How to Lose Weight Without Even Trying

 Source: How to Lose Weight Without Even Trying

Losing weight takes a lot of sweat and discipline, but even when you're not powering through a treadmill interval workout or counting calories, there are a lot of simpler ways to see those pounds drop on the scale. Employing these 10 little tricks daily will help you lose weight, no gym or diet required.

• Always start a meal with a glass of water: You'll stay hydrated and feel fuller instantly, which can help you from overeating.
• Make a few simple swaps at every meal: Going for a vinaigrette dressing instead of a Green Goddess dressing at lunch can save you 80 calories, while opting for fresh fruit instead of dried can save you dozens as well. Get a list of simple swaps to save calories here.
• Have a piece of dark chocolate for dessert: Instead of opting for the cookies in the break room, quiet your sugar cravings with a piece of dark chocolate. It may not feel quite as satisfying the first few times, but as you wean yourself off your sugar addiction, you'll be glad you're saving calories while having a healthy yet decadent treat.
• Be diligent with portion control: If you want to lose weight, sticking to the right portions at every meal is important. Measure out snacks beforehand instead of eating from the bag, use smaller plates to visually signal that your meal will satisfy, and put away leftovers, so you're not tempted to go back for seconds.
• Move more: Even if you're not dedicating an entire chunk of time to a workout, you can burn a few extra calories by making an effort to move a little more during the day. Taking breaks to walk around the office, opting for the stairs instead of the escalator, and parking a little farther from the office entrance are all simple ways to up your calorie burn.
• Don't drink your calories: It's a common reason why you're not seeing results - those empty calories from a daily soda, morning juice, or large glass of wine at dinner can really add up. Stick to water flavored with a fresh ingredients like cucumber, lemon, or mint in order to save on important calories.
• Don't go hungry too long: A little hunger can be good for you, but starving yourself all day in order to "splurge" on dessert at night is both unhealthy and diet sabotage. Eat well-timed meals and snacks in order to avoid low blood sugar levels that cause you to crash.
• Snack on high-protein, high-fiber foods: When it's time to snack, make your food work for you. Steer clear of the empty, high-calorie options like chips and crackers, and go for protein- and fiber-rich foods that taste good and fill you up too. You'll be able to eat fewer calories while still feeling satisfied. One of these 150-calorie snacks will surely hit the spot.
• Eat a light, early dinner. Try to keep your dinner to about 25 percent of your daily calories, and have it at least two to three hours before going to bed. Eating too much too late can cause digestion and sleep issues that make it hard to stick to a healthy routine.
• Get more sleep. Lack of sleep can cause you to eat more throughout the day and not have enough energy for your workouts, so aim for at least seven hours of sleep every night. It's an easy and effective way to keep your weight-loss goals on the right track.

Nutrition Tips

Nutrition Tips
1	The best thirst quenching drink without calories is plain water. Other options would be buttermilk, lime water, fruit ice.
2	Dietary fibre is found only in plant foods and plays an important role in helping to keep the bowel healthy and hence lead a healthy lifestyle.
3	Havebreakfast every day and remember to eat regular meals.
4	Rather than glugging a huge glass of water and running straight to the loo, try to take regular, small drinks throughout the day.
5	Don't just say 'I will eat more fruit', be more precise and see if you can achieve it - e.g. 'I will eat a piece of fruit for my afternoon snack at work.'
6	Managing weight is about balancing the calories you eat and the calories you use up. This will help you maintain your weight.
7	Have a glass of water next to the bed and take sips if you wake up during the night.
8	Bigger portions tend to encourage us to eat more whether we really need to or not, so it stands to reason that if you have less food in front of you, the less you’ll eat and the fewer calories you’ll consume.
9	Put chips, nuts and other snacks in bowls or on plates Did you know that managing your weight is one of the most important steps you can take towards maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
10	When you’re eating out, order two starters or skip a course. If the menu allows it, order a small portion whenever you can
11	Don’t skip meals and don’t deprive yourself. The key to success is balance, variety and moderation
12	Don’t fall into the trap of believing that vegetarian options are automatically lower in calories; they’re not. Avoid dishes containing lots of cheese or nuts.
13	You don’t have to miss out on dessert – just choose wisely. Stick to fruit based puddings or sorbet. Or why not share a pudding?
14	Snacking is not a bad habit. In fact, it can often be the most efficient way of helping us get the nutrients we need throughout the day.
15	Include a variety of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet. Aim for 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of vegetables a day.
16	Plan ahead. Whenever you are feeling hungry, snack on some fruits, vegetables, dry khakhra or a handful of nuts to help keep you satisfied.
17	Choose the crunch when you munch. Always opt for the whole fruit as it’s more likely to have a higher fibre content helping you feel fuller.
18	Go for fruits! Fruits are packed with vitamin and antioxidant power and they contain fibre which can help you feel more satisfied.
19	Keep a food journal. It helps you identify unhealthy patterns that may be affecting your efforts to manage your weight.

Easy Ways to Lose Weight

Easy Ways to Lose Weight

You know the drill when it comes to losing weight -- take in fewer calories, burn more calories. But you also know that most diets and quick weight-loss plans have about as much substance as a politician's campaign pledges. Here are more than 50 easy ways for you to finally lose the weight.

If you’re trying to drop a few pounds, don’t start off by trying to overhaul all your eating and exercise habits. You’re better off finding several simple things you can do on a daily basis—along with following the cardinal rules of eating more vegetables and less fat and getting more physical activity. Together, they should send the scale numbers in the right direction: down.

1. Indulge in fat releasing foods. They should help keep you from feeling deprived and binging on higher-calorie foods. For instance:

• Honey. Just 64 fat releasing calories in one tablespoon. Drizzle on fresh fruit.
• Eggs. Just 70 calories in one hard-boiled egg, loaded with fat releasing protein. Sprinkle with chives for an even more elegant treat.
• Part-skim ricotta cheese. Just 39 calories in one ounce of this food, packed with fat releasing calcium. Dollop over a bowl of fresh fruit for dessert.
• Dark chocolate. About 168 calories in a one-ounce square, but it’s packed with fat releasing fiber.
• Shrimp. Just 60 calories in 12 large.
• MORE: 13 fat releasing foods »

2. Treat high-calorie foods as jewels in the crown. Make a spoonful of ice cream the jewel and a bowl of fruit the crown. Cut down on the chips by pairing each bite with lots of chunky, filling fresh salsa, suggests Jeff Novick, director of nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa in Florida. Balance a little cheese with a lot of salad.

3. After breakfast, make water your primary drink. At breakfast, go ahead and drink orange juice. But throughout the rest of the day, focus on water instead of juice or soda. The average American consumes an extra 245 calories a day from soft drinks. That’s nearly 90,000 calories a year — or 25 pounds! And research shows that despite the calories, sugary drinks don’t trigger a sense of fullness the way that food does.

4. Carry a palm-size notebook everywhere you go for one week. Write down every single morsel that enters your lips—even water. Studies have found that people who maintain food diaries wind up eating about 15 percent less food than those who don’t.

5. Buy a pedometer, clip it to your belt, and aim for an extra 1,000 steps a day. On average, sedentary people take only 2,000 to 3,000 steps a day. Adding 2,000 steps will help you maintain your current weight and stop gaining weight; adding more than that will help you lose weight.

6. Add 10 percent to the amount of daily calories you think you’re eating, then adjust your eating habits accordingly. If you think you’re consuming 1,700 calories a day and don’t understand why you’re not losing weight, add another 170 calories to your guesstimate. Chances are, the new number is more accurate.

7. Eat five or six small meals or snacks a day instead of three large meals. A 1999 South African study found that when men ate parts of their morning meal at intervals over five hours, they consumed almost 30 percent fewer calories at lunch than when they ate a single breakfast. Other studies show that even if you eat the same number of calories distributed this way, your body releases less insulin, which keeps blood sugar steady and helps control hunger.

8. Walk for 45 minutes a day. The reason we’re suggesting 45 minutes instead of the typical 30 is that a Duke University study found that while 30 minutes of daily walking is enough to prevent weight gain in most relatively sedentary people, exercise beyond 30 minutes results in weight and fat loss. Burning an additional 300 calories a day with three miles of brisk walking (45 minutes should do it) could help you lose 30 pounds in a year without even changing how much you’re eating.

9. Find an online weight-loss buddy. A University of Vermont study found that online weight-loss buddies help you keep the weight off. The researchers followed volunteers for 18 months. Those assigned to an Internet-based weight maintenance program sustained their weight loss better than those who met face-to-face in a support group.

10. Bring the color blue into your life more often. There’s a good reason you won’t see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: Believe it or not, the color blue functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage eating.

Watch what you eat to control weight gain

Watch what you eat to control weight gain

New Delhi: Avoid hot and crispy fried snacks, sweets, carbohydrates-rich food if you want to keep a check on your weight, but don`t forget to consume some calories for your body`s well-being, say experts.

Most of us avoid having food items with lots of calories, but it is good for the body in controlled form.

“Each and every individual has his own calorie requirement, which is based on his basal metabolic rate. If a person eats more calories than what he needs, he will definitely gain weight or if he eats less calories than what he needs, he will lose weight,” Annapurna Agrawal, nutritionist at Snap Fitness India, told IANS.

“If a person`s body requires 2,000 calories and if he or she eats food with 2,500 calories, the extra 500 kcal of what you eat will be converted into fat," explained Agrawal.

Junk food is a big no for the weight conscious people as it lacks essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals and proteins, and is instead high on fat and calories.

“You need to shun all your favourite fried snacks and those curries that have a lot of fat and are cooked in fair amount of oil,” Manik Pande and Meghana Surve, nutritionists at Talwalkar`s National Nutrition Centre, said in a joint statement.

They have even warned against intake of excess carbohydrates.

“Carbohydrates actually convert into fats after they are consumed. The body stores this fat and this adds to your body weight."

Grains and sugar, which are common in a diet, contain a large amount of carbohydrates. So, be careful while you consume them.

The summer season tempts you to go for chilled sodas and juices. These may refresh you instantly, but Pande and Surve advice that go for something healthier.

“Stick to water, lime juice and fresh fruit juices. Alcohol also is an evil beverage,” they said.

Also guard yourself against too many medicines.

“Anti-depressant medicines, birth control pills, allergy medications and blood pressure medications are some of the medicines that may cause weight gain,” said Agrawal.

Exercise for weight loss: Calories burned in 1 hour

Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your diet each day, you'd lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Because of changes that occur in the body over time, however, calories may need to be decreased further to continue weight loss.Being active is an important part of any weight-loss or weight-maintenance program. When you're active, your body uses more energy (calories). And when you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight loss.

While diet has a stronger effect on weight loss than physical activity does, physical activity, including exercise, has a stronger effect in preventing weight gain and maintaining weight loss.

For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:

• Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of
  
  vigorous aerobic activity. However, to effectively lose or maintain weight, some people may need up to 300 minutes a week of moderate physical activity. You also can do a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week, and sessions of activity should be at least 10 minutes in duration.
• Strength training. Do strength training exercises at least twice a week. No specific amount of time for each strength training session is included in the guidelines.

Moderate aerobic exercise includes such activities as brisk walking, swimming and mowing the lawn. Vigorous aerobic exercise includes such activities as running and aerobic dancing. Strength training can include use of weight machines, or activities such as rock climbing or heavy gardening.

As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. This chart shows the estimated number of calories burned while doing various exercises for one hour. Specific calorie expenditures vary widely depending on the exercise, intensity level and your individual situation.

Activity (1-hour duration)	Weight of person and calories burned
	160 pounds (73 kilograms)	200 pounds (91 kilograms)	240 pounds (109 kilograms)
Aerobics, high impact	533	664	796
Aerobics, low impact	365	455	545
Aerobics, water	402	501	600
Backpacking	511	637	763
Basketball game	584	728	872
Bicycling, < 10 mph, leisure	292	364	436
Bowling	219	273	327
Canoeing	256	319	382
Dancing, ballroom	219	273	327
Football, touch or flag	584	728	872
Golfing, carrying clubs	314	391	469
Hiking	438	546	654
Ice skating	511	637	763
Racquetball	511	637	763
Resistance (weight) training	365	455	545
Rollerblading	548	683	818
Rope jumping	861	1,074	1,286
Rowing, stationary	438	546	654
Running, 5 mph	606	755	905
Running, 8 mph	861	1,074	1,286
Skiing, cross-country	496	619	741
Skiing, downhill	314	391	469
Skiing, water	438	546	654
Softball or baseball	365	455	545
Stair treadmill	657	819	981
Swimming, laps	423	528	632
Tae kwon do	752	937	1,123
Tai chi	219	273	327
Tennis, singles	584	728	872
Volleyball	292	364	436
Walking, 2 mph	204	255	305
Walking, 3.5 mph	314	391	469

Source : http://www.mayoclinic.com