How to lose weight without exercising
Weight loss is taught as math. It’s calories in minus calories out. If you get a negative number, you will lose weight. The best way for many of us to lose weight is to eat less and move our body more. But does it have to be that way? Do you have to exercise? For those of you who don’t like to exercise, this post will help you lose weight without it. Here are three ways without exercise to lose weight: 1. Listen to your body Our bodies are magnificent machines. They communicate with us how much food we need to stay healthy and trim. In our world of super palatable and nutritionally-lacking foods, it has become easy for us to lose touch with our body’s signals of hunger and satisfaction. At my high weight of 250 pounds, I was completely detached from the feeling hunger. I was eating all the time just because it was “meal time” or someone simply suggested a food that sounded good. The first 30-ish pounds came off just by listening to the signals from my body again. I use a hunger scale rating to quantify different levels of hunger and satisfied. It’s helpful in differentiating mild hunger from famished or satisfied from overly full. Check out this blog post on getting in tune with your hunger signals for more information. The best way really hear what your body is telling you is to check in often and notice the different sensations you feel. Be curious and patient as you learn this new skill. Before you eat, ask yourself: How do I know I’m hungry? Where do I feel the hunger in my body? Could what I am feeling be something other than hunger? After you eat you can ask yourself some similar questions: How do I know that I have had enough to eat? What does satisfied feel like in my body? What activities could I engage in right now and feel good doing? Here’s a hint for that last question: If you feel like the only thing you could do is unbutton your pants and lie down on the couch, you have really flown past your body’s satisfied cues and are officially stuffed! 2. Solve for the non-hunger reasons you are eating Many Americans are overweight simply because they are eating for reasons other than hunger. Many of us are familiar with emotional eating as eating when we are sad or depressed. But there other times that we emotionally eat that are a little more subtle. At the beginning of the COVID pandemic and teleworking 100% from home, I noticed something interesting about my work day: I was constantly thinking I needed a snack! When I worked in the office, it was very easy to pack my snacks and eat only during my break times. At home, the kitchen was a mere 20ft away and my brain continuously told me I should go check what was in the pantry. After getting curious with myself, I realized that I was constantly feeling overwhelmed with having the kids home with me, unsure of how to manage my team virtually and uncertain how we were going to stay healthy and well. It’s not pleasant feeling overwhelmed, unsure and uncertain. Our brains seek pleasure and want to avoid pain. So my brain was doing what it does best offering me a way to feel pleasure: FOOD. Once I realized this I could solve for the real problem. I made a plan to create boundaries for me and my kids during the workdays and gave myself regular breaks away from everybody. I also let myself know that feeling uncertain and unsure was very normal. Just acknowledging how I felt and realizing it is normal to feel that way was immensely helpful in allowing those emotions to process and pass. Another example that comes up for many of my clients is using food as relaxation. The unfortunate part is that when you are eating the food, you may tell yourself that you feel relaxed but often once the chips or cookies are gone, the shame and remorse set in. Often the brain goes crazy with thoughts of self judgement that stress you out and leave you constantly wondering if you will ever be able to lose your weight or if you are doomed to a life of obesity. Then you are stressed all over again and needing to relax. Thus the cycle begins again. Solving for what you are truly needing in those moments is so key to avoid eating when you aren’t hungry. Here are some questions to help identify if you are eating for a non-hunger reason: Do I have physical hunger sensations right now? If I couldn’t eat right now, what else would I be doing? If I couldn’t eat right now, what would my brain be thinking? What am I truly hungry for? Finally, true hunger is a gradual process. Your body will start sending gentle signs that you are hungry at first. The hunger signals gently come and go. As time passes, the signals get louder and more evident. If you feel like hunger came out of no where and feels really urgent, it’s time to check in with yourself emotionally and see what’s really going on. 3. Stop cleaning your plate The final tip for losing weight without exercise is to eat a little less. You don’t have to cut what you are eating by drastic proportions. Just leave a few bites behind. Not eating a couple bites at each meal might seem small and insignificant but I promise you, they will add up quickly! I don’t encourage counting calories but to illustrate the point let’s count them. If we say each bite is 50 calories and you leave two bites behind at each meal that is 100 calories a meal and 300 calories a