Expert’s new ‘anti-diet’ that promises to shed two inches off your waist

Weight loss is a common goal for many people. While for some it comes from a place of wanting to change their appearance, for others it is actually crucial to their health.

In fact, more than a quarter of adults in England are thought to be obese, while a further 37% are classed as overweight. Both could increase your risk of dangerous health complications, including diabetes, heart disease, and fatty liver, among others.

Therefore, finding a way to sustainably lose and maintain a healthy weight is more important than ever.

And that’s exactly what a group of experts claims to have discovered. Branded as an anti-diet, this new way to lose weight has helped participants lose more than two inches from their waists in just 18 weeks.

The regimen, created by expert professor Tim Spector and the team at ZOE Health, has also been designed to help people feel and sleep better.

What makes it different is the fact that no food is off limits and users don’t have to worry about calorie counting.

It aims to help people maintain sustainable healthy eating habits that will last.

However, there is no one-size-fits-all here, and participants are given a customized plan based on the results taken from poop samples.

In general, however, users are advised to avoid large amounts of dairy, processed carbohydrates and alcohol.

To help curb hunger pangs, they are urged to eat foods rich in fiber, as well as plenty of fermented foods to aid gut health.

Foods high in fiber include fruits and vegetables, whole grain bread, beans, lentils and chickpeas. And fermented foods include items like sauerkraut, kim chi, and kombucha.

Testing the effects of the program, researchers at Kings College London who are affiliated with ZOE, conducted a study whose results have been published in the journal Nature Medicine.

The study involved 347 obese 52-year-old volunteers who had an average body mass index (BMI) of 34.

They were divided into two groups. One group received an 18-week subscription to ZOE, which saw users sent home for tests, including blood and poo sample kits that would normally cost nearly £300.

They were sent to a lab to calculate blood fat, blood sugar and gut microbiome levels.

Using the results, ZOE scored 1.2 million foods from zero to 100, giving users personal advice on how their bodies respond to each.

The app, which costs 59.99 per month, also provided them with diet and lifestyle advice over the four-month period.

The other volunteers, on the other hand, received a standard Dietary Guidelines for Americans booklet, accompanied by a video tutorial, online resources and weekly records.

All volunteers underwent a health check before and after the test, including measurement of waist circumference, blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels.

After 18 weeks, participants who adhered to the ZOE strategy shed 4.7 percent of their weight (4.78 pounds or 2.17 kg), on average, and lost 6.3 cm ( 2.4 inches) from the waist.

In comparison, the other group lost 2.4 percent of their weight (0.6 pounds or 0.3 kg) and 5.35 cm from their waists.

ZOE participants also saw a greater drop in cholesterol, 0.4 mmol/L compared to 0.1 mmol/L. They were also twice as likely to feel less hungry and four times more likely to report better sleep quality.

In the study, the researchers said: In our multilevel personalization approach, the observed weight loss was moderate and below the proposed clinically significant thresholds (five percent).

However, moderate weight loss of this magnitude has been reported to improve health outcomes.

As reported by Mail Online, Professor Tim Spector commented: We have shown that those who follow ZOE’s nutritional advice will see improvements in their overall health.

It is clear that some current population advice is out of date, too focused on calories and low-fat foods and with poor adherence is unlikely to have long-term benefits.

ZOE’s advice shows that thinking about food in a totally different way with an emphasis on quality, personalization and gut health can have massive benefits if it’s more widely adopted.