Unlock Your Weight Loss Potential
Forget the diet and sack the PT. Hidden about your body is an armoury of pound shredders that will help you lose weight faster and easier. We’ve located six of them, so you can unlock their secrets.
Lock 1: Anterior Singulate Cortex
Think of food to eat less of it
It may sound like a Star Trek plot device but this is the part of the brain that makes that extra side order of onion rings less appealing. This makes it an ideal ally against cling-on fat. To activate it, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh found that you should imagine eating a particular food for 90 seconds, then your cravings for it will subside. In the study, people who spent time thinking about M&Ms ate 40% fewer when presented with a bowl. Because the ASC is also a part of the brain that’s triggered when you have a choice to make, this can help you to walk past Greggs at lunchtime, too.
Lock 2: Fascia
Tie your laces, bye-bye belly
This is the stretchy connective tissue that covers not only your pecs but every muscle in your body. Keeping your fascia supple will help you to burn more calories every minute of the day. Unfortunately, sitting behind a desk or a steering wheel for long periods makes it less flexible. “Never sit for 15 minutes without some form of action, even if it’s bending down to untie and tie your shoes,” says Harley Street chiropractor Michael Lanning. In the gym, skipping is an effective way to keep your body’s fascia elongated, which ensures you’re mobile enough to maximise your calorie burn. Research by the Mayo Clinic in the US found that working your fascia can increase your calorie use by up to an impressive 800 kcal per day, which equates to more than 1.5lbs (0.6kg) of bulk shifted per week. Not a bad stretch.
Lock 3: Liver
Eat beans to get lighter
It’s not just your body’s overworked booze filter. It also breaks down fatty acids in food, giving you a burst of enzymes that melt stored fat – especially around your middle. Add ‘resistant starch’ to your diet to unlock this process and look less bloated in weeks. You need 12.5 g per day: a 400 g can of cannellini beans, a single banana or a portion of potatoes will provide it. The University of Surrey found you’ll consume 175 fewer calories in 24 hours. That’s 1 lb (0.4 kg) of fat gone every month.
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Illustration by Peter Crowther Associates
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