15 Tips to Help You Lose Weight Without Exercise

If you’re trying to lose weight, you probably know that you need to eat well and exercise. What if that’s not necessarily true?

In general, if you expend more calories than you take in, you’ll lose weight.

However, torching calories by pounding your feet to an aerobics DVD or working out in the gym may not be as effective as you’d think.

According to an article in Women’s Health Mag, many studies have found that the number of calories burned during exercise doesn’t always equate to the fat or weight loss that you’d expect.

Even if you don’t change your eating habits, working out might not help you lose that much weight.

Also, some people binge eat after exercising, negating the calorie burn.

Exercising is good for your heart and lungs, so don’t curl up on the couch because I just blew your mind with this new information.

However, try some of these tips to help you lose weight without focusing on exercise as a weight loss motivator.

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1. Add coconut oil to your diet.

Coconut oil can actually help you lose weight!

The best way to use coconut oil is to replace other fats with it. Don’t just add several tablespoons of coconut oil to your diet every day, or you’ll be increasing your calorie intake by 120 calories per tablespoon.

2. Chew your food more thoroughly.

Research shows that gulping down your food can prevent your intestines from releasing the hormones and chemicals necessary to properly digest your food (1).

Chew each bite until it has the consistency of applesauce before swallowing.

3. Drink ice water.

Although Chinese medicine recommends drinking warm water so that you don’t shock the system, the people behind Eat This, Not That reported on a study showing that people who drank ice water increased their metabolism by 30%.

Drinking adequate amounts of water can also keep your metabolism flowing and stave off hunger pangs.

4. Eat more protein.

Your body actually burns calories just by digesting the protein you eat.

Research shows that a high-protein diet can boost your metabolism and keep you feeling fuller longer (2).

Add some protein powder into your diet if you struggle with getting enough meat or other high protein sources throughout your day.

5. Consume more fiber.

Whatever you’re doing to try to lose weight, eating more fiber can help.

Adding fiber to your diet without making any other changes can make you lose the same amount of weight as people who follow the low-fat diet that’s recommended by the American Heart Association (3).

6. Use smaller plates.

If your plate is huge, it’s going to look as though you have a lot of empty space that could accommodate more food. Psychologically, this may make you want to eat more.

Plus, you can load up a larger plate with more calories. Use smaller dishware, and fill up your plate.

You’ll trick yourself into thinking that you’re eating more. You can always go back for seconds.

7. Don’t buy unhealthy foods.

This may go without saying, but if you have unhealthy food in your house, you’re going to eat it. Stock up on healthy, fresh foods that satisfy your cravings for crunch and a feeling of fullness.

8. Take probiotics.

Taking probiotics can help you lose weight. Experts say that probiotics that contain Lactobactillus gasseri can help your body absorb less fat from the foods that you eat (4).

The best way to start healing your gut and bringing back a balance of healthy gut bacteria is to start taking a probiotics supplement.

While you don’t need to purchase only refrigerated probiotics, make sure the packaging is well sealed. It’s also essential that the packaging is dark (or opaque, not transparent) to protect from light damage.

We have our own brand of Probiotics here at Avocadu called Gut-13.  

Our specially formulated probiotic supplement contains:

• Over 100 Million CFU’s Per Serving
• 13 Different Gut Healing Strains
• Delayed Release for Deeper Support
• Made in the USA 

You can read more about it and why it’s so important for not only gut health but overall health on our probiotics page.

9. Get more sleep.

Sleep controls your diet, changes your fat cells, increases your cravings and makes your workouts less effective.

Lack of sleep can make you:

• Hungrier
• Less satisfied after eating
• Metabolize sugar in the bloodless effectively
• Throw off the hormonal balance of leptin and ghrelin, which can make you crave food
• Lose the willpower to avoid unhealthy foods
• Take longer to recover from exercise

See this great video from our friends at The Health Nerd on the importance of sleep for more information about the impact good sleep can have on your life.

10. Try intermittent fasting.

A lot of red flags immediately go up when the term “fasting” is mentioned, but hear us out first.

Intermittent fasting has LOADS of health benefits and has been scientifically proven to help you lose weight.

Don’t fret.  You’ll never go sun-up to sun-down without eating.

You simply eat your last meal of the day at 5 pm (or 6 or 7), and then you don’t eat anything again until the following day at the time (5 pm, or 6 or 7).

It helps you keep your calories low for the day, and it teaches you a lot about boredom and stress eating!

See our article on intermittent fasting for weight loss for more information.

11. Consume enough calcium.

If you’re already watching what you eat, research shows that you can augment your weight loss efforts by taking in enough calcium (5).

This effect is even more pronounced if you eat dairy products (as opposed to just taking a calcium supplement).

I recommend this calcium supplement by Nature Made also contains Vitamin D, another nutrient that most people are deficient in.

Another benefit to eating more calcium is that you’ll burn more fat around the abdominal region.

12. Stop stressing out.

Stress can not only make you gain weight, but it can also make you want to eat more, burn fat less effectively and drown your willpower in the toilet.

Cortisol, a stress hormone, makes your body store more fat and sugar.

After all, our ancestors needed those energy reserves to evade predators when their adrenaline was surging.

Today, we stress out over things that don’t always make us move our bodies more. That can result in an unhealthy attachment to extra weight.

When you’re stressed, exercising can release feel-good chemicals in the brain and decrease the amount of cortisol that’s running through your body.

Practicing relaxation techniques can help you lower anxiety, making your weight loss efforts more effective.

13. Cut down on sugar.

Eating too much sugar causes inflammation, fat gain, diabetes and other health issues.

Dr. Mark Hyman, a functional medicine practitioner who has been featured on television shows like CBS This Morning, The Dr. Oz Show and Good Morning America, explains that eating more calories and less sugar can help you automatically lose weight.

A sugar detox can make your body better at turning calories into fuel, resulting in weight loss.

14. Brush your teeth.

If the delicious flavor of that peanut butter and banana you just ate lingers on your tongue, you might be more likely to go back for more food.

Cut your cravings by brushing your teeth after each meal.

Food doesn’t taste as good when you eat it with a minty mouth. This is especially effective after dinner when you might be more likely to fall prey to snacking in front of the TV.

15. Be more mindful.

We’re lost in a culture of getting more done in less time. Many people multitask by eating in front of the computer or smartphone.

Have you ever done this and looked down to see a clean plate? Did you wonder who ate your food?

If you don’t pay attention to what you eat, you might want more psychologically even though your belly is full. Research shows that mindful eating can change eating behaviors and improve weight loss (6).

16. Try our 21-Day Fat Loss Challenge.

Join the thousands who have already joined the challenge and are losing an average of 10-21 pounds in 21 days.

It’s all about learning how to properly diet and establish healthy habits for weight loss and beyond.

Even better than the weight loss is the feedback we get from people about how the program has taught them how to change their eating habits and find a diet that truly works for them in the long-term.

We have over 1,000 people in our private support group going through the Challenge together, and every day they are sharing experiences, results, motivation, and lots of recipes!

If you are ready to make some changes in your life, this is the ONLY place you should start.  We will teach you exactly how to make the necessary changes in your diet and your lifestyle and how to keep them “beyond the diet.”

Click here to get started with YOUR 21-Day Fat Loss Challenge today!

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