With diet plans and fitness regimes aplenty, it can be hard to know what is the most efficient way to lose weight.
And, while exercise and a balanced diet often seems to be the healthiest and most long-lasting choice, a study has now shown there could be another way to improve the impact of a weight loss plan.
According to a study by University of Plymouth and Australia’s Queensland University of Technology researchers, the surprising technique saw slimmers imagining themselves as being slimmer – helping them to reach their goals in losing the pounds.
Overweight dieters used Functional Imagery Training (FIT) intervention for the research, the Daily Times reported.
The results saw the group losing an average of 4.3 centimetres from their waistline.
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Researchers also said the slimmers continued to lose weight following the therapy.
The process saw those undergoing FIT to imagine their slimmer figure, as well as think about how it would impact on their lives.
The study, which was published in the International Journal of Obesity compared the results of 141 people using two different techniques.
In one group, slimmers followed the FIT regime, while others underwent a counselling method known as motivational interviewing (MI).
All participants had two sessions: one hour face-to-face, and a 45-minute phone call. The group later had 15-minute booster calls every two weeks for three months, which dropped to one call every four weeks in the following three months.
According to the blog Imagine with Plymouth University, FIT uses the spirit of MI, however the latter is based on talking – while the former uses multi sensory imagery.
The results saw FIT participants lose 4.11kg (9lb) after six months, while the MI group had shed 0.74kg (1.6lb) after the same period of time.
The difference between the two groups highlighted it could be possible to lose more than five times the amount of weight by adopting FIT intervention rather than MI.
Neither of the techniques offered any advice or education on diet or physical activity, Dr Linda Solbrig of Plymouth’s school of psychology said.
According to The Independent, she added: “People were completely free in their choices and supported in what they wanted to do, not what a regimen prescribed.
“Most people agree that in order to lose weight, you need to eat less and exercise more but in many cases, people simply aren’t motivated enough to heed this advice, however much they might agree with it.”
Elsewhere, a nutritionist recently claimed a cup of coffee at breakfast could help dieters to burn fat from the beginning of their day.
Consuming one or two cups of the caffeinated drink “can help boost your metabolic rate, by stimulating thermogenesis, helping you, in turn, to burn more fat,” Sarah Flowers said.
“Coffee also contains Chlorogenic acid, which helps to slow down the absorption of carbohydrates, as well as stimulating the hormone Epinephrine, which helps to break down fat.”
She went on to explain how, while coffee can reduce appetite, it should not be used as a meal replacement.
“Coffee can stimulate thermogenesis (heat and energy) which in turn reduces appetite and need, temporarily, for food. Coffee also contains chlorogenic acid, which helps to slow down the absorption of carbohydrates and suppresses our hunger hormone, Ghrelin.
“This hormone is stimulated by carbohydrates, which sits in our stomach and growling at us to feed it more and more.
“Carbohydrates also shut off our leptin response – this is the hormone that tells our brain when we are full. By suppressing ghrelin and stimulating leptin, we can effectively reduce our appetite.”