Weight loss can be harder for some people to achieve than others because certain lifestyles are more conducive to weight gain. In ordinary times, overhauling one’s lifestyle would provide the best defence against weight loss, but these are far from ordinary times. With the UK government instructing everyone to stay indoors to stem the spread of COVID-19, a deadly new disease, the population has been forced into a sedentary lifestyle.
Granted, people are allowed out of the house to do one form of exercise a day and there are numerous ways to work out indoors.
Still, the temptation to do nothing and binge on processed foods is uniquely high at the moment, which presents a major obstacle for maintaining a healthy weight.
In addition to keeping active under the current constraints and shunning unhealthy foods, there are small dietary tweaks that can help to stave off fat during this lockdown period.
One simple and effective solution is to take evidence-backed supplements.
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Certain natural supplements have been shown to attack fat.
One natural remedy that comes out on top is glucomannan.
Glucomannan is a natural, water-soluble dietary fibre extracted from the roots of the elephant yam, also known as konjac.
Several randomised controlled trials, which are the gold standard of research, have demonstrated the fat-burning effects of glucomannan.
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In the largest , 176 healthy but overweight people on a calorie-restricted diet were randomly assigned either a glucomannan supplement or a placebo.
Three different glucomannan supplements with varying dosages were tested. Some also contained other fibres.
After monitoring the effects on both groups over a five-week period, weight loss was significantly greater among those who supplemented with glucomannan.
The finding is consistent with several other studies.
According to the NHS, for most adults, a BMI of:
- 18.5 to 24.9 means you’re a healthy weight
- 25 to 29.9 means you’re overweight
- 30 to 39.9 means you’re obese
- 40 or above means you’re severely obese
As the health site explains, BMI is not used to diagnose obesity because people who are very muscular can have a high BMI without much fat.
“But for most people, BMI is a useful indication of whether they’re a healthy weight,” says the health body.
It adds: “A better measure of excess fat is waist size, which can be used as an additional measure in people who are overweight (with a BMI of 25 to 29.9) or moderately obese (with a BMI of 30 to 34.9).”
