7 Ways To Lose Weight Without Dieting

Diets – most of us have tried them, few of us have loved them, and almost all of us have ditched them at some point in our lives. Diets can be boring, monotonous and even unsustainable, making us feel like our ideal weight cannot be achieved. But all is not lost, as important as food and calorie consumption is, diets are not the only factors that encourage weight loss.

As important as food and calorie consumption is, diets are not the only factors that encourage weight loss.

We can all be reluctant to give up our favourite snacks and treats but weight loss doesn’t mean you have to rid your diet of all tasty foods, instead changing other areas of your life can assist weight loss without having to sacrifice your favourite foods. These tips can help you reach your weight goals without altering the cupboards or your diet.

Rather than embarking on yet another tedious diet plan, check out these 7 simple ways to lose weight without cutting out your favourite treats.

Table of Contents

Get Enough Sleep

One of the simplest ways to aid weight loss is getting enough sleep. Sleep is the body’s natural way of getting both mental and physical restoration, and without enough sleep your body and mind cannot perform at their most efficient. Lack of sleep stimulates the production of ghrelin, increasing our appetites and lowering levels of leptin; the hormone that makes you feel full.

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Lack of sleep can also affect your willpower and motivation to exercise. Sleep will also affect your stress levels, and if overly stressed, your body increases its levels of cortisol, an appetite stimulant. If you don’t receive the necessary rest to reduce this stress, you can find yourself consuming extra food not necessary for your diet.

Eat Breakfast

Although you may be tempted to skip breakfast to cut calories or save time, eating a filling breakfast can help curb your hunger, preventing snacking throughout the day or overeating during lunchtime.

Following the old saying ‘eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper’, really does help when trying to lose weight. This is because the metabolism is believed to be more efficient in the morning, a breakfast can kick start your metabolism and continue burning through the day. Breakfasts also stop your body entering into a state of starvation and will prevent your body storing any of the food you eat later in the day.

Eat Foods Slowly

Rather than focusing on how much you are eating at meals, try to concentrate instead on how quickly you eat them. It generally takes a minimum of 20 minutes to start feeling full, so slowing down the speed in which you eat will mean that you start feeling full after less.

Simple tricks can help you slow how fast you’re eating; chewing more thoroughly for example, not only takes up time between bites, but also helps your digestive system by breaking down more food before entering the stomach.

Cut Out Unnecessary Extras

Rather than cutting down on the meals you eat, you can easily lose pounds simply by cutting back on those extras you barely even notice you’re eating. Too frequently we think we have eaten a satisfying balanced meal when really our food can be filled with hidden elements that can pile on the pounds. Particularly when eating out, meals and snacks can include or be cooked with fattening ingredients that hinder your ability to lose weight.

Cooking with oils can also add hundreds of calories to a meal without contributing vastly to its taste, investing in a non-stick pan, or low-calorie sprays, can significantly cut down on unnecessary calories.

Eat More Frequently

While increasing the number of meals you eat may sound counter-productive, eating five small meals (rather than three larger ones) can actually help you to lose weight. Largely because eating more frequently throughout the day will not only keep the hunger at bay, but help maintain good energy levels and keep your metabolism burning. All of these factors will encourage to keep from overindulging or reaching for those easy-energy, high-sugar foods that satisfy your cravings and energy levels.

Even without taking on a diet, breaking your normal eating pattern and consuming food more frequently throughout the day will encourage a higher metabolism and therefore burnt food more efficiently.

Start Exercising

No one wants to sacrifice their delicious foods and treats, but by adding in some exercise, you can see the benefits of losing weight without having to cut your diet. Although a combination of healthy eating and working out is ideal for weight loss, if dieting is infeasible to you, exercise is the perfect way to lose weight, enhance fitness and improve your overall health.

Not only will regular exercise help to burn off the calories you consume, it will also help to tone up and improve the shape of your body. A combination of cardio and resistance training is the best combination to assist weight loss as you are engaging not only your cardiovascular system, but increasing muscle size and power, reducing fat stores and increasing fitness.

Avoid Late Night Snacking

Although it is important to make sure your body is not completely deficient of energy before bed, as you continue to burn calories whilst you sleep, consuming unhealthy calorie-rich food before bed can halter weight loss as unused calories are subsequently stored as fat. Studies have shown that a third of women consume nearly half their calories during or after dinner, resulting in a substantial amount of unused calories.

The average person should aim to consume around 200 calories, guilt free, after dinner, but eating large amounts of food before bed will not only add to your the amount of fat stored, but can also slow the digestive system encouraging weight gain.