Sticking to a conventional diet and exercise plan can be difficult.
However, several proven tips can help you eat fewer calories with ease.
These are effective ways to reduce your weight, as well as to prevent weight gain in the future.
Here are 10 ways to lose weight without diet or exercise. All of them are based on science.
1. Time Your Meals
Set a timer for 20 minutes and reinvent yourself as a slow eater. This is one of the top habits for slimming down without a complicated diet plan. Savor each bite and make them last until the bell chimes. Paced meals offer great pleasure from smaller portions and trigger the body’s fullness hormones. When you wolf your food down in a hurry, your stomach doesn’t have time to tell your brain it’s full. That leads to overeating.
2. Use Smaller Plates for Unhealthy Foods
The typical food plate is larger today than it was a few decades ago.
This trend could contribute to weight gain, since using a smaller plate may help you eat less by making portions look larger.
On the other hand, a bigger plate can make a serving look smaller, causing you to add more food.
You can use this to your advantage by serving healthy food on bigger plates and less healthy food on smaller plates.
3. Sleep More, Weigh Less
Sleeping an extra hour a night could help a person drop 14 pounds in a year, according to a University of Michigan researcher who ran the numbers for a 2,500 calorie per day intake. Their scenario shows that when sleep replaces idle activities — and the usual mindless snacking — you can effortlessly cut calories by 6%. Results would vary for each person, but sleep may help in another way, too. There’s evidence that getting less than 7 hours of sleep revs up your appetite, making you uncommonly hungry.
4. Serve More, Eat More Veggies
Serve three vegetables with dinner tonight, instead of just one, and you’ll eat more without really trying. Greater variety tricks people into eating more food — and eating more fruits and vegetables is a great way to lose weight. The high fiber and water content fill you up with fewer calories. Cook them without added fat. And season with lemon juice and herbs rather than drowning their goodness in high-fat sauces or dressings.
5. Eat Plenty of Protein
Protein has powerful effects on appetite. It can increase feelings of fullness, reduce hunger and help you eat fewer calories.
This may be because protein affects several hormones that play a role in hunger and fullness, including ghrelin and GLP-1.
One study found that increasing protein intake from 15% to 30% of calories helped participants eat 441 fewer calories per day and lose 11 pounds over 12 weeks, on average, without intentionally restricting any foods.
If you currently eat a grain-based breakfast, you may want to consider switching to a protein-rich meal, such as eggs.
In one study, overweight or obese women who had eggs for breakfast ate fewer calories at lunch compared to those who ate a grain-based breakfast (10Trusted Source).
What’s more, they ended up eating fewer calories for the rest of the day and during the next 36 hours.
Some examples of protein-rich foods include chicken breasts, fish, Greek yogurt, lentils, quinoa, and almonds.
6. Store Unhealthy Foods out of Sight
Storing unhealthy foods where you can see them may increase hunger and cravings, causing you to eat more (11Trusted Source).
This is also linked to weight gain (12Trusted Source).
One recent study found that if high-calorie foods are more visible in the house, residents are more likely to weigh more than people who keep only a bowl of fruit visible (12Trusted Source).
Store unhealthy foods out of sight, such as in closets or cupboards, so that they are less likely to catch your eye when you’re hungry.
On the other hand, keep healthy foods visible on your countertops and place them front and center in your fridge.
7. Eat Fiber-Rich Foods
Eating fiber-rich foods may increase satiety, helping you feel fuller for longer.
Studies also indicate that one type of fiber, viscous fiber, is particularly helpful for weight loss. It increases fullness and reduces food intake.
Viscous fiber forms a gel when it comes in contact with water. This gel increases nutrient absorption time and slows down the emptying of your stomach.
Viscous fiber is only found in plant foods. Examples include beans, oat cereals, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, oranges, and flax seeds.
A weight loss supplement called glucomannan is also very high in viscous fiber.
8. When Soup’s On, Weight Comes Off
Add a broth-based soup to your day and you’ll fill up on fewer calories. Think minestrone, tortilla soup, or Chinese won-ton. Soup’s especially handy at the beginning of a meal because it slows your eating and curbs your appetite. Start with a low-sodium broth or canned soup, add fresh or frozen vegetables and simmer. Beware of creamy soups, which can be high in fat and calories.
9. Sip Smart: Cut Back on Sugar
Replace one sugary drink like regular soda with water or a zero-calorie seltzer and you’ll avoid about 10 teaspoons of sugar. Add lemon, mint, or frozen strawberries for flavor and fun.
The liquid sugar in soda appears to bypass the body’s normal fullness cues. One study compared an extra 450 calories per day from jelly beans vs. soda. The candy eaters unconsciously ate fewer calories overall, but not so for the soda drinkers. They gained 2.5 pounds in four weeks.
10. Sip Smart: Limit Alcohol
When an occasion includes alcohol, follow the first drink with a nonalcoholic, low-calorie beverage like sparkling water instead of moving directly to another cocktail, beer, or glass of wine. Alcohol has more calories per gram (7) than carbohydrates (4) or protein (4). It can also loosen your resolve, leading you to mindlessly inhale chips, nuts, and other foods you’d normally limit.
