stop to it.
“There’s also reason to believe that eating while we’re distracted by activities like driving or typing may slow down or stop digestion similar to how the ‘fight or flight’ response does.
“And if we’re not digesting well, we may be missing out on the full nutritive value of some of the food we’re consuming.”
To lose weight the NHS recommends exercising at least 150 minutes a week, eating at least five fruits and vegetables daily, swapping sugary drinks for water and aiming to lose no more than two pounds a week.
If you are concerned about your weight you should speak to your GP.