Whilst exercise is incredibly important for health, achieving fat loss doesn’t necessarily demand intense workouts or lengthy runs. By incorporating small, lasting adjustments into your lifestyle, you can lose weight without living at the gym. Here are 5 scientifically-supported approaches that encourage weight loss without exercise and improve your overall health and wellbeing.
1. Prioritise your sleep
Sleep isn’t just for recharging; it plays an essential role in weight management. Research shows that inadequate sleep disrupts hunger hormones, which was associated with a poorer quality of diet, including lower consumption of fruits and vegetables alongside higher intakes of sugar and fast foods.
Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night to support weight loss. Some tips for better sleep include:
- Craft a restful haven: Make your bedroom snug, dark, and tranquil.
- Embrace routine: Stick to a set schedule, aiming for consistent sleep and wake-up times every day.
- Set screen time boundaries: Cut back on screen use before bed – blue light disrupts melatonin production. Power down devices an hour before heading to sleep.
- Avoid caffeine late in the day: Caffeine has a half-life of up to 12 hours. This means that coffee from lunch could still be affecting your body at midnight depending on how your body breaks it down! But how much caffeine is too much?
Additionally, a systematic review looking at more than 100,000 study participants revealed that eating healthy foods was linked to improved sleep quality.
Although there wasn’t one clear definition for a “healthy” diet, all the diets shared some common features: eating lots of plant-based foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, and legumes, and including fats from sources like olive oil and seafood (think Mediterranean diet). On the flip side, they were all low in processed and sugary foods and drinks.
Download the Evergreen Life app to discover more sleep insights
2. Tackle stress mindfully
In times of stress, cortisol, a key stress hormone, can cause overeating and cravings, interfere with sleep, and promote fat to be stored around the belly. While cortisol levels usually decrease after stress resolves, chronic stress can keep levels elevated, sabotaging your weight loss efforts.
There are many different strategies on how to improve your stress response. Here are just a few ideas but you will know what works best for you:
- Deep breathing: Take slow, deep breaths to calm your nervous system.
- Meditation: Even a few minutes of meditation daily can reduce stress.
- Stay active: Gentle activities like yoga or walking can help stress.
3. Slow down your eating speed
Eating too quickly often leads to overeating. Easily done when work is crazy and there is little to no time to sit down to eat.
Hunger and satiety (feeling full and satisfied) are controlled by hormones travelling through the blood, from the brain to the gut, and vice versa. It takes around 20 minutes for our brains to recognise feeling “full” when eating a meal. Therefore, its best to take it slow and steady and listen to your body and feelings of fullness. A systematic review found that slow eaters had, in general, lower BMIs and waist circumferences than fast eaters.
Try savouring your meals:
- Chew thoroughly: Aim for 20-30 chews per bite or until you reach ‘baby food’ consistency.
- Put down the fork: Pause between bites; enjoy the flavours.
- Practise mindful eating: Pay attention to each bite by engaging your senses. Avoid distractions like watching TV or using your phone during meals, as they can lead to mindless eating.
If you’re comfortable with them, using chopsticks can naturally slow down your eating pace.
4. Beware of liquid calories
Liquid calories can sneak up on you…
Sugary drinks, soda and fruit juices can promote weight gain via lipogenesis. This is where the body can’t immediately burn all the excess sugar consumed, so the liver converts it into fat and stores it, normally around our waistlines.
Try to reduce them where possible and instead prioritise:
- Water: Feelings of mild dehydration can often be confused with feelings of hunger prompting eating instead of hydrating. Enhance your water with lemon, mint, cucumber, raspberries, or any flavours you enjoy for a refreshing mix to stay hydrated.
- Coffee: Enjoy with or without milk, but preferably without additional syrups or added sugar.
- Herbal teas: There are a host of herbal teas to discover, that can both tantalise your taste buds and contribute to your health and wellbeing.
Always consult with your healthcare provider before adding herbal teas if you are on any medication.
Alcohol can affect your health in many ways. Too much can complicate weight loss and maintenance; it heightens the chances of opting for unhealthy food sources, hinders your body’s capacity to burn stored fat, disrupts sleep, and influences blood sugar levels.
While it’s okay to enjoy a glass of wine or a beer, reducing alcohol can be incredibly helpful when trying to lose weight without exercising. Here are 3 tips on how to cut down drinking:
- Choose wisely: Opt for lower-calorie options.
- Alternate with water: Hydrate between alcoholic beverages.
- Set limits: Know your boundaries.
5. Up your protein intake
Research published in the British Journal of Nutrition concluded that adequate protein intake can support healthy weight loss without exercise through various mechanisms:
- Satiety: Protein-rich foods tend to be more filling, which can help control appetite and reduce overall calorie intake. People often feel less hungry after consuming a high-protein meal.
- Holding onto muscle mass: During weight loss, there’s a risk of losing muscle as well as fat. Adequate protein can help the body maintain muscle, ensuring that any weight lost is predominantly fat.
- Thermogenesis: Digesting protein uses more energy than digesting fats and carbohydrates: a higher protein intake can contribute to burning more overall calories.
Research on people with type 2 diabetes suggests that increasing plant-based proteins may be an effective strategy for weight loss, as well as improving blood sugars and heart health.
Sustainable weight loss is a journey, not a sprint, with or without exercise. Celebrate small victories, stay positive, and embrace positive lifestyle changes. You’ve got this!
Did you know you can track your fat loss and body measurements in the Evergreen Life app? You can also receive more personalised tips on how to improve other aspects of your wellbeing such as nutrition, sleep and happiness. Download the app below (if you haven’t already) and take your available questionnaires to start your wellness journey.
Reviewed by:
Dr Claire Marie Thomas MRCGP DFSRH DTMH DipNLP MBChB BMedSci Medical Expert
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