Unfortunately, more and more people are suffering from excess weight due to the modern lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits. The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that people believe you need strict diets and a grueling exercise regime.
But what if there was a way to lose that weight without hitting the gym, or starting yourself out? If you understood the science behind weight loss, you’d know that you can employ a number of strategies that are both effective and not too restrictive, and are going to help you reach your goal.
The Science Behind Weight Loss
You don’t need to be a doctor to understand how your body works and what’s the best route to a significant weight loss. But you should familiarize yourself with the way your body uses energy, burns calories, digests and uses nutrients in the food you consume etc.
Metabolism
Metabolism, of course, plays a crucial role in managing your weight. Actually, there are two main metabolism components you need to be aware of:
- Basal metabolic rate (BMR) – BMR is a number that stands for the amount of calories your body needs to maintain its functions while resting. Of course, it depends on the age, body composition and physical fitness of an individual.
- Thermic effect of food (TEF) – TEF gives us the idea of how much energy we need to turn food into body fuel. All in all, it accounts to around 10% of total consumed calories within a day.
What Affects Weight Loss (Besides Exercise)?
So, if you don’t have to work out to lose weight, what can you do? You’ll be glad to know your your weight is largely affected by:
- Your age
- Genetics
- BMR and TEF
- Your daily level of activity
- Level of stress you experience on a daily basis
- Hormonal (im)balance
- Gut bacteria
- Eating habits etc.
The Way You Eat
I know we said no strict diets at the beginning of the article, but this still doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight. You need to adopt some good eating habits, be mindful of what you eat and how you’re sizing your portions to achieve steady, manageable and healthy weight loss over time.
Here are some of the main points to keep in mind when developing these habits:
- Nutrients – you need to keep an eye on the nutrients that compose your everyday meals – proteins, carbohydrates and fats.
- Hydration – staying hydrated will benefit your weight loss efforts as it will make you feel fuller, speed up your metabolism and even give you an extra boost in energy.
- Portion size – in modern times everything is becoming super-sized; whether you’re ordering a drink, buying a burger or cooking your own meal, there is this tendency to go bigger. But, in most cases, this is totally unnecessary! This is why it’s advised to cook your own food, as it gives you the ability to control your portion sizes and eat as much food as your body needs.
- Enjoy your meals – this point is not about only eating foods you like and enjoy, rather, it’s about being mindful of your eating as opposed to just stuffing your face and being done with it. When you take the time and enjoy the meals you eat, it’s less likely you will overeat as you allow your body to send you a clear signal when you’re full and should stop.
Developing Healthy Eating Habits
This section ties into our previous point of tanking more control over your eating habits and making sure you are opting for a healthier, more nutritious option.
Such healthy eating habits include:
- Cooking your meals at home – we all know this is a far superior option but many times we don’t feel like it. As a compromise, you can find a local place with home cooked meals and decide to eat there instead of reaching for junk food all the time.
- Eating healthy snacks – this is, by far, the most challenging thing for people to overcome… we all have that little bit of a sweet tooth and love popping a chocolate bar here and there. But if you’re trying to lose weight, you should turn to healthier snacking options such as nuts, fresh fruits and berries etc.
- Drinking water – we’re not talking about hydration here, rather the need to replace soft, sugary drinks with drinking water. Plain and simple, cutting off sugary drinks entirely will reduce your daily caloric intake and help you shed some excess weight.
Adding Supplementation To Your Routine
Ah the dreaded “S” word. Whenever we mention supplementation to our patients, we get strange looks, like we’re giving them the green light to try some performance enhancing drugs. But this is, of course, not the case!
Supplements can help your body regulate its natural processes, your gut biome and actually help kick your metabolism in high gear. Such supplements include:
- Vitamins and minerals – daily vitamin and mineral supplementation will fill in the gaps in your diet and make your body run more efficiently.
- Plants and herbs – using plants of plant extracts is not going to help you lose weight directly but it’ definitely going to help your body function better
- Peptide supplementation – peptides gained a lot of popularity over the years due to their fantastic properties and great help in a number of different bodily functions. One such is retatrutide peptide, proven in some studies to help with weight loss and overall metabolism function.
Final Words
You see, losing weight without a rigorous training regime and starving yourself is possible. But it does require a complete change in your thought process… you need to change the way you look at food and eating, develop good eating habits to substitute poor ones, and stick to the change.
It’s not easy, but the change is worth it if you know the end goal is a leaner, healthier version of you!
