How to Lose Weight If You Are Inactive

While it's true that most weight-loss plans are structured around both diet and exercise, it is possible to lose weight even if you are inactive. Exercise promotes health and is a mood-lifter. However, there are times when people don't have the time to exercise or are unable to do so. Luckily, people are still able to lose weight with diet alone. In order to lose one pound, the body needs a deficit of 3,500 calories. That deficit can come in the way of diet, exercise, or both. The body does not discriminate between the two. In order to lose weight while being inactive, the number of calories eaten per day will need to be lower than for someone who is more active.

Instructions

Instructions

• 1

  Determine your daily caloric needs. Go to freedieting.com for a user-friendly calculator, which can be set to calculate caloric needs for someone who is sedentary. Use this to structure your meal plan.

• 2

  Keep track of everything that you eat. You can use a notebook or use online resources. A good website for this purpose is sparkpeople.com, which allows you to record daily food and beverage intake and provides the calorie count for these items. In the initial stages of dieting, this process will be eye-opening. Take a look at patterns, and where you can cut calories.

• 3

  Boost your metabolism by eating small meals throughout the day. Most people eat three meals per day, with one or two snacks. Jorge Cruise, author of "The 3-Hour Diet," recommends eating small meals every three hours, as this increases the basic metabolic rate, while reducing appetite. (Ref. 1.)

• 4

  Eat protein, fruits, and vegetables, and reduce consumption of carbohydrates. It is important to include whole wheat carbohydrates in your meal plan. But increasing the amount of protein will fill you up quicker and keep you full longer. Fruits and vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals, and they are relatively low in calories. You can eat a lot of them while still losing weight.