Weight loss can be aided by a supplement that contains a specific fibre.
The fibre, called glucomannan, makes dieters feel fuller because it takes longer to digest.
This means that dieters eat less calories, aiding their weight loss and keeping hunger pangs at bay.
Various studies have shown that the supplement has this effect in those who use it to boost their diet plan.
Scientists at the Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway, recorded the process of one hundred and seventy six men and women who were given either the glucomannan supplement or a placebo.
The dieters also ate a diet of 1,200 calories per day.
They experts said: “Glucomannan induced body weight reduction in healthy overweight subjects.” [sic]
They added: “ However, there were no significant differences between the different fibers in their ability to induce weight reduction, which was approximately 0.8 kg/week.”
This is the equivalent of 1.7lbs a week.
A second study from the International Association for the Study of Obesity found similar results from using the fibre.
The added fibre in the diet did have an effect, although according to this research the effects were smaller.
The scientists found that the thicker fibres were better able to suppress the appetite.
They wrote: “For appetite, acute energy intake, long-term energy intake and body weight, there were clear differences in effect rates depending on chemical structure. Interestingly, fibres characterized as being more viscous reduced appetite more often than those less viscous fibres.” [sic]
Another weight loss plan known as the Keto diet is said to help dieters shed the pounds easily.
Followers drastically reduce the amount of carbohydrates they are eating so there aren’t enough from food to burn for energy, forcing the body to switch to burning fat.
Another diet, the flexitarian diet, has been claimed to help dieters lose 5.5lb in three months.
The diet is described as a “flexitarian or semi-vegetarian diet (SVD) is one that is primarily vegetarian with the occasional inclusion of meat or fish” by nutritionist Dr. Emma Derbyshire in Flexitarian Diets and Health: A Review of the Evidence-Based Literature.