Weight Loss: Evidence-Based Strategies for Healthy, Sustainable Results

Weight management is a complex challenge for many people. From dietary strategies and key nutrients to supplements like green tea and lemon verbena, discover evidence-based approaches to support healthy, sustainable weight loss.

Weight Loss: Evidence-Based Strategies for Healthy, Sustainable Results

Understanding weight, BMI and health Risks

Weight is an increasing health concern in the UK, with 65% of adults being classed as overweight or obese. This is currently assessed using mainly body mass index (BMI) which relates body weight to height. Anything over 25 is considered overweight and a figure over 30 is considered obese. You can calculate your BMI here: Calculate BMI. However BMI only tells part of the story and takes no account of body composition, muscle and fat mass and where and how excess fat is stored.1 Fat distribution is often a better predictor of the health cost of excess weight than BMI and this is often assessed using the waist to hip ratio: calculate waist to hip ratio.

Why weight loss is more complex than calories in vs out

In theory, weight control should be a simple exercise: decreasing energy intake from food and increasing energy expenditure via exercise. But for many this is a lot more complex and weight loss can be a struggle with almost all diets failing in the long term.2,3 Issues such as time constraints and lack of support can cause issues4 but other complicating factors include changes to metabolism, hormone fluctuations, emotional state, medications and medical conditions may all affect how easily weight is lost.

Identifying the root causes of weight gain

It is useful to establish what has caused weight gain, as this can allow you to select the best weight loss plan. Increased snacking between meals; more cravings for sweet or carbohydrate rich foods and feeling hungrier and eating bigger portions can all affect weight gain and loss. For many people portion control and food recall can often be a reason for slow weight loss, as many people over-consume or under-report their calories. Keeping a food diary and weighing food can help with this.

Dietary strategies to support healthy weight loss

Increasing protein intake can also support weight loss5 as it is digested more slowly, helping you to feel fuller for longer6 and maintain normal blood sugar, reducing cravings, snacking and overeating. Include some lean protein such as fish, lean meat, eggs, Greek yoghurt, quinoa, beans, pulses, tofu, Quorn and cottage cheese with each meal.

To help support weight loss and good general health, it is also important to reduce the amount of processed food consumed as these often contain hidden fats and sugar, as well as salt.

Increasing fibre is also recommended for supporting weight loss7 as it increases feelings of fullness, helps maintain normal blood sugar and reduces fat absorption. Fibre rich foods such as fruits, vegetables and wholegrains are often less calorie dense and more nutrient dense than many other foods. Increasing your fruit and vegetable intake to at least five portions per day, with a higher ratio of vegetables as well as substituting whole grains for white, refined grains are all recommended.

Many of the foods which are rich in protein or fibre are linked to a natural increase in the production of a hormone called GLP-1. This is a hormone produced by the body which controls appetite and blood sugar.8,9 Foods such as nuts, avocados, eggs,10 olive oil11 and some vegetables12 have also been shown to increase GLP-1.

Supplements that may support weight loss naturally

There are a number of supplements which may be useful for supporting weight loss. Green tea contains active components called catechins, which are thought to have a mild stimulatory influence on metabolic rate, increasing energy expenditure during the day13 as well as effects on fat and carbohydrate absorption.14 Drinking green tea or using a supplement has been shown to support a reduction in both body weight and BMI.15 Often our metabolism can slow as we age which can lead to unexplained weight gain, so green tea would be a good option if this is the case.

Herbs including lemon verbena and hibiscus sabdariffa have also shown excellent results, supporting the production of satiety hormones, helping you stay in control of your appetite. This combination has been shown to support body weight reduction as well as reducing BMI, body fat and waist circumference more than diet alone.16,17

The role of exercise in sustainable weight loss

For weight loss to be both effective and sustainable, exercise and a calorie restricted diet need to be prioritised. Even slight changes to help increase physical activity levels can help, such as always using the stairs, getting off the bus a few stops before you normally would and walking to as many places as possible instead of using transport. However, exercise alone is a relatively ineffective way to lose weight - the calories in a coffee and a muffin could take up to an hour and forty minutes of walking to burn off. The benefits of exercise relate more to the increase in calorie burning immediately after exercise, the long term increase in metabolic rate and increased muscle mass which also increases metabolic rate.18

References

  1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Translating Knowledge of Foundational Drivers of Obesity into Practice: Proceedings of a Workshop Series. Washington (DC): National Academies Press; 2023.
  2. Stunkard A. The Results of Treatment for Obesity: A Review of the Literature and Report of a Series. A.M.A. Archives of Internal Medicine. 1959;103(1):79.
  3. Fildes A, et al. Probability of an Obese Person Attaining Normal Body Weight: Cohort Study Using Electronic Health Records. American Journal of Public Health. 2015;105(9):e54-9.
  4. Binsaeed B, et al. Barriers and Motivators to Weight Loss in People With Obesity. Cureus. 2023;15(11):e49040.
  5. Weigle DS, et al. A high-protein diet induces sustained reductions in appetite, ad libitum caloric intake, and body weight. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005;82:41-8.
  6. Moran LJ, et al. The satiating effect of dietary protein is unrelated to postprandial ghrelin secretion. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005;90(9):5205-11.
  7. Kelly RK, et al. Increased dietary fiber is associated with weight loss among Full Plate Living program participants. Front Nutr. 2023;10:1110748.
  8. Kreymann B, et al. Glucagon-like peptide-1 7-36: a physiological incretin in man. Lancet. 1987;2(8571):1300-4.
  9. Baggio LL, Drucker DJ. Biology of incretins: GLP-1 and GIP. Gastroenterology. 2007;132(6):2131-57.
  10. Bodnaruc AM, et al. Nutritional modulation of endogenous glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion: a review. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2016;13:92.
  11. Hira T, et al. Improvement of Glucose Tolerance by Food Factors Having Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Releasing Activity. Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(12):6623.
  12. Indarto D, et al. Effects of Vegetables Consumption Before Carbohydrates on Blood Glucose and GLP-1 Levels Among Diabetic Patients in Indonesia. Int J Prev Med. 2022;13:144.
  13. Rondanelli M, et al. Effect of Acute and Chronic Dietary Supplementation with Green Tea Catechins on Resting Metabolic Rate, Energy Expenditure and Respiratory Quotient: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2021;13(2):644.
  14. Huang J, et al. The anti-obesity effects of green tea in human intervention and basic molecular studies. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2014;68(10):1075-87.
  15. Basu A, et al. Green tea supplementation affects body weight, lipids, and lipid peroxidation in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome. J Am Coll Nutr. 2010;29:31-40.
  16. Herranz-Lopez M, et al. Lemon verbena (Lippia citriodora) polyphenols alleviate obesity-related disturbances in hypertrophic adipocytes through AMPK-dependent mechanisms. Phytomedicine. 2015;22(6):605-14.
  17. Boix-Castejon M, et al. Hibiscus and lemon verbena polyphenols modulate appetite-related biomarkers in overweight subjects: a randomized controlled trial. Food Funct. 2018;9(6):3173-3184.
  18. Mole PA. Impact of energy intake and exercise on resting metabolic rate. Sports Med. 1990;10(2):72-87.
Back to blog