The majority of plans are doomed to failure. "Dangerous for the health, they prove ineffective in the medium term and even make themselves fat," certifies Jean-Michel Lecerf, head of the nutrition department at the Institut Pasteur in Lille.

The proof: 80% of the candidates for weight loss recover after one year all the lost pounds - even more - and 90% after five years.

Setting a restrictive food framework is perceived as an aggression by the body, which goes into storage mode to guard against possible future famine. He resists weight loss and stores everything he can.

Exit monodimes , diets dissociated or high protein that lose more muscle than fat.

The very idea of ​​forbidden foods is a mistake. "There are no good and bad foods," notes Dr. Lecerf. Demonizing a family of foods inexorably leads to an unhealthy relationship to food, which is counterproductive. "

Better to eat everything in a reasonable way, limiting the products too caloric but without prohibiting some pleasures from time to time.

The only golden rule: eat just hungry balanced and diversified menus, based on fresh products. "The answer to weight-relatedness is largely played out elsewhere than in the plate," says Florence Pujol (1), dietitian.

There are indeed many ways to erase his pounds otherwise, smoothly. Here are the keys.

Technology at the service of thinness

An American study of September 2016 (2) suggests that connected bracelets and other activity trackers prove to be less good slimming aids than a professional (nutritionist, psychologist, dietitian).

"Being accompanied in this process is a guarantee of success, says Nathalie Négro. Personalized and multidimensional care should not focus only on the menus, but address emotional aspects, motivation, stress management and physical activity. ".

The method of the virtual gastric ring

To lose weight sustainably, "we must forget everything we think we know about diets and dietetics, and open our minds to a different logic," says Frédérique Chataigner (3), psychotherapist and nutritionist, founder of the hypno network -nutrition.

Useless also to resort to surgery of obesity. According to her, a balanced diet and hypnosis sessions are enough to restore a peaceful relationship with food.

The originality of his method? The installation of a virtual gastric ring . "During hypnosis sessions, it is suggested to the patient that he is at the hospital for the placement of a gastric band. He is made to live all the stages of the surgical intervention: the crossing of the corridor, the entrance to the operating room, the arrival of the anesthetist, the installation of the perfusion ... ", specifies this expert.

As the unconscious does not distinguish the real from the imaginary, the patients behave as if the volume of their stomach is reduced. "The next day, their appetite is reduced. They eat two to three times less food, she says. The average weight loss is 4 pounds per month. "

For a lasting result, count three to four sessions spaced a week apart and a daily self-hypnosis at home with a CD to anchor the programming.

Haro on chemical additives

Most factory-made foods are filled with chemical dyes, preservatives , flavor enhancers and other textural agents that the body does not have to do.

Normally, it is the liver that is responsible for managing these intruders in order to eliminate them. But when toxins become too abundant, as with junkfood lovers, this organ is overwhelmed.

In order not to poison the body, "it confines them away from the vital organs, in the garbage areas of the body," observes Dr. Claude Chauchard (4), a specialist in anti-aging medicine. These clumps of toxic white fat, responsible in many cases for half the extra kilograms, form a superficial soft mattress that coats the belly, buttocks or upper body (arms, shoulders and upper back) ".

To lose this recalcitrant fat with caloric restriction, we must focus on the homemade. This is also true for fruit juices : squeeze your citrus fruits just before drinking them, rather than swallowing low-vitamin industrial preparations.

And do not focus on orange juice. Grapefruit counteracts the effects of junk food because its antioxidants improve insulin sensitivity. According to the University of California (5), it induces a lower weight gain (-18%) equivalent diet.

Slimming without depriving oneself through mindfulness

Eating focusing on the present moment and sensations felt promotes thinning. At least that's what a study done at the University of California in March 2016 showed.

The practice of mindfulness makes it possible to adopt more thoughtful nutritional choices and to eat at its fair hunger. Its impact is amazing: without changing lifestyle, it alone loses 4.3% of body weight.

To tame the Mindful Eating, the cure Mincir in full awareness is proposed at the Thalasso Concarneau (6).

On the program: detox and marine slimming treatments, mindfulness feeding sessions and guided meditation.

Sleep better for healthy eating

The links between sleep and weight have been repeatedly demonstrated.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, small sleepers (5 hours per night) have a greater body size than good sleepers (at least 7 hours). And the difference increases over the years: the former have a risk increased by 32% to cover 15 kilos more in sixteen years.

"When sleep debt accumulates, the metabolism is profoundly disrupted: the caloric signal is altered and the appetite for energy foods increases little by little," says Dr. Sylvie Royant-Parola, Vice President of National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance (INSV).

Explanation: When you're awake, the fat cells release less leptin, a protein that regulates food intake, into the blood, while the stomach produces more ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates appetite.

In addition, the pancreas is at rest during the night. It does not secrete insulin, which allows the adipocytes to destock easily.

To keep her line, it is better to be a sleeper. And turn off all the light sources in the room. By disrupting the biological clock, they favor overweight ( 21% risk of overweight), according to the University of Oxford.

Finally, avoid sleeping pills, other sources of weight gain. Prefer sedative plants: herbal teas and capsules valerian, hawthorn and passionflower do wonders.

Noise pollution, an obstacle to losing weight

According to a 2015 Swedish study (7), those most exposed to noise have a higher body mass index (BMI) than others.

In five years, their waist can widen by one centimeter. And even 2 cm if the noise comes from three different sources, such as car traffic, neighbors screaming and jackhammer.

The stress generated by the noise causes the secretion of cortisol, a hormone that promotes the accumulation of reserves in the adipose tissue.

The solution: rest your eardrums as soon as possible. If you live near a major road, give yourself earplugs or earmuffs.

Stimulate the taste buds with spices

To refine the silhouette, play the spice card. By stimulating the taste buds, they temper the appetite.

The winning trio? Chili, first. Its active compound - capsaicin - melts fats by increasing calories burned at rest.

Cinnamon, then, which reduces the blood sugar level and has an anti-cravings effect. Finally ginger, which lowers the level of blood lipids.

According to a study published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition in 2014, it reduces cholesterol and triglycerides. A quarter of a teaspoon a day is enough. "The addition of spices also limits salt, sugar and fat without sacrificing taste," says Angélique Houlbert (8), dietitian.

Balance, the enemy of a serene weight loss

To weigh yourself every day? A heresy.

"Keeping your eyes on the scales goes hand in hand with the obsession with self-image control. This leads to a conflictual relationship with food and thus disturbs eating behavior, "says Florence Pujol.

Balance-addicts listen to their minds ("I must deprive myself to lose those damn 300 grams"), not the needs of their bodies. By force of control, they switch in the gear of the cognitive restriction.

They set prohibitions, develop frustrations, feel guilt ... Emotions that lead to discomfort and nibbling.

The important thing is not the daily verdict of the balance, which can fluctuate over the hours, but the medium and long term weight changes.

So use it only once a week at most if you have real weight problems. Otherwise, refer to your clothes, a justice less punctilious, so less stressful.

Eating in a red plate: the slimming trick that works

Changing the color of your dishes can take us off a few extra pounds.

Italian nutritionists have, in fact, tested the impact of several shades of plates on the eating behavior of a hundred participants.

Verdict: red, the color of the forbidden, instinctively refutes their consumption, even in the face of a delicious dish.

Before the food is in the mouth, the appetite is already reduced. "The size of cutlery and plates also has a considerable influence on the amount of food absorbed, says Nathalie Négro, head of the nutritional center of the baths of Brides-Les-Bains. With plates twice smaller, we spontaneously eat 35% less, without depriving ourselves. "

The optical illusion of a busy mini-plate fools the brain and triggers the satiety signal earlier. The ideal size to reduce portions without effort? "21 centimeters in diameter," says Nathalie Negro.

Trigger the satiety signal with hard foods

Hard foods are the allies of the line. Long chews, they leave more time to satiety signal to settle than soft foods. And their digestion increases energy expenditure.

The demonstration was made especially on pythons. Fed up with ground beef, they spend 23% less energy to assimilate their meals than snakes fed on whole meat. At the same number of calories ingested, they became plumper than others in a few weeks.

The difference in body size can reach 30%.

"This experience shakes up one of the main dogmas of nutrition, which states that a calorie is a calorie, observes Dr. Arnaud Cocaul (9), nutritionist physician. Because the same initial portion of meat was distributed to all animals, a piece of the same weight, containing the same amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates. "

Only the texture differs. No more soft lunches - gazpachos, ravioli and tiramisu - hash and cheese diets. To lose weight, choose foods that require the jaws: thick crust bread, al dente vegetables, crisp crudités, almonds, raw apple ...

Pampering his microbiota to refine his silhouette

The billions of bacteria and yeasts in our colon - the famous microbiota - are not just used to digest food fibers and fortify our immune system.

US researchers (10) at the Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that they also play a crucial role in regulating weight.

They transferred intestinal flora from chubby rodents to the digestive tract of thin mice. Without eating more or doing less physical exertion than usual, the first ones became quickly coated. The new composition of their microbiota has increased the number of calories drawn from food.

"When the flora is out of balance, some bacteria are missing and others are overabundant, such as staphylococci aureus, which are associated with the onset of obesity," says Prof. Jeffrey Gordon, microbiologist in Saint Louis.

Our roommates microscopic orchestrate our appetite. Biologists at the University of Rouen have identified strains involved in the emission of hunger and satiety signals. Their work, published in late 2015 in Cell Metabolism, confirms that they produce proteins that stimulate the appetite.

It is better to treat your microbiota so as not to tip the scales in the wrong direction. Thus, all foods rich in inulin, fibers which are fond of the good bacteria of the flora, are to put on the menu: asparagus, artichoke, rye, Jerusalem artichoke, leek ...

Also bet on kefirs, sauerkraut or brewer's yeast to fill up with natural probiotics and maintain the diversity of your flora.

On the other hand, beware of light sodas: according to an Israeli study of 2014, their artificial sweeteners alter the microbiota.

(1) Author of I eat and I am good (PUF edition).
(2) " Effect of wearable technology combined with a lifestyle intervention on long-term weight loss," Journal of the American Medical Association.
(3) Author of The Food of Happy People (Hachette Pratique), www.alimentationdesgensheureux.fr.
(4) Author of losing weight quickly definitively (ed. Of the Sign)
(5) "Consumption of Clarified Grapefruit Juice Ameliorates High-Fat Diet Induced Insulin Resistance and Weight Gain in Mice", 2014.
(6) www.concarneau-thalasso.com
(7) "Exposure to traffic noise and markers of obesity", Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine.
(8) Co-author, with Thierry Souccar, of The best way to eat (Edited by Thierry Souccar).
(9) Author of The Diet Chewing (Edited by Thierry Souccar).
(10) "Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota", Nature.