Do you hate working out and following a strict diet? Do you want to become fit while having fun and building life-changing habits? If yes, you are not alone.
The truth is that most people don’t like to overexert themselves at the gym or eat healthy foods they don’t like.
Well, the good news is that there are easy but effective ways for you to achieve your fitness goals without pushing yourself too hard or making drastic lifestyle changes.
Read on to learn some easy to follow weight loss strategies that can help you achieve your goals.
Eat veggies, protein, and healthy fat
To lose weight, you have to eat healthy foods that are rich in nutrients that can strengthen your immune system and boost your metabolism.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to follow a strict diet to eat healthily.
In fact, you can improve your diet by adding foods that are rich in protein, vegetables, and healthy fats to your diet.
Reducing your carb intake is another excellent way to improve your diet.
If your present diet is rich in carbs, it may be difficult for you to lose weight. The reason for this is that carbs aren’t as filling as other food groups. So, you may have to consume large quantities of it to be satisfied. Because you overate, you are likely going to gain weight.
To ensure that you lose weight, you should try not to consume more than 50 grams of carbs daily.
Below are some foods that are rich in carbs that you should consider removing from your diet.
- Bread
- Pasta
- Chips
- White rice
- Cookies
- Sugary cereals
Protein
As you reduce your carb intake, you should aim to consume more protein.
Eating protein-rich foods can help you build muscles. Note that the more muscles you have, the more calories your body will be able to burn on its own.
Multiple studies have shown that eating protein-rich foods may increase our metabolism and help us burn more calories (1) (2). The study pointed out that one may be able to burn between 100 calories daily by consuming more protein (3).
Besides helping you burn calories, eating more protein can help reduce your cravings for unhealthy foods during the day.
As can be seen in this study, people who follow a high protein diet are likely going to consume fewer calories. The participants of the study, who were on a high protein diet, consumed 441 fewer calories daily.
So, if you tend to overeat or you are always hungry, you should consider adding more protein to your diet.
Below are some high protein foods sources.
- Beans
- Eggs
- Beef
- Pork
- Salmon
- Legumes
- Shrimp
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Lamb
- Trout
Low carb veggies
Truth be told, vegetables aren’t really the go-to food for most people.
But if you are really serious about improving your health and losing weight, you should consider adding them to your diet.
As you likely know, vegetables are rich in essential nutrients like vitamins, fiber, and minerals that can make you feel and look good.
The good thing about vegetables is that they are low in calories. This means that you can load your plate with them without worrying about gaining weight.
Below are some low carb vegetables you should consider adding to your diet.
- Kale
- Cucumber
- Cabbage
- Tomatoes
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Brussels sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Swiss chard
If for some reason, you don’t like eating common vegetables like broccoli, perhaps because they taste funny, you should try out other veggies until you find the ones you like.
Healthy fat
Many people have the notion that fats are bad and can make one gain weight. But that isn’t entirely true because not all fat is bad.
In fact, there are healthy fats that can improve your health and help you lose weight. Below are some of them.
- Olive oil
- Avocado
- Coconut oil
Walk your way to your fitness goals
Do you hate lifting weight or doing complex exercises that leave you drained and tired? If yes, you should consider trying out low-intensity workouts that are fun to do and can help you lose weight, like walking or jogging.
Unlike other exercises that can only be done at the gym, walking can be done anywhere at any time. The only thing you need to walk or jog is a pair of comfortable shoes. It may be a good idea to take a can of water with you during your walk to rehydrate yourself when you are tired.
On days when the weather is great, you can take a long walk around your neighborhood or your favorite part of town. On rainy or snowy days when you can’t really go outside, you can walk on a treadmill or inside your home.
At this point, a part of you may likely be wondering how long you have to walk to lose weight. One study shows that one has to walk for 30 minutes daily to lose weight (4).
Of course, you can speed things up and burn more calories by jogging or running. But if running is too intense for you, stick to walking. In time, your fitness and endurance level will increase, as you will be able to jog and even run with ease.
Don’t deprive yourself
Many people looking to lose weight usually set strict rules to avoid their favorite food and drinks. While doing this may prevent them from gaining weight and even help them lose a few pounds, in the long run, they are likely going to regain weight.
You see, when we deprive ourselves of eating food or snack that we love, our body may start to crave it. In the end, we are likely going to cave in and binge eat and gain weight.
So, instead of saying no to your favorite food, set a day in the week where you can eat a small portion of your favorite food or snack.
Because you aren’t depriving yourself, your craving is going to reduce, and it will be easier for you to stick with your weight loss diet.
Easy to follow weight loss tips
You definitely will agree that many weight loss strategies out there are complicated and challenging to keep up with. In fact, most people will feel like giving up on their weight loss goals after following them for a week or two.
Well, it may surprise you to know that there are simple changes you can make that can help you lose weight. Below are some of them.
Start your day with a high protein breakfast
As previously mentioned, protein is an essential nutrient that can help us burn fat, increase our metabolism, and help us build muscles.
To enjoy these benefits, you have to consume protein-rich foods at the right time.
Several studies have shown that the best time to eat high protein foods is in the morning, as it helps reduce calorie intake and cravings for unhealthy foods throughout the day (5) (6).
Avoid sugary beverages and fruit juice
It is easy to conclude that fruit juice is healthy, as they are made from fruit. But, if you do a little digging, you will find out that many fruit juices are loaded with sugar and other ingredients that can make you fat (7) (8).
One major problem with sugary beverages is that they are high in calories. So drinking them, even in small quantities, may spike your calorie intake.
Instead of drinking fruit juice, eat whole fruits, as they are rich in fiber and other nutrients that can improve your health.
Don’t forget that you can make delicious smoothies from your favorite fruits and vegetables.
Before consuming any beverage, check its label to see the ingredient it was made from.
Drink water before eating
How much water do you consume daily? If you are like most people, you may be drinking between 2 to 4 glasses of water daily.
To improve your health, you need to drink 6-8 glass of water daily.
The best timeto drink water is before meals. One study shows that drinking water before eating can increase weight loss by 44% within 3 months (9).
Drink coffee
Starting your day with a cup of coffee isn’t only going to make you feel active, but also help you lose weight.
Several studies have shown that coffee can boost metabolism by 5 to 11% (10) (11) (12).
Eat foods that are rich in fiber
Eating fiber-rich food will make you feel fuller and less likely to overeat later on. New studies are showing that foods that are rich in soluble fiber may promote weight loss (13) (14).
The bottom line on ways to lose weight without stressing out
You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing to build your dream body.
Instead of following a fitness program that you hate or an overly restrictive diet, eat healthy foods that you love and do exercises that you enjoy that will make you look forward to your next workout.
Remember that depriving yourself of your favorite foods is only going to set you up for failure. So set a day aside to eat a small serving of your favorite foods.
