When it comes to losing weight, many people simply hate the idea of following a healthy diet. Eating fewer calories is a surefire way to lose weight, but the process of monitoring calorie intake and depriving oneself of favorite foods is mentally taxing for many people. They find it difficult, if not impossible, to stick to a strict diet with a significant caloric restriction. Yet, you can lose weight and excess body fat by following proven methods that ensure your total daily energy expenditure will be more than the calories you obtain from food.
10 Tips to Lose Weight Without Dieting
To lose weight without dieting, you have to create a calorie deficit but in a manner that is acceptable to you. The key to achieving weight loss and losing fat is to eat fewer calories than you expend during the day. Many of these tips regarding food are part of the recommendations that weight loss surgery patients must follow after their procedures. By following those recommendations and cutting out junk food and other poor food choices, they are able to achieve significant weight loss and eliminate fat stores.
Dietary Tips to Achieve a Healthy Weight
One rule overrides all others when attempting to achieve weight loss. You must eat up fewer calories than you burn each day. Creating a calorie deficit is the key to losing fat and successful weight loss. Multiple studies indicate that human bodies obey the laws of thermodynamics in that to lose weight, we need to burn more calories than we regularly consume.
When you consume more calories than you burn, your body stores the extra fat, resulting in weight gain. If you do the opposite and eat fewer calories, your body will pull from fat stores resulting in weight loss. To lose weight, you need to tip the energy balance in favor of burning fat. Each additional tip builds on this tip.
How many calories do you consume per day? Even if you don’t know, you can achieve weight loss by cutting out unhealthy foods and changing habits that produce weight gain instead of losing it. Consider the following to lose fat.
1. Drink Water and Lots of It
One of the key tricks to losing weight is drinking water and lots of it. Simply put, water fills you up. When your stomach is full, you won’t feel like eating. Bariatric surgery patients learn this tactic early in their efforts to lose weight, even before they undergo weight loss surgery. Aim to drink at least 64 ounces of water per day. In addition to water, you can drink plain coffee, tea, and other drinks without calories. Cut out sugary drinks like sodas and even fruit juices, as these are often oversweetened and have empty calories. Avoid empty liquid calories like alcohol.
2. Make Protein a Priority
Build meals with healthy foods that fill you up and address clinical nutrition needs. Make protein a priority for calorie intake, as it is fuel for the body to rebuild muscle mass. Choose lean proteins, including the following:
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Chicken, turkey, and other fowl
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Fish and shellfish
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Non-fatty red meat
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Eggs
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Legumes like black beans and chickpeas
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Low-fat cheese
A protein serving encompasses roughly the size of your palm, which is about three to four ounces. Men should get about two palms of protein, while one palm size suffices for most women.
3. Vegetables Should Be at Least Half of Your Plate
While this may seem like a contradiction to the above point, it’s not. To promote weight loss and lose fat, you must eat significantly fewer calories. Protein is essential for getting nutrients, but you also need vegetables to keep caloric intake low. Veggies are nutrient-dense and low in calories, so you can eat a lot and satisfy your appetite. One serving is about the size of your fist. Among the vegetables you should eat are:
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Broccoli
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Cauliflower
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Spinach, kale, and other dark, leafy greens
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Multiple squash varieties
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Brussel sprouts
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Zucchini
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Asparagus
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Carrots
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Onion
4. Healthy Foods Include Good Carbs
Carbs and fats are often the culprits in unhealthy foods, yet you can find good ones and eat them in the right quantities. You probably overeat unhealthy carbs without realizing it. Yet, many carbs are part of a healthy diet. Good carbs include fresh or frozen fruit. But you’ll also want to ensure that you eat whole grains to help initiate a caloric deficit. Good food in this category includes the following:
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Brown rice
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Legumes like lentils
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Quinoa
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Sweet potatoes
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Whole grains, including bread and pasta
5. Limit Your Portion Sizes
Losing weight isn’t all about eliminating unhealthy food choices. Think about how much you eat, too. Limit portion sizes by using smaller plates to limit caloric intake. Eating less food will also help your overall health.
6. Mind Your Eating Habits
Research shows that eating while watching TV or other similar habits makes people lose track of their eating, often leading to weight gain. Also, remember to stop eating at the first signs of feeling full, as that practice will help you from eating more food.
Change Your Exercise Habits
Chances are you probably already engage in some sort of physical activity. Increasing your exercise regimen can help you burn extra calories and build muscle simultaneously. Here are some suggestions that you do to reduce your body size and build muscle mass at the same time.
7. Do Cardio in the Morning Before Eating
Any cardiovascular exercise like cycling, running, stair climbing, or a high-intensity exercise class can do wonders to burn calories and reduce body fat. You can achieve excellent results by performing short cardio workouts before eating. The British Journal of Nutrition found that doing cardio in the morning in a fasting state burns 20% more fat than those who ate a small meal beforehand. If you engage in intermittent fasting, make sure you do your workout before your eating timeframe. When your body has been fasting, it burns fat for energy instead of carbs.
8. Add Strength Training
Resistance training is an essential component of weight loss, which helps you burn calories and build extra muscle. Every additional pound of muscle will result in more calories burned at rest. Other benefits include that more food you eat will go to repair and rebuild your body instead of turning it into fat. In the 48 hours following strength training, your body diverts as many calories as possible when building muscle. You burn more calories than usual and store significantly fewer calories as fat, resulting in overall weight loss.
Additional Ways To Lose Weight Without Dieting
Modifying other habits can help with losing weight and burning fat at the same time. Try the following healthier habits to give yourself a better chance of losing weight.
9. Get Better Sleep
Stress and poor sleep habits have potent effects on appetite and weight. Poor sleep habits can disrupt the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin while also elevating cortisol, the stress hormone. A fluctuation in those hormones can increase hunger and cravings for junk food, leading to the intake of high-calorie foods. Chronic sleep deprivation can also increase the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
10. Do Yoga and Meditation
According to the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, those who do yoga tend to stop weight gain. Regular yoga participants report a more mindful approach to eating, including noticing large portions in restaurant meals and eating slowly and mindfully. Calm self-awareness can help people from overeating and contribute to fat loss.
Author’s BIO:
Imran Aslam is an editor but the author Lori Wade is a journalist from Louisville. She is a content writer who has experience in small editions. Lori is currently engaged in news and conceptual articles on the health and beauty industry. You can find her on LinkedIn. Hope you appreciate Lori’s useful insights!
