There are so many ways of losing weight. While different techniques work for different people, losing weight without lifting weights also works great. Therefore, the gym is not the only way to lose weight.
To lose weight without lifting weights, you should try yoga exercises as they help minimize stress and improve your energy levels. Also, add some cardio exercises into your exercise routine to burn fat and define your muscles and also, incorporate a healthy diet into your workout routine.
There is so much to learn when it comes to losing weight without lifting weights, even with the best healthy diet, you need to observe the right proportions in every diet. You also need to learn that; excessive weight training can also put your joints under stress and may even cause injuries.
Therefore, try these simple moves to burn fat instead of building muscle blocks while lifting weights:
Table of Contents
1. Yoga Exercises
Yoga exercises are beneficial for spiritual, mental, and physical growth, but more active yoga exercises are effective for weight loss. Here’s how yoga helps you create and maintain a healthy weight.
Yoga for developing mindfulness
Yoga helps you develop mindfulness and makes you more conscious of what you eat and how different foods impact your spirit, body, and mind. As a result, you can avoid consuming unhealthy foods, binge eating, and comfort eating. Also, mindfulness allows you to be self-aware to know when you are full.
Additionally, it’s recommended that you practice yoga on an empty stomach. So, you probably will have to make healthy food choices before doing yoga exercises. This way, you reduce the intake of unhealthy foods, thus maintaining a healthy weight.
Yoga for burning calories
Practicing intense yoga styles helps you burn calories and inhibit weight gain. Try more active yoga styles like vinyasa, power yoga, and Ashtanga.
Ideally, yoga helps you lose weight through increased mindfulness, reduced stress, and burning calories, allowing you to minimize food intake and control overeating. Practice yoga as much as you can and do intense exercises at least four times every week for one hour, and practice more relaxed and gentle yoga exercises, like yin, Hatha, and restorative yoga, the rest of the days.
For beginners, begin practicing for at least 20 minutes and build up gradually. This gradual progress helps you build flexibility and muscle tone and calls for a full rest day every week. Also, weigh yourself at a consistent time every day. Try yoga poses like sun salutations, plank pose, and boat pose, and set reasonable goals that you can stick to.
2. Cardio Exercises
Cardio exercises consist of aerobic exercises like walking, running, cycling, and swimming to build muscle and burn fat. Since cardio exercises may not work alone, it is advisable to combine resistance training and cardio exercise to increase your fitness level and develop lean muscle mass.
Cardio exercises increase your heart rate, making this exercise group the most effective for weight loss and improved performance, and better health. Exercise at least 300 minutes a week or you can break your cardio routine into three daily workouts.
Some effective cardio workouts for weight loss are:
- Low-intensity cardio like swimming and jogging. This exercise is ideal for beginners or people with physical limitations as it doesn’t require high intensity. Perform this exercise for 60 minutes five days every week.
- Jumping rope to burn at least 1300 calories per hour. Warm up with at least eight jumps, then continuously jump for around 2 minutes with a 30-second rest gap.
- Burpees are a mix of exercises like squats, jumps, and pushups and are effective for burning calories. Do them for 30 seconds with a 30-second rest gap and repeat for five minutes.
- High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) combines different intense exercises like mountain climbers, butt kicks, jumping lunges, etc. It involves intense exercise rounds with a 15- second rest gap.
- Strength-training exercises like pushups, step-ups, and lunges.
- Other exercises like climbing stairs and pacing.
For a consistent exercise routine, choose a workout combination of exercises you enjoy since having fun makes staying active easier.
3. Healthy Diet
Alongside a consistent exercise routine, you need to observe a healthy diet. Here are a few things you can do to improve your diet.
Increase your protein intake
Eating protein minimizes hunger and makes you feel full, as proteins affect the hormones related to hunger and fullness. For instance, eat a protein-rich breakfast rather than a grain-based one. This study showed that increased protein intake allowed participants to eat 441 fewer calories daily and lose at least 11 pounds.
Some protein-rich foods are lentils, fish, eggs, chicken breasts, and almonds. Ideally, take at least a gram of protein per pound of your total weight daily.
Eat foods rich in fiber
Food rich in fiber helps reduce overeating because they make you feel fuller for longer. Viscous fiber, particularly, increases the time for nutrient absorption and causes your stomach to empty slowly. This fiber is found in plants like flax seeds, beans, oats, asparagus, etc., or supplements like glucomannan.
Drink a lot of water
When you drink plenty of water, you reduce the amount of food you eat, especially if you drink it before eating. Your daily water consumption should be at least 64oz.
Also, replace sugary drinks like soda with water or healthy drinks like green tea. Such sugary drinks are loaded with calories.
Take fish oil
Fish oil has major health benefits and is known for causing fat loss with regular exercise. It improves your cholesterol levels and amplifies the fat quantity you burn when exercising.
Some light snacks you can eat before a workout are a banana, dried fruit, energy bar, trail mix, etc.
Conclusion of Losing Weight
In summary, yoga and cardio exercises and a healthy diet, try simple exercises, like brisk walking, and avoid any exercise that causes joint pain.
Also, have an accountability partner to motivate you and keep you focused on your weight loss goal. Achieving your weight goal is daunting, but with discipline and consistency in your diet and workout routine, you can achieve visible results.