You may have heard the saying, work smarter not harder; well the same goes for losing weight.
You may be over thinking your diet and exercise plan and seeing only minimal results, when you could be doing some really simple “no-brainer” things that work wonders to speed up your weight loss.
Here are some proven ways to lose weight without dieting or exercise that you can implement today to help you lose weight the easy way.
- “Unplug” While Eating:
Eating or snacking while watching TV, checking email, or surfing the web leads to “autopilot” eating. Meaning you unconsciously eat more because you aren’t paying attention.
Studies have shown that when you eat “attentively,” you automatically eat fewer calories because you are more aware of being full and later remember how much you ate, thus reducing calories for the rest of the day.
Sitting down with a plate of food and eliminating distractions also helps you focus on portion control, so “unplug” while you eat.
- Start meals with smaller portions:
Speaking of portion control, the natural tendency when starting a meal is to order a starter then a main dish, or fill your entire plate to capacity regardless of how hungry you might actually be. Then there is also a market trend in restaurants encouraging people to super size their meals.
Serving yourself larger portions or ordering excess food has been shown to stimulate overeating.
If you feel extremely hungry and need to eat a larger portion, fill up on low calorie foods first.
- Eat Low Calorie Foods First:
You may have noticed that when you order a starter such as a house salad or soup, you find yourself full before the main dish arrives.
Generally the main dish consists of high calorie dense foods made with oils or butter. Studies have shown that eating low calorie salads or soups before a meal leads to less consumption of high calorie foods.
A good rule of thumb is finish your salad or soup before ordering a main dish, or you can also box up your main dish and break it into smaller meals over the course of one or two days.
- Use Portion Control Plates:
A portion control plate is basically a plate that is divided up into sections that approximates the amount of food you should be eating from the different food groups to make a balanced meal.
If you can imagine back to your tray in the school cafeteria, it’s similar to that. A study conducted using these portion control plates showed that they were an effective tool for inducing weight loss.
Portion control plates take the guess work out of portion control and meal preparation. They are also easy to purchase on-line.
- Up Your Protein Intake:
Instead of dieting, try eating more protein in place of other high carbohydrate foods. Protein keeps you full longer, thus reducing hunger and caloric intake for the day.
For example, eating eggs instead of a bagel in the morning was shown to keep participants full longer and as a result, they ate fewer calories for the day.
Another study found that participants who increased their protein intake from 15 % to 30 % ate 441 fewer calories per day and lost 11 pounds in 12 weeks while keeping carbohydrate intake constant, suggesting that protein has a direct effect on weight loss.
- Increase your Fiber Intake:
In addition to increasing your protein intake, epidemiologic studies show that increasing your fiber intake also helps you lose weight. (26)
In the United States fiber intake is low at only 15 grams per day which is half the amount the American Heart Association recommends, which is 25-30 grams per day.
Increasing your fiber will keep you full longer using fewer calories, plus help you maintain better bowel health. Fiber may also help lower your cholesterol and help control blood sugar levels.
In summary…
The Best Ways To Lose Weight Without Diet Or Exercise:
“Unplug” While Eating
Start meals with smaller portions
Eat low calorie foods first
Use portion control plates
Up your protein intake
Increase your fiber intake