When it comes to losing weight, there are a vast variety of plans, diets, and advice on the subject, both online and in published manuals. However, most of them encourage eating less and exercising more to achieve your goals. While this can be an effective way to lose weight, it also needs a big effort to keep going. There are other alternatives to working as hard as this that will also help you to lose weight, but make it seem easier and less of a chore.
Try Adding or Swapping Instead of Subtracting
When you think about going on a diet, the thing that you always focus on are the foods that you have to give up. It can make the start of a diet hard, and it’s also one of the reasons that people fail. If you want to start eating healthier, try adding healthy foods instead of taking away bad foods. For example, add some fruits that you love such as grapes, apples or passion fruit to your cereal in the morning. You can also take some with you in your bag to snack on or for your lunch. It doesn’t mean that you cannot have a treat, but hopefully, you won’t feel like you want one because you will be full. If you take this approach, you can still have those treats, but perhaps not as often as before.
Forget Working Out
Another popular idea is that you should be in the gym every day if you want to lose weight and become fitter. While that can work for those that are motivated to do it, for others, just the idea of the gym puts them off. To combat this, try to do other things instead of working out. Try washing the car once a week or walking the dog in a hilly area instead of along the road. Anything that causes you to exert yourself without exercising is a great way to get fitter without thinking about it. You can start to rework the garden by digging out some flower beds or perhaps playing frisbee with the kids each evening. Not only will you not feel like your exercising, but you will also be making use of the time.
Don’t Think About Time
One of the reasons that you don’t often go for a nice walk to keep fit is because you think you don’t have the time. To have a nice walk, you don’t have to take an hour; even a few minutes can be all you need. Getting up and about is the main thing, so it doesn’t matter if you don’t do anything energetic, as long as you are moving. Other things you can do are to get off the bus a stop earlier and walk the rest of the way or start taking the stairs instead of waiting for the lift. These are things that you can easily build into your day without having to set aside time to do them.
Lighten the Foods You Love
One way that you can lower the calories you are eating without having to omit foods is to swap them for a lower calorie version. For example, try swapping cheese for a low-calorie version, it will taste the same on pizzas and burgers. You can even consider getting lower fat burgers; you can now buy them with only 3% fat which is healthier than the regular version. You can also start to swap out your drinks for lower calorie version, think about diet versions of soda or a low alcohol beer alternative. Another alternative is to drink water; it has no calories, and it’s great for keeping you hydrated.
Learn to Share
When you go out for a meal somewhere, you can sometimes get huge portions that leave you feeling stuffed. Instead of having a huge meal to yourself, why not share it with a friend or partner? It can be especially helpful for desserts or side orders, and it will make the meal cheaper as well. The same can be said of other things as well such as exercise. If you love to walk,but you get bored on your own, then perhaps there is someone that can walk with you. Maybe if you have a dog, you can find somewhere that many other dog owners go so you can chat as you walk. You can also find walking groups that you can join; they will go on a ramble in the country for a couple of hours.
Dance Around the House
One of the things that most people hate are the chores; they can take a long time, and it’s often boring. So, try to liven things up a bit by putting on your favorite music and dancing while you work. You will be surprised how much better it makes doing the chores, and it might even make the time go quicker. You will also be getting in a nice long workout without having to dedicate specific time for the gym. You don’t even have to be doing the chores, have a dance around when the mood takes you whatever you are doing.
Size Matters
Your brain relies on physical clues a lot of the time, which means that it can be possible to trick your mind on the odd occasion. One way to do this is to get smaller dinner plates; when you then serve your food, it will look more on the smaller plate. It will give your brain the illusion that you are eating more and feeling fuller. It will hopefully allow you to reduce your portion sizes a little without having to cut out the things you like. You can do the same things with cups, bowls, and spoons as well, especially if you take your time and don’t eat too quickly.
Exercising and dieting can be painful, so try to do other things that will achieve the same result but without the pain. That way, you will start losing weight without thinking about it.
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