3 Ways To Create Passive Weight Loss
None of them involve a single sit-up, pushup, or gym session
First of all, you’re beautiful. Just the way you are.
But, you might want to lose a little weight. And that’s great. Everyone has times in their lives where they want to trim up or shed a couple of pounds. That being said, not everyone looks forward to the idea of daily exercise or calorie-counting.
Just like investing in a business, sometimes passion drives you. Others, you’re just looking for a little passive income.
So, here are 3 ways to create passive weight loss, so you can focus on areas of your life that you are passionate about:
1. Never drink your calories
Calorie-counting is exhausting. Not only do you have to calculate every calorie that enters your body, you have to record it as well. For years, I used to count calories and found that the juice was never worth the squeeze.
So, remove the juice… and the pop, and the sugar in your coffee.
One simple way to reduce your calorie intake is to never drink them. Weight loss is about balancing satiation with calorie-consumption. Drinking rarely satisfies the way eating does, so do away with the liquid calories.
If you’re someone who regularly drinks pop, juice, or sugary drinks you’ll be amazed at how quickly you lose weight. Plus, you’ll end up drinking much more water. Something everyone can benefit from.
2. Daily fasting
Life is about priorities. Think about all the little things you can get done when you take a week off of work. Well, the same goes for your body. When you eat frequently your body has to constantly digest food. Eating less frequently allows your body time to relax and work on side projects like regulating hormones, cellular repair, and reducing inflammation.
Amongst the many benefits of fasting, it’s also a great way to lose weight. In its simplest sense, intermittent fasting is the practice of not consuming calories for long periods of time.
On average, it takes 8 hours to enter a fasted state. This means no eating or drinking calories.
Studies show that intermittent fasting increases energy levels, boosts brain function, and reduces blood sugar levels. But possibly the greatest byproduct, is that it reduces hunger cravings.
I’ve experimented with fasting for years and found it to be the single most effective way to maintain and lose weight. Most of the time, I don’t even have to adjust my diet. It almost feels like cheating.
There are many ways to fast, but the most popular is the 16:8 method.
Here’s how it works:
- Each day, you consume all of your food within an 8-hour window. The other 16, you fast. For example, start eating at 12 PM and stop at 8 PM.
- While fasted, you can drink water, coffee, or anything else that does not contain calories.
- Some drinks like lemon water, sparkling water, even coffee may contain a few trace calories. This is ok. On average, anything under 30 calories shouldn’t affect your fast.
I personally use the 16:8 method, daily. I find that it helps sustain my energy levels and reduces food cravings. But I suggest playing around with a schedule that fits your body and lifestyle.
At the end of the day, eating less often means thinking about food less and ultimately eating less. Passive weight loss in its purest form.
3. Move… just a little more
If you sit in one spot all day without moving you will burn anywhere from 1200–3000 calories. This is known as your BMR (basal metabolic rate). The exact number depends on a series of factors.
Your BMR is the number of calories you need to merely exist. To break even. But, we burn many more calories throughout our daily activities.
Simple things like standing up, moving our arms, and walking, burns additional calories. One study showed that people who fidget burn up to 350 more calories per day than those who sit still.
By merely prioritizing daily movement you can burn a surprising amount of calories. In the book “Greenlights”, Matthew McConaughey shares many great philosophies about exercise, including a list of his favourite passive exercise habits:
- Washing the dishes — “manual labour”
- Dance— “cardio, flexibility, and fun”
- Steam — “the non-active way to generate a sweat”
- Sex — “the original exercise”
- Babysitting the kids — “you never sit down, you’re always corralling
- Taking the stairs — “no more elevators for you”
- Walking — “don’t ride”
- Yoga — “intense and relaxing, a mental meditation as well.”
By simply moving more, you burn more calories. Plus, you train your body to be more comfortable moving. This makes exercise easier and more appealing. It’s not always about what you do but how often you do it.
Bonus: the next step
Weight loss doesn’t have to be exhausting. It doesn’t even have to be something you think about. But, exercise is important for overall health and longevity. Everyone should exercise in some capacity.
If you’re looking to kick things up a notch but are still wary of a workout plan, here’s a great tip. Another piece of insight from McConaughey is to “break a sweat every day.”
Whether it’s from walking, running, stretching, or dancing like nobody’s watching, vouching to break a sweat every day is a great way to ease into an exercise routine. And if it stops there, that’s great too.
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