By I like to think of achieving and maintaining weight loss as a lifestyle habit. There is no return on investment if you decide to change your eating habits for a certain number of months, and go back to your old ways. We need to become accustomed to the conscious effort and flexibility needed to keep us at the weight we feel comfortable.
There is no requirement for cutting food groups or experiencing deprivation. You don’t need to work out for hours on end. It can be as hard or as easy as you make of it. Make the things that you do and eat count.
There are so many different methods you can use in order to achieve this goal, and I may be repeating myself, and the solutions of others by answering this. In fact, I do feel obligated to let you know what has worked for me, so that you may try it and experience it for yourself. I will go into some other strategies that may be missed by a lot of people on the journey to weight loss. I believe that many little steps leads to big results.
1 proven way to lose weight without dieting
Intermittent fasting: There are a few ways you can go about this. Choosing to fast intermittently 2–3 days a week is ideal for lots of people, and you can still get great results. Opting the fasting regime every day, will get you faster results and keep you trim for life. This is the most easiest way to cut calories without experiencing deprivation, or feelings of so called dieting. You can still drink non caloric beverages, just not eat any food during your fasting hours.
The best way to do this is alternating your fasting and feeding times. This will ensure your body never knows what to expect, and you will keep benefiting over time from the results. I will outline a rough guideline below for you:
Monday: 16 hour fast, 8 hour feed
Tuesday: 20 hour fast, 4 hour feeding window
Wednesday: 12 hour fast, 7 hour feeding window
Thursday: 18 hour fast, 6 hour feeding window
Friday: 16 hour fast, 8 hour feed
Saturday: 20 hour fast, 4 hour feeding window
Wednesday: 12 hour fast, 7 hour feeding window
You can also download several apps online that will help you with your fasting and feeding periods, and remind you when it’s almost over, and reward you over time for all your efforts. It’s good to keep track of this, as well as how much weight you are losing.
Intermittent dieting is best coupled with proper eating habits, although allowing yourself a treat is not detrimental to your results. Please note that you should speak with your doctor when you have any medical conditions. You need to make sure this will be good for you.
Courtesy The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Now that I’ve gotten the intermittent fasting out of the way, let’s talk about some valuable, yet small things you can do on a daily basis to further enhance your weight loss over time.
6 ways to lose weight without dieting
- Eat a lot more veggies with every meal. Make them the most prominent aspect of your plate. Pick cruciferous veggies as they are the most fiber rich and have less of a carbohydrate marker.
- Watch your portion sizes. Don’t fill your plate with huge servings. Learn to curb your sizes by using your hand as a reference. Feel free to download this portion printable to help you out.
- Become active. If you don’t want to weight train, then brisk walking, or some kind of movement on a daily basis is very important. This is not only great for weight loss, but also our overall health.
- Eat protein with every meal. Protein requires your body to burn more calories in order to digest it. Protein also keeps you full for longer periods of time, stopping those munch attacks in between meals. Opt for the protein sources above. A good one to have is some eggs.
- Opt for fruit, rather than fruit juice. Avoid juice of any kind, even soft drinks. Maybe they are diet alternatives, but they still need to be left on the shelf! Drink water, add some lemon and lime for a bit of flavour. No one needs to drink fruit candy.
- Make sure you eat regularly. Don’t skip meals (unless you are fasting). When you leave yourself vulnerable to skipping meals, you’re more likely to overeat from extreme hunger. I have to admit, that when you fast, this problem is quickly eliminated. But please do be aware that skipping meals or not eating enough, will leave you vulnerable to overconsumption.
Hopefully this gives you a great place to start off with. I know there is so much information available. I think you should opt for the simplest alternatives, and monitor your progress. We all respond in different ways, so do what works for you. Best of luck along your journey.