10 tips on how to start losing weight without diets and the gym

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Change your lifestyle , and the weight will start to go away.

A well-thought-out diet and exercise can effectively lose and maintain weight, but only if they become a part of life. Short-term strict food restrictions and “forays” into the fitness club threaten disruptions and quick return of the lost kilograms.

If you are not yet ready for global changes, try to establish a few simple habits that will help you spend a little more calories and consume a little less.

Yes, you are unlikely to lose 5 kg by the beach season. But you will be able to lose weight smoothly without slowing down your metabolism and eating disorders, as well as maintain a healthy weight for the rest of your life.

1. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly

Many people literally swallow their lunch in 5-10 minutes, looking at the phone or computer screen, and then switch to more important matters. At the same time, there are at least two important reasons to stretch out your meal.

One experiment found that eating a 600-calorie lunch in 24 minutes made people feel significantly more full than those who ate less. plate in 6 minutes. Moreover, three hours after a meal, slow eaters consume 25% fewer calories in the form of snacks.

Slowly and carefully chewing your lunch can not only reduce the daily caloric intake of the diet, but also increase energy expenditure.

< p>In a recent study, Japanese scientists found out: if you chew food for 30 seconds, then after a meal, food thermogenesis increases by 1.8-4 kcal for about 90 minutes. One of the authors of the experiment noted that if you take into account every meal for a year, the cumulative effect can be significant.

2. Add a salad to your meal and eat it first

One study looked at how eating this salad would affect how much you ate afterwards.

Participants were divided into several groups and given 150 or 300 g of salad with different calorie content (33 kcal, 67 kcal and 133 kcal per 100 g). After that, people were offered to taste pasta – as much as they wanted, and the total energy value of the food was calculated.

It turned out that the lightest salad in the amount of 150 g helps to reduce the calorie content of dinner by 7%, and a portion of 300 g – by 12%.

In order not to accidentally eat more than necessary, choose dishes from fresh vegetables and greens, without dressing in the form of mayonnaise, cheese or other fatty products.

Try salads made from cucumbers and cabbage, spinach, celery root, broccoli, bell peppers and other low-calorie vegetable ingredients.

3. Drink a glass of water before meals

There is evidence that a glass of water right before dinner helps you eat less without portion control.

Although this technique gives the best results together with a diet. Thus, in one study, taking 500 ml of water 30 minutes before lunch helped obese people lose 2.4 kg in 12 weeks – twice as much as in a control group.

In another experiment, thanks to this technique, people with a age on the diet lost an additional 2 kg of weight.

One systematic review concluded that drinking before a meal helps people lose weight 55 and older, but does not work in younger people. Another review noted that it makes sense to consume more fluids in the diet or to maintain weight.

Try drinking a glass or two of water 30 minutes before a meal and see how it affects your appetite and portion sizes. Maybe this technique will help you eat less.

4. Change foods to less caloric ones

Often people adjust the main menu – for example, switch from pork to chicken or exclude sweets. But they don't pay attention to sauces and salad dressings.

At the same time, these little things can greatly affect the total caloric content of the diet. For example, in the already mentioned experiment with salads and pasta, the energy value of the portions was increased by 100 kcal only due to dressing and adding cheese.

A couple of spoons of sauce, an extra piece of bread, cream and sugar in coffee – paying attention to these small nuances, you can remove 200–300 kcal from the diet, which will eventually result in significant weight loss.

Therefore, if you can easily give up calorie supplements, do it.

5. Do not put strict bans on your favorite food

The main disadvantage of any diets and restrictions is that people cannot stick to the chosen regime for a long time. Therefore, no matter how right it may seem to completely refuse sweet, floury or fast food, first think about whether you can survive without these products for the rest of your life.

For example, in one experiment, a strict ban on bread increased the number of breakdowns from diet up to 23%. At the same time, in the group without such restrictions, only 6% of those who lost weight violated the regime, and the results were the same for everyone.

Strict prohibitions can cause eating disorders and mood problems, make you overeat and gain extra pounds.

To stay healthy, don't go to extremes or demonize certain food groups. You can cut the amount of calorie-rich food, but if you really like fatty meat, chocolate, ice cream or pastries, do not give them up completely.

6. Avoid liquid calories

Liquid calories are sweet drinks: lemonades and energy drinks, tea and coffee with sugar, as well as fruit juices and milkshakes. Unlike solid food, such products are practically not satiating, but at the same time contain a lot of carbohydrates.

In one study, it was estimated that by replacing sweet sodas, juices and milk with water, you can reduce daily caloric intake by 235 kcal. In another experiment, a similar action ensured a decrease in the total energy value of the diet by 200 kcal per day.

In a month, giving up sugary drinks can reduce calorie intake by 6,000 kcal. Basically, it's like spending two weeks on a bland diet without slowing down your metabolism.

7. Choose the right snacks for snacking

It is often advised to avoid snacking so as not to consume extra calories between meals. This approach is not without meaning, but only if you normally tolerate long periods without food and do not feel very hungry when it is time to sit down at the table.

If the urges in the stomach make you dream about lunch, binge on food and consume much more than is necessary for satiety, snacks can improve the situation.

However, you need to choose them wisely. Cookies, candies, waffles and other sweet and fatty foods will add a lot of calories to the diet, but they will not provide a feeling of satiety.

To suppress hunger, choose a snack rich in protein or fiber: fruits and vegetables, yogurt , unsweetened cheese, nuts, hummus (chickpea paste), protein shakes.

They will help you last until lunch or dinner without stomach cramps and at the same time provide you with vitamins, trace elements and dietary fibers that are good for health.

8. Eat lunch and dinner earlier

A review concluded that early lunch and dinner help maintain a healthy weight.

Scientists have found that eating at three o'clock in the afternoon has a negative effect on the diversity and health of the intestinal microflora. And dinner after nine o'clock in the evening worsens sensitivity to glucose. Both can cause weight gain and lead to additional health problems.

Try moving your dinner and lunch to an earlier time and see how it affects your health and weight. If you fall asleep late, cut your last meal a little. For example, replace a full dinner with a protein-carbohydrate snack, enough to not go to bed hungry.

9. Get enough sleep

According to numerous studies, lack of sleep disrupts the production of hormones responsible for feelings of hunger and satiety, as well as increases appetite and cravings for sweet and fatty foods. All this contributes to gaining excess weight and accumulating fat in the abdominal area.

In order not to increase the risks, try to sleep 7-8 hours a day, this is the optimal night's rest for most adults.

10. Move more in everyday life

Increased calorie expenditure is usually associated with jogging or group fitness programs. And although cardio training is extremely beneficial for health, it is possible to lose weight without it.

One study estimated that about 15% of the total energy expenditure per day is spent on daily household activities, while only about 5%.

Accept the fact that any activity is better than no activity. A short walk, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, household chores, short warm-ups at the workplace – all this will help burn more calories without overexerting yourself.