Although low-calorie diets and cardio or strength training are key to weight loss, there are many other things you can do to speed up your metabolism and lose weight faster, some as relaxing as taking a hot bath or eating more nuts. Don't believe it? Keep reading and discover our effective ideas for losing weight without dieting.
Being active is vital to losing weight and keeping it off. When active, the body uses more energy in the form of calories. And burning more calories than you take in leads to weight loss. Other factors might be involved in losing weight. Because of changes to the body over time, you might need to cut calories more as you age to keep losing weight or to stay at the same weight.
Diet affects weight loss more than physical activity does. Physical activity, including exercise, has a stronger effect in keeping weight from coming back after weight loss. Losing weight with diet alone and without physical activity can make people weaker. This is because of age-related losses in bone density and muscle mass. Adding resistance training and aerobic exercise to a weight-loss program helps prevent the loss of bone and muscle.
If you want to maintain your ideal weight or lighten your load, it is important to keep in mind that burning calories and burning fat are not the same thing, although both concepts are directly related. If your goal is to maintain a stable weight, you just need to balance your calorie intake and burnt.
If, on the other hand, what you want is to lose weight, the first step should be to reduce calorie intake through an appropriate diet to avoid fat accumulation and, when you exercise, it is the fat reserves that decrease, making weight loss possible. You should use a bodyfat calculator to quickly estimate your body fat so that you can know how much fat to reduce. Here you will also get tips to understand intricacies of right body fat and ways to reduce or maintain bod fat.
Here are tricks to burn calories with hardly any effort
1. Take a hot bath
What do you fancy more, going to the gym or soaking in a bubble bath? Well, you're in luck, because spending an hour in very hot water (40 degrees) had the same effect as a 30-minute walk and made participants burn 140 calories. However, we don't recommend trying this technique in summer if you don't want to suffer from fainting.
2. Take proteins
We're not talking about going on a protein diet, but rather including protein in all your meals. The simple act of digesting food helps burn calories, and protein is the macronutrient that consumes the most energy. It requires between 20 and 30 percent of the calories in food to be digested, compared to 5-15 percent for carbohydrates. But everything in moderation; if you eat too much protein, you can overload your kidneys. So, opt for protein-rich foods to include in your diet.
3. Drink green tea
Another calorie-burning gesture that doesn't require any movement. Of course, you have to drink just the tea, it doesn't work if you have a piece of cake with it. The catechins contained in green tea increase the burning power of food and help break down fat, so it is advisable to drink it after meals. Those who drink green tea burn an average of 183 more calories a day. And if you drink matcha tea, you will increase the benefits, since it is less stimulating than normal tea and provides many more antioxidants.
Also opt for other natural foods and plants to burn calories effortlessly or for effective and delicious slimming infusions.
4. Are you restless?
Feet, legs, toes... Are you one of those people who never stop moving even when you're sitting down? Does this make those around you nervous, especially your coworkers? Well, you have good reason not to stop doing it, because this constant movement can make you lose up to 350 calories a day and help you fight a sedentary lifestyle.
5. Give yourself an infrared sauna
It's the latest craze and infrared rays are invisible but penetrate the skin, safely increasing body temperature to make you sweat, which increases calorie burning, has a detoxifying effect, makes you produce endorphins, increases energy and provides more beautiful skin. The reality? There are no conclusive studies to support this technique and we don't recommend overusing the traditional sauna either, as it will only cause temporary weight loss due to the loss of fluids, and with it, mineral salts.
6. Clean your house
Every cloud has a silver lining. If you've been neglecting your home lately, cleaning and tidying up can help you burn around 100 calories an hour. We know it's not the most appealing thing to do, but being active at home, even if it's just putting away your cupboards, will help you keep fit much more than lying on the sofa watching TV. And if your house has stairs, you could do intervals that combine five or ten minutes of doing a household task, such as vacuuming or mopping the floor, with "cardio and tone sets" of taking the stairs two at a time. Have you suddenly felt a huge desire to go to the gym? We totally understand.
7. Sleep
Is there anything more appealing for losing weight? Sleeping all night, that is, about 8.5 hours, helps burn more fat. But it will also help you even if you are not on a diet, since sleep is necessary to regulate the hormonal system, and with it, the hunger mechanism, which goes out of control when we sleep little due to increased levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger, reduces energy expenditure and promotes fat accumulation.
8. Eat nuts
And although they are usually the first to be eliminated from any diet, nuts are low in carbohydrates and help with changes in the nutritional composition of a weight-loss diet, promoting chewing and the energy expenditure required by the body to digest them. Discover the healthiest nuts that are the least fattening.
9. Dinner earlier
Especially after 11 pm, when experts recommend let the liver “rest”. After that time, avoid eating and taking extra calories to bed, because you won’t burn them as much.
10. Avoid processed foods
A change that can do a lot for your health and won't be so hard if you cook delicious and healthy food instead. Throw away all those processed foods in your pantry! Instead, fill it with fresh products and try new recipes that motivate you to change in the kitchen.
11. Light dinner
We should eat healthy and light dishes for easier and correct digestion. At that time, we will not burn anything, so we will only store fat. Opt for low-calorie dinners to lose weight and reduce bloating.
12. Avoid the car, walk
We know, having a car is very convenient and we can go anywhere with it. But sometimes, we rely too much on these vehicles and, at the end of the day, we are nowhere near the minimum daily steps we should take. So, try to make easy and short distances, at least, by walking. Little by little, you will get used to it (and save gasoline, which is very expensive). If you are interested in knowing how many calories you burn per step, check this workout calculator. You will also get useful tips to spice up your workout routine as well as effective exercises you can do to burn calories and lose fat fast.
13. Stairs, yes!
One of our tips for losing weight without dieting? No elevators, no laziness. To work, home, the stairs. It won't be as hard as you think and you'll notice it.
14. Do not snack between meals
One of the easiest ways to lose weight is to leave bad habits behind. Snacking due to anxiety or boredom is one of them, so opt for healthy snacks to avoid snacking, which will help you in the task.
15. Drink water before eating
Two glasses of water before a meal will help us feel full and not overeat.
16. Chew slowly
If you are one of those people who chews and swallows in seconds. Stop! To lose weight more easily and avoid unnecessary bloating, chewing and grinding everything well and with time will help you a lot. On the one hand, you will feel full sooner. And, on the other, you will help the food to be digested better.
17. A little bit of spice
Spices and hot foods such as chillies or chili peppers contain substances such as capsaicin that cause a greater energy expenditure by generating heat. These are natural (and cheap!) thermogenics that speed up the metabolism and burn fat during digestion.
18. Aerobic activity
Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week. Or get 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. You also can get an equal mix of the two types. Aim to exercise most days of the week. For even more health benefits, strive for 300 minutes a week or more of moderate aerobic activity or 150 minutes of vigorous activity. Exercising this much may help with weight loss or keeping off lost weight. But even small amounts of physical activity can be helpful. Being active for short periods of time during the day can add up and give you great health benefits.
19. Swim
Swimming can be considered the perfect workout, especially when we talk about people with arthritis or who are undergoing rehabilitation, because the aquatic environment, due to its own characteristics, eliminates tension from the joints and allows them to move more fluidly. But beyond these considerations, water also helps burn calories, more than 400 in 30 minutes, and tone muscles.
Indeed, if you are a swimming enthusiast and swimming lengths are your thing, you should know that this low-impact exercise can help you burn between 200 and 300 calories in just half an hour . In addition, you will increase your lung and muscle capacity and improve blood circulation. What more could you ask for?
20. Laugh more
Okay, it sounds silly. But laughter actually makes our body vibrate, it tones our abdominal muscles (does that sound familiar to you that your stomach hurts from laughing so much?) and, therefore, we lose fat.
