How to lose weight without dieting
The first thing most people do when wanting to lose fat fast is go on a very low-calorie diet. But you can lose weight without dieting. That’s because the best way to lose body fat is to first increase the amount of energy you burn through exercise and everyday activity. That’s how you can build a leaner, fitter and stronger body without making drastic – and dangerous – changes to the way you eat, says New Body Plan editorial director Joe Warner
“The diet starts Monday.”
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard someone say that. They want to lose fat because they’re not as healthy and happy as they could be. But for some reason most people are convinced they can only successfully lose weight if their attempt begins on the first working day of the week.
It’s this “Monday mindset” that is, for so many people, the number two reason why they never lose their belly. They’re waiting for the “perfect time” to take back control of their health and fitness.
But there is no such ideal moment. So they never start. So never make the changes they want.
And they actually gain weight rather than lose it. They become more miserable rather than confident, positive and determined. And they raise their risk of medical issues instead of improve their chances of living a long, healthy and happy life.
I’m not going to say anymore about this second-biggest reason why people fail to lose weight. Why? Because I’ve already written the article on the 3 ways you can kick-start your transformation. It’ll make it easy as possible for you to start shifting excess fat from your man boobs, your beer belly or your love handles on your lower back.
You can lose weight without dieting
Instead, I want to talk about the number one reason why you haven’t lost as much weight as you’d like. And you know what? You’re going to kick yourself. Why?
Because it doesn’t involve making even one change to the way you eat. So you can start losing fat – today – without a single more second of stress or worry or hassle about food.
And the best bit is that once you realise the mistake you’ve been making they’ll be no stopping you in achieving the leaner, stronger and fitter body you want. It really is that easy.
How to eat for faster fat loss
Let’s start at the beginning, because this is where the problem starts. To lose weight you need to burn more calories than you can consume. That’s it. It’s called the Energy Balance Equation, and it’s based on knowing how many calories you eat each day then subtracting the amount of energy you burn each day.
A positive number means you’ll gain weight (which will be lean muscle if know how to train like a pro and eat for a leaner body or will be fat if you’re sedentary and eat junk food. A negative number means you’re in a “calorie deficit” so you’ll burn fat and lose weight.
The best diet for fat loss
What everyone then does, once they realise they need to be in this calorie deficit to burn body fat, is to dramatically reduce the amount they eat. They massively cut down on the number of calories they consume each day.
If you cut out all carbs, or avoid all fats, or do a dangerous juice or detox diet, then of course you’ll slash your energy intake.
But you’ll feel absolutely terrible, won’t sleep, be moody with poor concentration, and crave everything you’re now suddenly denying yourself.
Trust me, I’ve tried it, and any weight I lost (which was mainly water, not fat anyway) came back with a vengeance once the approach became too much to deal with (which always happens).
Burn more fat the smart way
What nobody does, once they realise they need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight, is keep eating the way they’ve been eating. But instead try to increase their daily energy expenditure to create that daily calorie deficit.
But that’s exactly what you should do. Why? Because changing your diet can be very challenging. Especially when you’ve been driven to your weight-loss decision for the reason you’re unhappy with how you look and feel.
Your confidence and determination levels are already low, and a few days of eating like a rabbit will make you feel worse, not better. So you give up and go back to the way things were, convinced you’re incapable of change.
But if you start moving your body more to increase the number of calories you burn, you don’t have to radically overhaul the way you eat. A few days of smart training will create that calorie deficit, and just as importantly release a steady-stream of feel-good endorphins that are nature’s way of building back up your confidence and motivation.
And I’m not talking about having to go run a half-marathon or pumping iron for hours on end.
A daily walk is a fantastic start. Not only to burn calories but also to help your head. An evening stroll around my block was a lifesaver during lockdown to create a concrete work-life break so I know the working day is over and I can switch off. Rather than sit hunched over my laptop until long after the sun’s gone down.
If you do want to try a really good and effective workout today to ramp up your calorie expenditure then why not try my quick 15-minute fat-burning home workout, or my 8-move big arms gym workout, or even go for a quick run or ride. Just make sure if you’re always very clever with your cardio to burn fat as fast as possible.
Lose weight without dieting to build the body you want
If you can move your body more each day for a week, you’ll be amazed at how easy it is to create a calorie deficit. You’ll start to chip away at your body-fat stores, which is great, but the best bit is that now you’re in the right positive mindset to start looking at other areas of your life where some simple improvements can be made.
Take nutrition. You’re now looking and feeling better, confident in your ability to change, and want to speed up your fat loss.
So you look at changing one or two things about the way you eat, say snacking on nuts, rather than crisps, and drinking more squash rather than fruit juice. That’s another 200 calories saved a day, without any real effort or sacrifice. That’s 1,400 calories a week!
Combine that with your increasing activity levels and suddenly that spare tyre is deflating quicker than you ever thought possible. Now you’re practically guaranteed of building the better body you’ve always wanted!
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