How To Lose Weight Without Even Trying

The most common piece of advice that any person gets about losing weight is to eat less and move more. Less calories in, more calories burned off = energy having to come from your fat stores, and so you lose weight. Although scientifically, that is correct, it doesn't explain why so many people who go on a diet fail to keep that weight off once they reach their target weight.

That's why it's often difficult to keep the weight off. Whether you're trying to lose weight for the first time, or trying to lose weight again, these tips will help you shed the pounds without feeling like you're dieting - which means that you'll be able to keep those habits up for life.

Eat Eggs For Breakfast

A number of studies have been done showing that eggs are an incredibly good breakfast - not only in terms of health, as they contain plenty of protein and heart-healthy fats, but because they're really filling. Because they're so filling, participants who were eating eggs for breakfast compared to those eating bagels for breakfast - even though both groups were on calorie controlled weight loss diets - lost more weight. That's not due to a clever weight loss compound within the eggs, it's simply because they are so filling that participants automatically ate fewer calories throughout the rest of the day.

Nourish Your Body

Try not to think about dieting as a means of losing weight. The most important thing about changing the way you eat is to nourish your body - to make yourself feel better. A diet rich in fruits, veggies, lean meats and grains - as well as the odd treat and naughty bit of fat, because we do need some naughty fats! - will not only make you lose weight (as long as you eat those foods within reason) but it'll make you feel really good. And the better you feel, the more likely it is that you'll have the energy for exercising and everything else that goes with losing weight.

See Also: 5 Epic Weight Loss Mistakes

Use Smaller Plates

A lot of us are trained to eat all of the food on our plate from a really young age - if we don't clear the plate, we don't get any pudding.

One of the easiest ways to reduce your portion size is to simply eat from a smaller plate. Try a side plate instead of a full size dinner plate at every meal, every day, for a week and see how you get on - you might just find that you lose some weight without even trying.

Eat Plenty Of Protein

Protein is one of the best metabolism-boosting macronutrients that there is. It's filling, increases fat-burning and helps to reduce hunger - all key components of weight loss. We're not saying you have to go out and eat nothing but meat - in fact, there are plenty of other protein-rich foods that you can eat without eating meat, including yoghurt, meat, eggs, cottage cheese and meat replacement products. Protein also helps when you're trying to build muscle, as it gives them the fuel they need to repair themselves.

If you don't have muscle, no need to worry - just toning up a little bit will help a lot, plus, it'll make you look a little bit slimmer.

It's Not All About the Numbers

Losing weight isn't about the number on the scale. It's about health, wellbeing, how you feel about yourself and how you fit into your clothes. Muscle doesn't weigh more than fat, but it takes up less space - so you could have more muscle, less fat, and be smaller than the person next to you but still weigh more on the scale because the muscle that you have is dense. It can be really easy to become fixated with the number on the scale, but that can lead to obsessive thoughts. Instead, have a general figure in mind and weigh yourself only once a week. When you hit that figure, try not to weigh yourself and instead, simply go by how your clothes fit and how you feel in yourself. If you gain a little back, reign it in for a week or two. But try not to get too hung up on those numbers as it can quickly start to rule your life.

Don't Go Too Low Cal

Cutting out too many calories will just leave you feeling weak, exhausted and a little bit malnourished - which is really not what you want. Yes, you should you reduce your calorie intake a little, but again, you shouldn't get hung up on numbers. Instead, choose foods that are nutrient-dense but with a low energy density. That means, foods that are low in calories gram for gram compared to other foods of the same quantity - like veggies, fruit, chicken, game meats etc. 

See Also: Chewing More Can Result in Weight Loss

Avoid Stress

Repeated instances of stress increases the level of the stress hormone cortisol, within the body. The more cortisol within your body, the more your body thinks you're gearing up for a fight or flight situation and so it starts laying down fat stores just incase you need to run - that's why people who are under a lot of repeated stress tend to have little bellies, even if they're slim. Try to avoid stress where you can and you will find it much, much easier to lose weight.