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Think losing weight is all about cutting calories and hours spent burning calories in the gym? There might just be an easier way.
Last week, new research found chewing food for longer may help you lose weight. So maybe it’s not what you eat, but how you eat it.
And now, James Duigan - personal trainer to Elle Macpherson and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley - and Femail's expert nutritionists Dr Marilyn Glenville and Kim Pearson reveal how to lose weight without even trying...
CONCENTRATE ON CHEWING
It’s simple according to new research, the longer you spend chewing, the less calories you consume.
A study found people who chewed each mouthful 40 times ate 12 per cent less food than those who chewed just 15 times, leading researchers to suggest eating quickly, gorging and binge eating could have a substantial effect on being overweight.
The study also showed obese participants chewed less and ingested more quickly than slimmer ones.
The man behind the miracle: Celebrity Personal trainer James Duigan photographed at his studio Bodyism in South Kensington
Experts believe chewing for longer prevents over-eating by giving the brain more time to receive signals from the stomach that it is full.
It is also thought to lower levels of ghrelin, the ‘hunger hormone’, circulating in the digestive system, meaning eating more slowly can be a simple and effective way of tackling weight problems.
‘The mouth is the first part of your digestive system so chewing your food properly is the start of an efficient mechanical breakdown of what you eat,’ says female nutrition specialist, Dr Marilyn Glenville.
‘It also takes around 20 minutes for the stomach to register it is full so chewing thoroughly slows you down and can help prevent you overeating and gaining weight. Take your time chewing and you’ll find you don’t want or need as much food at meals.’
‘Chewing properly liquidises food to ensure your body can digest it efficiently and absorb maximum nutrients,’ adds James Duigan, author of Flat Tummy Fast and celebrity personal trainer (bodyism.com). ‘As it takes time to register you're full, takes a 20 minute before your next course and you might feel you don't need any more.'
ALWAYS EAT WITHIN AN HOUR OF WAKING UP
Experts agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and it is clinically proven that people who eat breakfast are generally lighter, slimmer and less prone to cravings than those who skip a morning meal.
The body’s internal chemistry is at its most active first thing in the morning, so anything eaten then will be used to the maximum and recent research has found that people lost twice as much body fat when they consumed half their daily calories at breakfast.
‘Always eat within an hour of waking up,’ advises James Duigan. ‘After going without food for hours during the night, the body is ready to refuel.
Putting off eating or missing breakfast altogether slows down your metabolism and can lead to sugar cravings and long-term weight gain.
‘What you eat first thing will determine what your body wants for the rest of the day so avoid sugary cereals and pastries and make healthy choices always including some filling protein like eggs and smoked salmon.’
FOCUS ON YOUR FOOD
Experts have found that doing other things at the dinner table stops your brain receiving signals about being full, meaning people who regularly multi-task when munching could pile on more pounds.
Women trying to lose weight are especially susceptible to this phenomenon with research finding they regularly notched up more calories when juggling eating with other activities.
Talking on the phone, listening to music or watching TV proved to be the main culprits behind chomping greater quantities. Another study by the University of Bristol found a group that had been distracted while eating their meal ate twice as many biscuits half an hour later than those who had not.
‘There is a psychological communication between the brain and the digestive system when we eat, smelling, preparing and sitting down at the table is all part of that,’ says expert nutritionist, Kim Pearson.
‘When we eat in front of the TV our bodies don’t get those messages meaning we pay less attention to our food choices, don’t absorb the process of eating and feeling full, and consequently often overeat.’
‘Putting other activities aside and planning to simply eat at the table means you are more likely to think about what and how much you are eating, make better food choices and consequently stop eating when you are full,' adds Duigan.
CAREFUL HOW YOU COOK
‘Overcooking food can kill off or reduce the number of nutrients your meal contains, and when we don’t get enough good nutrients we don’t feel satisfied and soon start to get cravings. ’ says James, who advises trying to make sure at least half the food on your plate is raw.
‘If you have a sensitive digestive system and can’t cope with raw foods then remember the basic rule that the less time you spend cooking, the more nutrients will remain,’ James advises. ‘Steam, bake, blanch or grill vegetables and grill or bake meat or fish, and avoid microwaving - studies have shown it can destroy up to 97 per cent of antioxidants in vegetables.’
EAT FRUIT FIRST
Fruits contain simple sugars meaning they are broken down by a different enzyme to other foods. Typically fruits only take about thirty minutes to digest, while carbohydrates and proteins are much slower and can take as long as two hours. Foods rich in fat, protein and starch requiring more digestion may even stay in the stomach for longer.
Experts suggest this is why if you eat fruit after a meal you may experience digestive trouble as, hampered by the food eaten before it, the fruit sugar will outstay its welcome in the stomach and ferment.
‘If you eat fruit around 30 minutes before a meal it will digest quickly and well,’ explains James. ‘But eat it after or alongside proteins and carbohydrates and your digestive enzymes will clash, the fruit will sit on top of other food and nothing will get processed efficiently.’
DON’T EAT AFTER 8PM
‘We’ve all had a ‘food hangover’ feeling sluggish and uncomfortable the next day after eating too much, too late, the night before, and it makes sense if we think of food as fuel,’ says James Duigan.
‘Your body needs you to put in the most when you are going to expend the most, so eating a large meal in the evening, when your body is slowing down or sleeping is contrary.’
Avoid falling into the trap of eating high-energy treats, such as ice cream or crisps, late at night. These can contain as much as a quarter of an adult’s total daily recommended calorie intake at a time of day when far fewer calories are used.
‘Imposing an 8pm food curfew can be the key to cutting out evening snacks,’ advises Kim Pearson. ‘If you find this hard try swapping chocolate for herbal tea or even cleaning your teeth after dinner to switch your mind off from the idea of eating.’
‘When we are in a state of stress our bodies release hormones and cortisol which are designed to warn us of danger,’ explain Dr. Marilyn Glenville.
‘As a consequence all of the bodies energy is put into protecting us from the threat which is causing this stress, including the energy we need for digestive function. If we eat when we are stressed the body will struggle to absorb nutrients from food, so ideally wait until you are calmer before eating.’
f you must eat either eat very small amounts or opt for foods like soup and porridge which are easier for the body to breakdown. Always avoid raw food when stressed as the body requires far more energy to break them down for digestion.
SLICE YOUR FOOD
A recent study found people who sliced their food when eating consumed on average 20 per cent fewer calories than those eating the same foods left whole. They also rated sliced servings as 27 per cent larger than equal amounts of complete foods meaning they put less onto their plates and cut back their portion sizes.
‘By slicing the food you are taking more time to think and chew what you eat.’ Says Dr Glenville. ‘This makes you more likely to exercise greater portion control and also enables your digestion to perform at its peak so you get maximum nutrients from your meals.’
EAT LITTLE AND OFTEN
‘If you go for more than five hours without eating the body starts to think it’s being starved and floods itself with the stress hormone cortisol to prepare for what it thinks is a famine’ says James Duigan. ‘Plus when you do finally eat you are more likely to overeat or pick at the wrong things because you are so hungry.’
Kim Pearson agrees: ‘Studies have shown cortisol can often lead to use gaining weight around our midriff. Eating regularly balances our insulin and prevents peaks and troughs in the blood sugar so if you eat regularly you’re blood sugar remains balanced and you are less likely to overeat or seek out sugary snacks.’
Try eating small, frequent, healthy meals throughout the day to prevent this energy dip but don’t use this rule as an excuse to overeat, if you eat quality meals and are not hungry in-between then go without.
COOK CAREFULLY - OR NOT AT ALL
‘Overcooking food can kill off or reduce the number of nutrients your meal contains, and when we don’t get enough good nutrients we don’t feel satisfied and soon start to get cravings,’ says James Duigan, who advises trying to make sure at least half the food on your plate is raw.
‘If you have a sensitive digestive system and can’t cope with raw foods then remember the basic rule that the less time you spend cooking, the more nutrients will remain.
Steam, bake, blanch or grill vegetables and grill or bake meat or fish, and avoid microwaving - studies have shown it can destroy up to 97 per cent of antioxidants in vegetables.’
THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK
When you drink can be as important as what you drink. ‘Dehydration is very stressful to the body,’ explains James Duigan.
‘Drink plenty of still filtered water throughout the day to prevent this, but remember if you drink at mealtimes the liquid slows down digestion, diluting the acid in your stomach meaning food and nutrients are less well absorbed. This often results in uncomfortable fermentation, bloating and gas in the stomach.’
To avoid this try to drink water 15 minutes before or after a meal, and if you need to drink while you eat limit yourself to small sips only.
As an added bonus some research has found drinking water before a meal may also help to take the edge of our appetites.
ALWAYS EAT PROTEIN WITH STARCHY CARBS
‘Eating protein with starchy carbohydrates like pasta, rice and bread actually slows down the digestion of the carbohydrate, balancing your blood sugar and lowering the speed at which it releases energy, meaning you feel fuller for longer,’ explains Dr Glenville.
‘Eaten alone starchy carbs can cause a sharp rise in insulin which will dip shortly afterwards leaving you hungry, and probably reaching for a quick sugar fix.’
Add tuna to a jacket potato, beans to toast or oil, which has the same effect on starchy carbs as protein, to pasta to balance out your meals.
James Duigan advises eating a few nuts everytime you eat fruit to slow down the body’s absorption of sugar, meaning less reaches your waistline.
Source Laura Stott
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