Lots of people around the world want to lose weight. It’s a goal commonly added to new year’s resolutions, something people constantly seem to be trying for, and an issue that sounds much easier to get through than it really is.
Losing weight typically requires a significant amount of effort. Many people begin intense workout routines to aid their progress, alongside being more mindful of their diet. But what if you don’t want to exercise, or don’t have time to? Are you doomed to never lose weight?
Luckily, the answer is no! There are plenty of simple methods you can implement that may help you even more than exercising will.
Here Are 6 Ways To Lose Weight Without Working Out
Want to learn how to spur weight loss without hitting the gym? Read on to learn more.
1. Add More Of Certain Nutrients
What you eat is, understandably, one of the biggest influencing factors of weight gain, loss, and maintenance. Even if you’re careful to count your calories, or even if you think you eat reasonably, the components of the foods you consume may not be sufficient to help you keep off extra pounds. Here are some nutrients to try getting more of:
Eat More Fiber
Fiber has the benefit of expanding in your stomach, causing you to feel much fuller for prolonged periods of time. This is especially true of viscous fiber, which has been found to greatly increase satiety, furthering weight loss progress quickly.
This occurs because of the gel that forms when any type of viscous fiber touches water. It causes nutrients to be digested and absorbed more slowly so you don’t need to eat again as quickly.
Eat Probiotics
You may know probiotics as the types of bacteria found in things like yogurt and other fermented foods. They hold a lot of positive traits that can significantly help the digestion process. They help regulate mood and can even lower overall fat content within the body.
Eat More Protein
Protein is capable of causing you to feel more full, which can, in turn, have positive effects on overall satiety, allowing you to better regulate your snacking. You may even naturally eat less during meals because you feel full more quickly. (1)
Why does this happen? Many believe that it is because of a number of hormones that are affected by the consumption of protein. Some studies have found that you can lose weight, around 11 pounds, just by upping your protein intake by around 50%!
Get More Vitamin D
Although it’s far from conclusive, some research suggests that having too little vitamin D within your blood can be linked to issues such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and osteoarthritis. Many vitamin D-deficient individuals wind up being highly overweight.
2. Sleep Enough
You may have noticed that the more drowsy you are, the more likely you are to eat in excess. Scientists are slightly at odds about why it happens, but all are in agreement that tired people eat more than they usually do.
Some theories suggest that those who sleep too little produce more ghrelin in their bodies. This hormone is responsible for causing you to feel hungry. It also causes increases in the stress hormone cortisol, and stress can really cause you to overeat due to unhealthy cravings of all sorts.
When you’re sleepy, you also lack impulse control that can prevent you from chowing down on junk foods. Lacking sleep can also cause you to take more pleasure in eating, as your brain recognizes food as a greater reward. It also puts you more at risk of developing diabetes because of excess weight gain.
3. Change How You Eat
Did you know that the way you eat may actually be totally preventing good weight loss progress? Your mealtime habits can really have a huge effect on how much or little you wind up consuming. Here are some changes to consider when trying for weight loss:
Eat More Slowly
Your brain doesn’t register that you’re full right away. It typically takes some time before you get the message from your stomach that you’re full. As such, shoveling food into your mouth usually doesn’t do you any favors. Studies have indicated that those who eat quickly have a higher risk of developing obesity.
Size Down Your Plates
Food plates have grown steadily larger over the past several decades. This means that you’re filling up your plate with more and more food as time goes on. A large plate can trick your brain into thinking you don’t have enough food on it. Try serving less healthy foods in smaller plates, and more healthy foods in bigger ones.
Don’t Eat While Distracted
Your body relies pretty heavily on its senses to determine when it is full. That means that occupying your senses with other things can easily cause you to be too distracted to notice that you’re full.
So if you tend to watch TV, play with your phone, listen to music, or even read while you eat, stop! You’ll eat 10% more than you should during that meal. Sure, it sounds like a small amount, but it adds up over time.
Cut Portions Down
You could eat a lot of your favorite foods if you just cut down on the overall amount you have. Sure, thinking of eating less of the stuff you like doesn’t exactly lend itself to positive thinking, but big portions have been linked many, many times to higher rates of obesity. (2)
Chew More
The more you chew, the slower you eat – and the faster your digestion kickstarts itself! If you make sure to really chew your food and focus on it, it will take you longer to eat and also reduce the total amount of food you consume, which is likely what you’ll want to happen.
4. Eat In The Right Environment
That’s right – it’s not just how you eat, but where you eat, that can affect your size and weight. This happens in very indirect ways, but many of them are scientifically proven and as good a reason as any to incorporate this knowledge into your weight loss journey. Here are some areas to focus on:
Good Lighting
A dim, candlelit room sounds very nice and romantic, but it’s terrible for your weight. Research indicates that you’re up to 24% more likely to eat more positive meals if you’re in a bright room. (3)
Eating Outside of the Kitchen
It’s very convenient to just eat within your own kitchen. Many people even have eat-in ones that they can easily use to grab food, gobble it up, and go.
But the issue with this is that you are very close to lots of other visible food, causing you to potentially eat more. Go to a separate dining room to enjoy your meals and even your snacks!
A Neat Kitchen
When your kitchen is a mess, you actually wind up feeling more stressed out. For some reason yet to be clearly defined, research indicates that using cluttered, messy kitchens actually wind up eating double the amount of snacks! It’s a good reason to get to doing your chores as soon as possible.
5. Be Aware of What Not to Eat
Again, we’re circling back to keeping your diet good and healthy. Just as it is important to know what to include, it’s important to know what to exclude. Here are some examples of foods to keep you on your diet:
Soda
There’s so much sugar in soda that even diet soda options are undeniably bad for you. Even options that use artificial sweeteners as opposed to sugar still wreak havoc on your body. These affect your body’s hormones and enzymes, causing your waist to expand and your metabolism to become unbalanced.
Junk Food
It’s called “junk” for a reason. Not only are most junk foods packed with trans fats, unnecessary calories, and questionable amounts of salt and sugar, but they’re also often full of additives that cause your gut health to deteriorate. This blocks your efforts at weight loss.
Fruit Juice
Yes, even supposedly healthy fruit juices can be suspect. They’re typically full of sugar, just like soda – sometimes just as much sugar, too! This also includes many popular smoothies that include added sugar, ice cream, or other similar products.
So, what can you eat instead? There are lots of healthy options, both for drinks and food, that can help keep prevent unwanted weight gain. You can go for:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Infused water
- Unsalted nuts
- Dried fruit
- Teas
- Yogurt
6. Get Out More Often
When you read this, you may think, “Oh no, here comes the exercise.” But that’s not what this is about, so keep your positive thinking up! Going outside does often involve some form of mild exercises, such as walking back and forth, but it barely counts as working out, and chances are, you won’t even think of it that way. Here are some ideas:
Spend Time In The Mountains
You don’t have to go on a long, treacherous trek or hike up a rustic mountain trail. All you have to do is just get high above ground every once in a while! Did you know that Colorado holds the country’s slimmest people? It’s because many of them live higher up, and research links higher homes to lower weight.
Enjoy Nature
Once again, no intense exercise is necessary to enjoy nature’s benefits. Spending time in a green environment can actually lead to natural weight loss. Though it’s easy to say that this is due to involuntary “exercise” – like walking to an area, getting up to explore, or enjoying outdoor activities – it’s the kind you won’t feel opposed to.
Get Some Sun
Not only does the sun provide you with vitamin D – something we’ve already discussed in terms of its benefits for the body – but it also winds up making you feel more full. Standing out in bright sunlight for around 20 minutes can actually be linked to a lower BMI – and it’s great for your mood!
Final Thoughts On Some Ways To Lose Weight Without Working Out
Working out can be difficult, and not everyone has the means to do so. That’s why it’s a good thing that science has revealed so many other factors that affect what causes someone to lose weight!
Of course, do keep in mind that while people have been able to lose weight without exercise, it can be much easier to do so if you add even simple forms of working out to your routine. Different people and different bodies respond to different methods, so don’t be afraid to experiment to find what works best for you!
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