How to Slim Down Without a Gym or Diet Plan

You may think that to lose weight, you have to adopt a strict diet plan and spend hours in the gym sweating and suffering. But in fact, trying to do too much too soon is more likely to set you up for weight loss failure. Women are more likely to feel deprived on strict weight loss plans and end up binging, according to Today Health. The good news is that you can lose weight sensibly without a fancy diet or a gym membership.

Things You'll Need

• Walking shoes

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Walk more. Walking is a simple low-impact activity that you can perform anytime, anywhere. According to the Mayo Clinic, the benefits of walking are numerous: It increases good cholesterol, decreases bad cholesterol, helps control blood sugar and diabetes risk, improves mood and helps manage your weight. Start slowly by parking farther away, taking the stairs and walking on your lunch break. Work up to 30 minutes or more every day.

• 2

  Get more sleep. Quality, restorative sleep is critical in the fight against obesity. "Sleep deprivation increases cravings for sweets and starches. It also causes your body to produce more of the stress hormone cortisol, which is linked to belly fat," reports Today Health. According to researchers at Laval University in Quebec in the Today Health article, people who average fewer than six hours of sleep per night are 35 percent more likely to gain weight than people who average seven to eight hours a night. Hit the sack 15 minutes earlier each week until you are sleeping between seven and eight hours a night.

• 3

  Consume more dairy. Planetgreen.com reports on a University of Tennessee Nutrition Institute study, which found that adding three servings of low-fat dairy to a healthy diet can increase weight loss. Scientists believe it is the combination of calcium and protein in dairy products that helps support a healthy metabolism, which allows you to burn more calories and body fat. To maximize the fat-burning benefits, choose organic options whenever possible. According to Planetgreen.com, organic milk from grass-fed cows is richer in conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, which has been shown to promote fat-burning.

• 4

  Curb emotional eating. Many people who suffer from weight issues tend to eat for emotional reasons. If you eat when you're bored, stressed, lonely or angry, tune into your body's natural hunger signals to lose weight permanently. Today Health recommends waiting until you feel physical hunger before you eat, and then stopping once you're satisfied, not full. "If your hunger comes on suddenly, then it's probably being triggered by an emotion or event," the article suggests. If this is the case, distract yourself with a mentally stimulating activity, such as a crossword puzzle or a phone conversation with a supportive friend.