If you are constantly pushing yourself to exercise and dieting to lose weight, I’m here to tell you you can stop starving yourself and getting frustrated.
Throw away the diet and detox plans, as changing your habits is what gives you permanent success.
And stop pushing yourself to exercise if you need rest. Yes, exercise has many many benefits, but if you’re only exercising to lose weight, you may be disappointed.
This is because it is much easier to cut calories than to burn them. For example, depending on your body, if you eat a take away 500+calorie burrito, you could have to run for 7km to ‘undo’ it. You simply can not out-train a bad diet.
So, here are seven ways you can lose weight without exercise OR dieting:
- Use smaller plates. The bigger the plate, the more you will fill it up. You know how you do it at every family gathering that has a buffet? Don’t let that be your normal at home too.
- Eat slowly and chew your food. Slow down, take 20 minutes to finish each meal and chew each mouthful at least 20+ times. Learn to enjoy your food again.
- Drink 2L water every day. You’ll find that you won’t need to snack as much, as chances are you are not hungry, but thirsty.
- Turn off all electronics when you are eating. Concentrate on the taste of your food and being conscious enough to notice your hunger signals.
- Cook your meals and eat at home. The junk food, the takeaway – look at them as treats, not a daily thing, not a 3x per week thing, maybe once a week at most. Or if you actually do want to lose weight, make it once a fortnight. The choice is truly yours…
- Eliminate all drinks that are not water. I can’t believe how many people still drink soft drinks, even though they ‘KNOW’ (I call bullshit!) how ‘bad’ they are. Tough love: If you KNEW it, you wouldn’t still be drinking that crap.
- Ensure that 90% of what you are eating is vegetables, fruits, beans, legumes, nuts, seeds and whole grains. It’s so simple that it’s easy to look over, but it’s as easy and as difficult as stopping eating rubbish and eating real food instead.
So, yes, you can lose weight without being on a diet or exercising.
However, without exercise, only a portion of your weight loss is from fat. You will also be losing muscle and bone density.
If you include regular exercise, you will not only be more successful but healthier too. Since working out stimulates growth of those metabolic tissues, losing weight through exercise means you’re burning mostly fat. The number on the scale may not move, but as muscle takes up less space, you become smaller and your clothes fit better.
By eating a healthy diet and exercising, you’re not only keeping your bones, muscles, and heart strong, but can also improve the quality of your sleep, reduce your stress level and keep depression and anxiety at bay.
So while you can lose weight without exercise, both diet and exercise are important for your overall health and keeping you at a healthy weight.
There are many simple lifestyle habits which have nothing to do with dieting that will help you lose weight. For example; Use smaller plates, eat slowly and chew your food 20+ times, drink 2L water every day and turn off all electronics when you are eating. It also makes a huge different when you choose to prioritise vegetables and whole foods that have loads of fibre.
Find exercise you enjoy, do it at least three times per week and then implement these few, seemingly simple habits, and watch as the weight simply falls away and stays off for good.
Deanna