You can lose three times as much weight when you take the time to get your brain involved, according to new research.
By Emily Cappiello, Reader's Digest
The real issue with losing weight is all that sweat: Extra gym trips, weight-lifting, and jogs around the block. But maybe you don’t need to expend more effort to get better results, suggests new research published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism: Put your mind to work and you could lose a lot more weight.
The study, done from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire National Health Services Trust in the United Kingdom, involved 53 obese people who had signed up for an intensive weight-loss program. Half the people were also taught mindful eating—they were given strategies that helped them slow down and focus on their food, such as chewing more slowly, tasting every bite, and taking their time at meals. The group who practiced mindfulness lost three times as much weight, on average, compared to those who didn’t practice mindful eating. And adopting mindful behavior is not all that difficult.
“This research is significant, as we have shown that problematic eating behavior can be improved with mindfulness application,” Petra Hanson, a research fellow and doctoral student told Medical News Today.
“Individuals who completed the course said they were better able to plan meals in advance and felt more confident in self-management of weight loss moving forward,” said Hanson.
The real issue with losing weight is all that sweat: Extra gym trips, weight-lifting, and jogs around the block. But maybe you don’t need to expend more effort to get better results, suggests new research published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism: Put your mind to work and you could lose a lot more weight.
The study, done from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire National Health Services Trust in the United Kingdom, involved 53 obese people who had signed up for an intensive weight-loss program. Half the people were also taught mindful eating—they were given strategies that helped them slow down and focus on their food, such as chewing more slowly, tasting every bite, and taking their time at meals. The group who practiced mindfulness lost three times as much weight, on average, compared to those who didn’t practice mindful eating. And adopting mindful behavior is not all that difficult.
“This research is significant, as we have shown that problematic eating behavior can be improved with mindfulness application,” Petra Hanson, a research fellow and doctoral student told Medical News Today.
“Individuals who completed the course said they were better able to plan meals in advance and felt more confident in self-management of weight loss moving forward,” said Hanson.
