Anyone who knows me or reads my blog knows that I HATE exercise; with a passion. Sure, I’ve been caught on a stationary bike on rare occasions, but it’s definitely not something I look forward to. A popular question among dieters is – how to lose weight without exercise?
Can you lose weight without exercise?
You’ll be glad to hear that the answer is a most definite yes – you can lose weight without exercise! I’ve personally gone months at a time with absolutely no exercise, while still losing consistent weight (no, it wasn’t an accident). We lose weight when our bodies use up more calories (or energy) than we take in – it’s as simple as that. It doesn’t matter where the calories come from, or where or how they go – as long as intake is less than expenditure, you will lose weight!
Our bodies naturally burn calories throughout the day (and even when we sleep) from carrying out regular bodily functions, even when we don’t do any exercise. The amount of calories burned each day in this process is called your resting metabolic rate, or RMR (not to be confused with the closely related basal metabolic rate, or BMR). This number varies depending on your weight, gender, age, and height – but to give you a rough idea, it may be somewhere around 1800 calories a day. To find out your exact RMR, you can use the calculator on my blog. So as long you eat less calories than this number every day, you’ll lose weight!
How to lose weight without exercise?
Now that we’ve got the boring theory out of the way, here are some important rules and tips on how to lose weight without exercise.
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We talk a lot about the right foods to eat and avoid in regards to losing weight, but sometimes the simplest things can make a big difference. One reader recently emailed me asking - how much water should I drink to lose weight?
Great question! But before I answer it, I want to explore a little about the health benefits of drinking water, to avoid any misleading information.
Does drinking water help you lose weight?
Before you go drown yourself in lovely refreshing water, you need to understand that it’s not some magical potion. Drinking loads of water alone will not help you if you eat a fast food loaded diet and get very little exercise. But does drinking water help you lose weight? The short answer is yes, it CAN – when combined with other healthy lifestyle choices.
Health benefits of drinking water
I’m going to go all scientifical on you for a moment. Water is our body’s primary chemical component and makes up almost 70 percent of your body weight. All your systems and bodily functions depend on water! Water carries nutrients to and from your cells, and flushes toxins out of your vital organs and body. It’s also a fact that a lot of us don’t drink enough water to begin with. This means we are dehydrated – our bodies don’t have sufficient water to perform regular functions, and can leave us tired.
Drinking water to lose weight can also increase metabolism – the rate at which your body burns calories! A study in Germany showed that after drinking approximately 17 ounces of water, metabolic rates increased by 30% for both men and women after just 30 minutes. It is estimated that by drinking 1.5 liters more water a day, you would burn an extra 17,400 calories (or 5 pounds) a year. It may seem like a small difference, but I think that’s a pretty impressive result for just drinking a little extra water each day.
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If you’ve read my previous post on how much cardio to lose weight, you may be wondering what the best form of cardio exercise is for losing weight. I’ve put together a little list of my favorites here, along with their benefits. But before we get the the best cardio for weight loss, let’s have a little introduction to clear away any misinformation. Also, feel free to check out my new hair and fashion site at hairstyles 2012.
Why do cardio for weight loss?
So why is cardio the best form of exercise for weight loss:
It’s an easy and simple way to add to your daily calorie deficit – This means you can lose more weight without cutting as many goodies from your diet!
Cardio burns more calories – When you’re sweating and breathing hard during a cardio session, chances are you’re in your target heart rate zone and burning more calories than other forms of exercise.
It’s easy to increase the intensity of a cardio workout – Be it running faster, swimming harder, or jumping higher; it’s easy to increase the amount of calories burned with a few simple changes to your routine.
Cardio is safe – You can do cardio most days of the week without worrying about overtraining or injury, while other forms of exercise like strength training require long periods of rest so your body can recover.
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