7 Surprising Ways To Lose Weight - Without Dieting
Dropping pounds
needn't be torture.
Here, 7 sneaky strategies to obliterate calories without all the suffering!
Listen to mellow music at mealtimes. Put on a soothing CD and, without even realizing it, you'll probably take in fewer calories. When listening to lively music, diners chew faster and cram in more forkfuls per minute, according to a study at Johns Hopkins.
Sip a Slim-Fast. Have half a can 30 minutes to an hour before dinner, suggests Donald S. Robertson, M.D., director of the Southwest Bariatric Nutrition Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. At a cost of only 110 calories, its filling mixture of protein and fiber can get you through that treacherous ravenous phase before dinner and help you cut down on absentminded overeating during the meal.
Stand up straight. "Good posture fosters deeper breathing, and that means taking in more oxygen," says Vanderbilt University nutrition consultant Jamie Pope, R.D. When you breathe in more oxygen, your energy levels get a boost - and you're more likely to jump into calorie-burning activities.
Have a drink...but make it water. Down a glass before working out, and you'll likely go longer and burn more calories. In a study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, exercisers who were slightly dehydrated stopped their workouts 10 minutes sooner than those who'd drunk plenty of water, burning off about 50 fewer calories.
Start fidgeting! Busy bodies burn up to 800 calories more per day than people who tend to sit still, researchers have found. "Every movement really counts," says Jamie Pope. "If you have a desk job, stand up to talk on the phone, rearrange your legs and make lots of trips to your coworkers' offices."
Dream like a thin person. Dreams can help us break bad lifestyle habits, such as eating too much junk food. "As you drift off to sleep, think about behaving in the ways you want to the next day," says Phyllis Koch-Sheras, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and founder of the Creative and Healing Arts Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia. "See yourself eating strawberries instead of ice cream. Research shows that you'll likely repeat this theme in your dreams - effective rehearsal for the real challenge."
Come out of hibernation. Do nothing but make it through winter, and slimming down gets easier. "As the days grow longer, biological rhythms become more supportive of weight loss," says University of Minnesota psychologist Paul Arbisi, Ph.D., an expert on seasonal eating patterns. "Energy increases in spring, so you burn off more calories through physical activity."
By Catherine
Houck
Fitness Magazine