While most fitness and health professionals will tell you that the best way to lose weight is to combine diet with an exercise program, sometimes one of the two can't be worked into your life. Whether it's because you have a sedentary job or because you have a medical condition that precludes you from exercising, there are still things you can do to lose the weight.
Step 1
Give up liquid calories. You can save more than 200 calories a day just by giving up sodas and juices and switching to water, diet drinks or unsweetened teas. Gourmet coffee drinks like the ones sold at Starbucks can pack hundreds of calories as well.
Step 2
Downsize your portions by 1/3. You probably won't notice the difference, but you'll be saving hundreds of calories every day. Also, eat slowly. It takes about 20 minutes for the satiety feeling to travel from your brain to your stomach, so eating slowly means you may feel fuller on less food and won't need to go for seconds.
Step 3
Eat smaller meals more often. Letting more than four hours go by in between meals can make your blood sugar plummet and lead to cravings. Also, eating smaller meals makes it easier for your body to process the food and burn it rather than saving up excess calories as fat deposits.
Step 4
Fill up on fiber-rich foods, such as green leafy vegetables and whole grains. They provide a feeling of satiety without adding too many calories to your overall count for the day. You can also try adding vegetables to soups, casseroles, sauces and other dishes. Even mixing up veggies with your pasta or rice can add bulk without adding many calories.
Step 5
Eat at home or bring food with you. Restaurant food is higher in fats and sugars to increase flavor. Also, because you don't know what goes into the preparation of a specific dish, you may be eating more calories than you think even in apparently harmless dishes such as salads.
Tips and Warnings
- Just because you can't make it or can't afford to go to the gym doesn't mean you have to stop exercising. In fact, adding even 10 minutes of activity to your day can make a big difference when it comes to both your health and weight loss. Bike to work, use the stairs or take up gardening as a way to move without exercising.
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