How to Lose Weight Without Hard Exercise
Losing weight without hard exercise is not easy to do, but it is possible. According to the American Heart Association, those who are overweight are more likely to develop heart disease and stroke. The concept of losing weight without hard exercise is seemingly simple: burn more calories than you take in. However, it takes hard work and discipline to accomplish this, even if you plan on doing it without strenuous exercises and activities.
Instructions
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Assess your current diet. Keep track of everything you eat in a week in a food journal. Track the total number of calories, as well as the amount of fat, saturated fat, protein and carbohydrates you eat each day.
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Calculate the calories you need per day. Use the Harris Benedict equation, which is a formula that measures the number of calories you need based on your height, weight, age and sex to determine basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is calories needed by the body when it's "at rest." Once you determine your BMR, you can multiply it by an "activity multiplier" to get your daily caloric need. Here's how it works: first, calculate your BMR.
Men: BMR = 66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years).
Women: BMR = 655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years).
Then, multiple this number by 1.2 if you're sedentary, by 1.375 if you're lightly active, by 1.55 if you're moderately active, by 1.725 if you're very active, and by 1.9 if you're extremely active.
This will give you the number the number of calories you need to eat each day to maintain your weight.
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Determine how much weight you want to lose. Do this by writing down you short- and long-term goals.
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Determine how many calories you need to eat each day to accomplish your weight loss goals. For example, let's say you figured out you need 2,000 calories a day to maintain your current weight. If you want to lose a pound per week, you'll need to eat 500 less calories per day to accomplish this goal without hard exercise (because you need to burn 3,500 calories to lose a single pound of body weight).
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Factor in some exercise. Since it's unrealistic for most people to stick to a 1,500 calorie/day plan, you need to do at least some exercise. Focus on light exercises like walking at least three to four days per week. If you walk for one hour three days each week, you can burn around 700 extra calories, meaning you can eat 100 extra calories per day.
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Eat the right foods. According to the Mayo Clinic, your diet should contain foods from all the food groups. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and healthy fats from sources like olive oil, fish and nuts.
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References
Resources
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