words Alexa Wang
How many times have you gone on a diet only to notice that you seem to be getting nowhere at all? Not only are you not losing weight but it appears as though you may have gained a bit as well. You’ve tried counting calories and you’ve gone both ends of the carb/keto spectrum. No matter what you do or how hard you try, you just can’t seem to make any progress whatsoever.
Have you stopped to think that perhaps you aren’t approaching it correctly? Maybe you just need to make a few minor adjustments in your lifestyle to get the results you need! Check out these eight lifestyle changes and see if you don’t start getting the results you are after.
1. Get Up and Get Going!
No one is telling you that you need to hit the gym three times a week, but a little extra exercise could give your metabolism the jolt it needs to start burning calories. Do you often find yourself seeking the parking spot closest to your office so that you won’t need to walk as far to get in the door? Perhaps you need to run to the shop a few blocks down the street and instead of taking a nice, brisk walk, you hop in the auto and drive the short distance. This is a simple lifestyle tweak you can easily do to burn a few extra calories without missing a meal!
2. Don’t Go Without!
Many doctors and certified dieticians will tell you that it does you no good to skip meals. If you want to shed the weight without dieting, that means eat your three meals a day but keep them light. Maybe you can look at the interesting flavours of meal replacement shakes in the Shake That Weight product line. This particular line of meal replacements was developed to make shedding that excess weight easier to manage. With so many inferior and less-than-nutritious diet aids on the market, they sought to offer a product line that was as healthy as it is delicious. Many office workers could do well to bring a packet to work, mix a quick shake and then take a walk around the perimeter of the building during lunch. However, where many go wrong is that they skip the midday meal, thinking they can do without those calories. Unfortunately, by mid-afternoon they are dragging. It is important to adjust your lifestyle so that you keep energy coming in and then spend a bit of time getting the blood flowing.
3. Minimise Stress
Oddly, some people gain weight when they are suffering from stress. Sometimes it’s a matter of mindless snacking without being aware of what you are putting in your mouth. Other times you seek ‘comfort food’ because you are stressed or depressed, and if you look closely at those tasty delicacies, you will find that just a couple pieces contain more calories than a light meal! Instead of snacking when stressed, try sitting back for a few minutes with your feet up and gentle music or sounds of nature playing in the background.
4. Guided Imagery
Speaking of soft music or gentle sounds of nature, one very effective way to slim down without counting calories is to learn the art of meditation. There are a number of really great resources for guided imagery that will help you envision yourself at your ideal weight. This particular inner exercise has been referred to in many ways, but perhaps the easiest way to understand it is to listen to the narrated version of As a Man Thinketh by James Allen. The premise of the little book hypothesises that you can reshape your life if you envision it as you wish it to be. It’s an interesting theory and one which many people subscribe to.
5. Take Up a Hobby
You have probably heard that age old proverb, “Idle hands are the devil’s tools.” Well, it might not be exactly evil to fill your leisure time in front of the television with a bowl of chips and dip, but it sure won’t help your efforts to slim down. Why not take up some kind of hobby to keep you busy so that you won’t be tempted to snack your way through the night? Although you aren’t dieting in the literal sense, there is no reason to sit there stuffing your face when you could be doing something you enjoy – other than eating that is! Maybe you’d like to learn needle crafts or perhaps you’d like to start a garden. Not only will gardening keep you busy doing something you enjoy but think of all those healthy foods you can plant.
6. Treat Your Kitchen Like a Restaurant
Some people find that if they treat their kitchen like a restaurant, they are less likely to go through it all hours of the night. Typically, most people like to snack after midnight but by closing it down at a certain hour every night, you will soon get out of the habit of snacking your way through the wee hours of the morning. It’s really just a small adjustment to your lifestyle, but it will work wonders in the end.
7. Make an Honest Assessment of What Leads You to Binge Eat
Sometimes we just don’t recognise patterns in our behaviour. Have you ever taken stock of what leads you to binge eat? This is different than comfort foods. Binge eating isn’t necessarily something you do to make you feel better but rather something you have gotten in the habit of doing at specific times without even realizing that it’s a habit, rather than a hunger. One of the biggest adjustments to your lifestyle is to understand why you do some of the things you do so that you can make tweaks to certain behaviours.
8. Find Alternatives to Dining Out with Friends
Many of us look forward to social nights with friends. We get together with a group of mates and head off to the local pub for a pint and a meat pie. Sometimes we gather at a trendy restaurant and other times we do the fish and chips thing. Instead of dining out on a social night, why not find some other common activity to enjoy? Whether your friends are a group from the office, mates you’ve gone to school with or just family members that get together regularly to dine out while enjoying a glass or two of wine, see if there are ways to switch things up a bit.
After reading all of the above, the one thing that has probably become crystal clear is that it is easier to lose weight if you don’t stress on it! The mere fact of denying yourself something as enjoyable as eating will actually make you crave those foods instead. Take your mind off dieting and then find ways to substitute eating with activities of sorts. Whether you just want to take a stroll around the block or get out and spend some time in the garden, there is always something you can do to fill your time. The less you focus on what you are missing out on, the less you will miss it. It really can be as simple as that. Find those problem areas in your lifestyle so that you can fill them with healthy living. In this way you will be on the no-diet diet and that’s a lot easier to live up to than counting calories, carbs, and fat all day, isn’t it?
