How to Lose Weight Without Counting Calories

There's a misconception that has been around for decades, and it goes something like this: In order to lose weight, you have to count calories or follow a diet. So people revamp their entire eating plan, go for the lowest-calorie items or follow some diet, and stop when they can't stand it anymore. Soon their favorite foods--and extra pounds--come back with a vengeance. It doesn't have to be this way. By following these five steps, you can lose weight without counting calories--or driving yourself crazy.

Instructions

Five Steps to Losing Weight the Easy Way

• 1

  Make your favorite foods a priority: Wait: Doesn't this go against everything diets say? Yes, and that's why it works. But this isn't to say you should eat only junk food. Instead, you want to identify your absolute favorites and include them in your diet. For example, if you love ice cream, have a small scoop every day. But if you don't like cookies, don't eat them; they're not worth the calories. You'll be surprised how few calorie-rich foods you actually like. Once you find a way to sensibly include such foods in your diet, the need to overeat will naturally dissipate, and you can lose weight with ease.

• 2

  Let your stomach take the lead. This step is much easier than counting calories. Instead, eat when you're hungry and stop when you start to feel full. Let's start with hunger first: Make sure you are actually hungry when you eat, and don't wait until you are ravenous. Always ask yourself if you are mistaking hunger for boredom or stress. Once you start eating, take the time to enjoy your meal, and look out for that moment when you start to feel full -- that's the time to stop! If you wait until you are stuffed, you have probably already eaten too much.

• 3

  Eat breakfast. If you don't usually eat something in the morning then start now. Studies show that people who eat breakfast weigh less than people who don't. The reason is that people who skip breakfast get ravenously hungry later on in the day and compensate by overeating. If you're not hungry for breakfast, then start small with some fruit or cereal. Often, people aren't hungry for breakfast because they eat too much at dinnertime and late at night. Fix that by keeping your nighttime meal petite.

• 4

  Make healthy swaps. At each meal, think about where you can either add healthy foods or swap less nutritious items for more nutritious alternatives. For example, add some fruit to your morning cereal and veggies to your pasta dinner. On your sandwich, swap white bread for whole grain bread. This way, you're not making huge changes to your diet, you're just learning how to make the meals you love better.

• 5

  Activate your life. While eating less is the key to losing weight, exercise is vital to keeping it off. If you've failed at trying to get an hour at the gym, try making your life more active by looking for opportunities to move all day long. Do you have a 10-minute break at work in the morning? Go for a quick walk. Live close to work? Try walking or riding your bike there. There are always pockets of time in your day you can fill with physical activity; you just need to be on the lookout for them.