The Only Way To Lose Weight Without “Dieting”
The only way to lose weight without “dieting” is by redefining the concept of what “diet” is.
If by not dieting you mean you still want to eat:
- whatever you want, and
- in whatever amount you desire,
then I am afraid losing weight is close to impossible.
The three most important factors for weight loss are the following:
- Good diet with plenty of leafy greens and protein, making sure daily calorie intake is below maintenance.
- Cardio training coupled with some form of weight training to preserve lean muscle mass.
- At least 7 hours of sleep.
It is important to look at your fat-loss goal as a lifestyle because it is this healthy lifestyle that will keep the fat away for good. Indeed, many individuals have successfully lost weight through drastic measures only to see the pounds come back a few weeks later. This is because those so-called drastic measures and diets are not sustainable. When you make healthy changes to your life and make them a habit, however, there is a much greater chance that it will stick.
Exercise alone is not enough
It takes 3,500 calories to gain or lose one pound. While this number is not exact and varies from one person to another, it does provide a way to gauge our progress throughout the day. For instance, if we want to lose one pound per week, we need to decrease our calories by 500 every day. This can be done by cutting 250 calories out of our diet and burning the other 250 through activity.
It is important to note, however, that it is impossible to outrun a bad diet. To put this into perspective, consider that the caloric expenditure per 100 pounds of body weight per mile of jogging is 62 calories. So if a person weighs 200 pounds, they would burn approximately 124 calories while jogging. This may seem like a decent return until you note that a slice of pizza contains 285 calories. Thus if you are consuming a slice of pizza, you will need to jog for over two miles just to compensate for the extra calories!
So how should you redefine dieting?
Dieting is often described as restricting caloric intake throughout the day. While this is an intuitive way to create a caloric deficit that is necessary for weight loss, it is better to redefine “diet” as “cleaning up your diet/eating pattern”.
Why? Because calories aren’t simply calories when it comes to weight loss. This should be obvious enough when we consider eating 600 calories worth of lean beef and salad, compared to eating equal calories of French fries. The first consists of a good diet with plenty of leafy greens and protein, while the second is high in sodium and may contain high amounts of trans fats. Surely, while they are equal in calories, one will hinder our weight loss goals more than the other.
Eating healthy should be fairly intuitive to most individuals. The main things to consider regarding diet, as has been stated before, is simply eating plenty of leafy greens and protein, making sure daily calorie intake is below maintenance.
Why more protein? Because protein-rich foods (fish, meat, baked beans, lentils and eggs) are among the most satiating foods, meaning they allow you to go for a longer period without experiencing hunger. While protein seems to stave off hunger for longer than carbohydrate, fat exerts the weakest effects on both satiation and satiety.
With that said, be wary of programs that suggest eliminating or severely limiting carbohydrate or fat from your diet. Both of these macronutrients are essential to the way our body function, and there are plenty of healthy sources for both. Good sources of fat include avocados; olives; nuts; peanut butter; walnuts; tofu; sunflower, sesame, flax, and pumpkin seeds; and fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, and herring. Good sources of carbohydrates include vegetables, whole fruits and grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and potatoes.
For individuals who are more concerned about the ratio of macronutrients we need to consume throughout the day, below is the recommendation taken from The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans:
- Carbohydrates: 45-65% of calories
- Fat: 20-35% of calories
- Protein: 10-35% of calories
For a more exact ratio for weight loss purposes, we recommend 50% carbs, 15% fat, and 35% protein.