Easy Ways You Can Lose Weight

Let's be honest. There is no easy way to lose weight. First, you've got to decrease the number of calories you eat, something which is easier said than done, as the two-thirds of Americans who are overweight can testify. Second, you've got to exercise. While you work on improving your diet and buffing up your exercise habits, you can deploy weight-loss tactics that are easy as pie but without the calories.

Sip

Green tea has caffeine, which might decrease appetite temporarily, according to MayoClinic.com. Many find the gentle flavor and warmth of green tea soothing, but there are benefits to tea beyond its affect on mood and appetite. A 2008 study published in "Physiology and Behavior" found that after 12 weeks, participants who drank green tea lost about 7.3 lbs. more than their non-tea drinking compatriots. Physiological assays obtained at weeks four, eight and 12 of the study suggested that the green tea enhanced participants' metabolic and fat-oxidation rate. The particular type of catechins contained in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate, increase thermogenesis, or heat production, burning calories, according to The Diet Channel.

Sleep

Proper sleep might help you lose weight. People who sleep less than others tend to have greater body mass. The association between sleep and body mass index, a measure of weight relative to height, may in part result from the tendency for obese people to develop sleep problems such as sleep apnea. However, a 2004 study published in "PLOS" also found that participants who slept less had changes in hormones that altered their appetite and metabolism. People who sleep less have reduced leptin, a hormone that tells your brain you have plenty of stored energy, so you don't need to eat. Light sleepers also have elevated levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger. Some of those food cravings you surrender to during the day might be the product of what you weren't doing last night. Sleep more -- aim for seven or eight hours per night -- and eat less.

Sup

To sup means to take a little bit of food or beverage into your mouth at a time. Slow down how quickly you eat. Savor your food, chew it well and take some time between bites. Allow your blood sugar, eating-cessation hormones and brain time to detect that you've taken in some calories. Try eating a pre-appetizer before dinner. About 30 minutes before dinner, eat an apple. Apple has fiber, which blunts your appetite. It has water-soluble fiber as well, called pectin, that binds with dietary fat, so some of the fat in your food will go out as waste rather than going to your waist.

Shake

Here's a NEAT way to lose weight. Shake your leg. Dr. Michael Jensen from the Mayo Clinic, along with colleagues James Levine and Norman Eberhardt, published a study in the January 1999 edition of "Science" describing non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT. They overfed volunteers and found that participants expended 2/3 of the excess calories on fidgeting, maintenance of posture, moving about and other physical activities of daily life. Levine says that "the calories that people burn in their everyday activities --- their NEAT --- are far, far more important in obesity than we previously imagined."

Spice

Spice up your food to give your taste buds a thrill and your metabolism a boost. Capsaicin, the compound that gives chili peppers their bite, increases thermogenesis, raising your metabolism by as much as 8 percent for a few hours. Spicy food can lower your appetite and decrease the amount of food you eat by 200 calories, according to the Nov. 28, 2006, "New York Times."