You can eat as much as you like and lose weight! Where have you heard that before? So many diets promise this kind of result to get your attention and turn out to be the latest fad and disappoint.

And yet it is possible to eat as much as you like and lose weight. How?

Mind Games. The secret to success is all in the mind. You see the brain can take as long as 20 minutes to signal to you that you’ve satisfied your hunger.

So if you have developed the habit of eating quickly then you may be eating more than you need to feel satisfied.

So slow down! Be more purposeful around food and use all your senses. Allow your eyes to feast on the shape and colour of your food, use your nose to draw in the aromas. Take time to really savour and taste every morsel. Pause between mouthfuls and chew slowly.

Small step but big Shift. Doing all of the above is relatively simple, but creates such a mental shift in your attitude to eating. It brings you back to mindfulness and real time instead of the ‘bolt-food-down’ and then ‘I-hate-myself’ pattern that is common with frustrated dieters.

So next time your about to have a meal or a snack experiment by mentally slowing everything down, taking your time to savour and enjoy. You could be pounds lighter in no time at all.