Is It Possible To Lose Weight Without Working Out?

Eating a proper diet along with working out is the classic recipe for lasting weight loss. Yet some people cannot or will not engage in grueling exercise regimens.

While it will probably be harder to lose weight without some type of fitness program, it is possible to lose weight without working out?

Shedding fat and building lean muscle mass is the primary benefit of working out. Without exercise, you will probably lose weight much more slowly than you would by dedicating yourself to even 15 minutes a day of moderate exercise.

You do not need to become a body builder to shed 5, 10, 20, 30, or even 100 pounds. The more you weigh the more calories you burn through simply walking around the block.

A Pound a Week

If you want to lose 1 pound a week, you need to create a daily deficit of 500 calories. The easiest way is through any type of exercise, even chair aerobics.

Starvation in lieu of working out is not effective nor is it very healthy. In fact, the less you eat the more your body holds on to the calories it gets.

Activities like fast paced walking or swimming raise the heart rate and toning exercises, especially weight lifting, promote strength and lean muscle mass.

If you cannot or will not engage in either type of exercise, consider eating a low-carb diet such as Atkins or South Beach.

After all, even those people who occasionally workout burn carbohydrates such as pasta much more efficiently than sedentary dieters.

Drink Plenty of Water

You must also be conscious of drinking plenty of water; a bare minimum is usually 8 to 10 glasses per day.

Watching the amount of sodium in your food is always important but especially vital if you want to lose weight without working out. Do not use the salt shaker.

If you are following a low-carb diet, stay away from red meat and eggs as much as possible.

These meats may be on your diet, but are usually intended for people who can create a more prominent calorie deficit through exercise. Plus the extra sodium can cause you to retain water, making it even harder for you to lose weight and keep it off.

How Long Does It Take To Lose 20 Pounds?

Some people can lose 20 pounds in one month. If you need to lose 20 or more pounds, do not set yourself up for disappointment.

You should plan to spend four or even five months trying to lose 20 pounds, especially if you do not have a lot of pounds to lose.

Most doctors recommend you lose no more than 1 to 2 pounds per week after the first three weeks of your diet and exercise plan. People who are significantly overweight or obese can usually lose 3 to 4 pounds per week, especially in the first month of a major lifestyle overhaul. But science has proven time and time again that the more slowly you lose weight, the more likely you are to keep it off in the long run.

Calorie Deficit

You need to create a 3,500 calorie deficit for every pound you intend to shed. While the idea of burning 70,000 calories may seem daunting, it really is not that difficult especially if you avoid the temptation to crash diet.

Increasing your daily physical activity by as little as 20 minutes can make a huge difference when it comes to shrinking your waistline.

Small changes such as leaving cheese off of sandwiches or opting for non-fat dressing can also go a long way toward banishing those 20 extra pounds for good. Some people opt for low-carb diets such as the Zone, Atkins, or South Beach.

However, you will generally need to keep most carbohydrates out of your life if you go down this route. Unfortunately, you really cannot sustain low-carb weight losses in the traditional carbohydrate-rich eating world.

Vegetables and Fruit

Eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables rather than simple carbohydrates will help you achieve your weight loss goals much more quickly. Giving up all sodas, including diet beverages, may help naturally decrease your appetite.

Water and perhaps unsweetened tea should be your libations of choice. Also, if you eat poorly you could lose weight due to malnutrition.

This state of being is unhealthy and can increase your risk of bone fractures and even heart attacks. Slow and sensible is the way to win the battle of the bulge, even if you wanted those pounds off of your body yesterday.

Is It Possible To Lose A Pound A Day?

In the first couple of weeks of your diet, you will lose weight much more quickly than you would if you have been dieting for a while.

But, is it possible to lose a pound a day? The answer varies depending upon your gender and how many pounds you have to lose. It is also not a healthy idea to try to lose more than a pound a day beyond the first week or two of your diet.

Because their bodies naturally have more muscle mass, men of any weight are much more likely than women to lose a pound a day to begin with. Men burn about 20 percent more calories than women even when they are sedentary at a desk.

The same general rule applies to exercise. A man who is not overweight will burn about 50 calories more after an hour of vigorous exercise than a woman of average height and weight.

Burn the Fat

As mentioned above, dieters of both genders need to create a negative balance of 3,500 calories daily in order to lose one pound per day.

People who are rather overweight will be able to cut a lot of calories just by eliminating regular sodas, skipping cheese, cookies, cakes, bread, potato chips etc and opting for low-fat or non-fat salad dressing.

On the other hand, people with only a few pounds to lose will literally have to work much harder to create that deficit.

Yes, Exercise

The less weight you need to lose in the long run, the more you must exercise. Duration is important but even more crucial is intensity. You will burn a lot more calories by even slightly picking up the pace of your running, swimming, bicycling, dancing, or jogging.

Whether you wish to lose 25 pounds or 125 pounds, drinking a lot of water may help you lose a pound a day. Reducing the amount of sodium in your daily diet is also crucial for not only weight loss success, but also the health of your heart.

If you cannot lose a pound a day, do not get discouraged and quit. It is much more realistic in the long haul to aim a weekly target of 1 to 2 pounds. After all, steady weight loss usually lasts much longer than rapid dieting efforts.

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