How to loose weight without exercise

Not everyone is cut out for the exercise and strict dieting approach to losing weight, and that is fine. Various reasons can make these approaches inconvenient, from a tight schedule to a hectic lifestyle that requires high mental focus to unavailability of resources, poor health or a sheer lack of will, there are many reasons why exercising cannot work for you at the moment and you'll be happy to know there are ways on how to loose weight without exercise. 

If you belong to the ‘non-exerciser’ category, you will be happy to learn that weight loss can still be achieved without exercise and dieting. Simple lifestyle changes and diet modification is all that you need to see weight loss results.

How to Loose Weight Without Exercise

The key to weight loss through diet or exercise is tipping the calorie intake - output scale – weight gain occurs when the calorie intake is higher than the calorie expended while weight loss occurs when the calorie intake is lower than the calorie expended. In each case, your body will either store the excess calorie as fat or convert previously stored calorie (fat) to meet the deficit.

This article shares the best tips for altering your body’s calorie balance to cause weight loss without exercise or dieting, read on.

Find out what foods your body is sensitive to 

Each and every one of us has a unique metabolic profile and although we may not be aware, many of us are consuming foods that our bodies may be sensitive to which can cause digestive and immune blockages leading to weight gain, or the inability to loose weight or keep weight off after dieting. 

Food sensitivities can drain your bodies energy, reduce metabolic ratios and block nutrient absorption. When your body is perfectly balanced, it will naturally allow you to loose weight and sustain an optimum level of health.

One way to find out what foods your body sensitive to is to do a hair follicle test. 

To find out more on how you can see what foods you may be sensitive to read more about our 12 week weight loss program here (and guess what, there is no exercise involved!).

Click here to book your free 15 min phone consultation.

Reduce your carbohydrate intake

For your weight loss efforts to be effective in the least, you must label carbs as bad and consume it sparingly or avoid it for a period of time. However, not all carbs are bad so not all of them should be avoided - it is the white carbs that you should avoid, these carbs are found in carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, pasta, rice, and other refined products. Carbohydrates found in vegetables do not have a detrimental effect on the body with the exception of white potato because the high starch content. Fruit are good for consumption as well however you should stick as much as possible to berries and apple to avoid high sugar consumption.

Reducing your carbohydrate intake for a week or two can work wonders on the scales. Stretching your carbohydrate dieting for months will trim your weight significantly.

Increase Protein and Fibre intake

After cutting down your carb intake, you will need an alternative source of energy. Protein and fibre are good sources of energy that can substitute carbohydrate.  These classes of food are not primarily energy given foods - they provide unique benefits to the body and give energy as well. In the absence of sufficient carbohydrate, the body turns to protein to meet its energy goals. Also, muscle growth burns fat. So you see how protein intake helps your overall weight loss goal. 

Increase Fibre consumption

Different foods can help you lose weight without exercise and keep your shape. I am talking about foods that have a satiating effect and that reduce appetite.

High fibre foods

Research on appetite control revealed that eating high fibre foods reduces hunger and helps you eat fewer calories. This is because high fibre intake stretches the stomach and causes the release of satiety hormones. Also, it promotes long-term health. 

In the case of refined carbohydrates, the fibres are eliminated, so that the body digests them very quickly. This is the reason why you become hungry very quickly after eating refined carbohydrates. Also, eating refined carbohydrates can make your blood sugar levels surge. This leads to an increase in insulin. Insulin stimulates the uptake of glucose by the cells of the body (source).

That's why it is important to reduce your intake of refined carbohydrates and replace them with healthy, unprocessed foods such as vegetables, berries, legumes and whole grains. These foods contain fibres that slow down the absorption of carbohydrates. They are rich in carbohydrates but also in fibre, and they help regulate hunger (source).

What you need to know is that there are different types of fibre, and some fibres are more effective than others in preventing hunger. Different studies have concluded that soluble fibre has greater satiating power than insoluble fibre (sourcesource ).

Many foods, such as flaxseed, oat flakes, sweet potatoes, and brussels sprouts are excellent sources of soluble fibre.

Foods rich in fibre are your allies to lose weight without exercise.

Use smaller plates

Some simple tips can help you lose weight without ever having to set foot in the gym.

One of these tips is amazingly simple: use smaller plates at home.

Several studies have concluded that we eat less when we use smaller plates. According to Cornell researcher Brian Wansink, PhD Professor of consumer behaviour, using a plate that is nine or ten inches wide will reduce food consumption by approximately 23 per cent.

If you want to lose weight without exercise, you should consider swapping your plate collection for smaller ones. No doubt, it will be difficult adjusting to a new food ration, but with time, you will get used to it.

Eat without distraction

It is becoming a trend to watch video on your Tv or phone while eating, after all, cinemas upsell popcorns with movie tickets. While the occasional cinema treat is pardonable, making the Tv-food combo a habit is bad for your weight. It is hard to focus on too much at the same time, so when you eat in front of the television, the computer or your phone, know that your brain has a little more trouble understanding that you are eating at the same time, and especially that you have to stop at some point.

Research shows that people distracted during a meal by a screen will eat more calories than they would when eating without a Tv. This is especially true when the food source is nearby.

It's worth it to stay the remote control, don’t you think?

Drink more water

It’s been proven that drinking enough water helps keep the skin and digestive tract healthy. Drinking more water also helps to lose weight. When water fills the stomach, your neurotransmitters send a signal of satisfaction to your brain thereby reducing appetite. However it is not advisable to drink large amounts of water during, befor or immediately after meal, as it would dilute stomache acid which is needed for breaking down protein.

Also, not drinking enough can lead to hunger faster. If you are often hungry, it may be helpful to drink a large glass of water to see if it is not just thirst. Eating a lot of water-rich foods such as vegetables will also help you maintain a good water balance.

Improve magnesium intake

This trace mineral is considered one of the best allies of weight loss because it facilitates the elimination of fat and turns it into energy boosters.

Without it, the body does not absorb nutrients properly, and its deficiency causes stress or fatigue. This makes us eat more food to compensate, and you know what follows unguarded eating.

It is better to eat foods rich in magnesium such as; almonds, dark chocolate, lentils, banana, spinach and consume a water rich in minerals in the form of food supplements. (Refer to HydroMate)

Practice the intermittent fasting

If you want to lose weight without exercise, periodic fasting is one of the best ways to achieve this.

Intermittent fasting, or fasting, is a dietary pattern consisting of periods of fasting and feeding windows.

There are many fasting methods that divide the day or the week into fasting and feeding.

When you think about it, intermittent fasting is not very strange. Everyone fasts naturally, especially during sleep. The human body is prepared not to eat for long periods.

Intermittent fasting is simply extending these periods of fasting slightly. For example, you can skip breakfast and eat your first meal only in the afternoon.

Several studies have shown that intermittent fasting helps to lose weight and improves metabolic health. Intermittent fasting can lead to an increase in metabolism of up to 14% (source , source ). Also, insulin levels drop drastically during fasting. Abnormally High Insulin levels make weight loss almost impossible (source).

Researchers believe that fasting increases the lifespan. The foods we eat every day alter DNA and contribute to aging. Smoking, alcohol consumption and unhealthy diets only add to the problem. By fasting occasionally, you limit the alteration of DNA in your body.

Also, fasting leads to a dramatic increase in human growth hormone levels, up to 1300% in women and 2000% in men (source).

Human growth hormone is particularly involved in the development of muscle mass and promotes the burning of fat. Intermittent fasting is an effective way to reduce your calorie intake and burn fat.

Make sure you sleep well

To lose weight, getting enough sleep is as important as good nutrition and exercise.

Research shows that a lack of prolonged sleep is associated with weight gain. People who lack sleep often weigh more than people who sleep well.

Sleeping only 6 hours a night for a week is enough to disrupt all kinds of biological processes in the body. Not to mention that it is dangerous because the lack of sleep affects the hormones (ghrelin, leptin) which influence the regulation of the appetite and weight.

Ghrelin, known as the hunger hormone, tells your brain that it's time to eat. When you run out of sleep, your body produces more ghrelin. Leptin, on the other hand, tells your brain that enough fat is stored and that you have eaten enough.

It is important to have ample rest in order to function properly and also keep your hunger hormones working as it should.

Conclusion

Loosing weight without exercise or a strict diet is possible. There are many ways to do so, and some of the best ways are discussed in this article. The above tips will get you to a flying start; it is important to pace yourself, ease into the lifestyle, so it is not too sudden for you. Sometimes we tend to be ambitious with achieving results that we force ourselves through experiences our mind and body is not prepared for. So ease into this lifestyle change, preferably practice one tip at a time, especially those tips that require drastic diet change.

You can add exercise to your plan for faster results, it is important to move your muscle, but it should be exercises that you are comfortable with, give you pleasure and not additional stress. There is no harm in conditioning your bones, muscles and joints every now and then.

Don’t forget to dance and laugh!

Found this article interesting? You may like to read more about our 12 week (exercise free) weight loss program.