Nobody can take the pounds off for you (unless we’re talking plastic surgery), but these 21 tips make eating right and exercising easier than ever.
Weight loss takes work—but the time you dedicate to eating right and exercising doesn't need to feel like a second job. Even if you don't have the time, money, or motivation to hit the gym and prepare a home-cooked meal each night (or if you're simply a self-proclaimed couch potato), there are still plenty of low-effort (but highly effective) strategies for getting rid of pesky pounds.
Some of your favorite "lazy" habits, such as playing video games, buying prepared foods, and using cooking shortcuts, may help you slim down. Read on for 21 strategies that can help make losing weight a piece of cake.
Multitask in front of the TV.
Save time (and money) by skipping the gym and working out at home instead, suggests Melissa Joy Dobbins, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "Keep some free weights by the TV or simply do crunches or lunges during your favorite show," she says.
"I have both my treadmill and my elliptical parked in front of a TV. I can watch my favorite shows only if I'm on them," says Becky Clark, author of How to Lose Weight and Get Healthy Even If You're Lazy, who incorporates calorie-torching speed intervals into her living room cardio workouts so she can keep them shorter.
Eat leftovers all week long.
Cook once on Sunday and eat what you've prepared during the week. For example, roast a turkey breast and prepare enough brown rice and veggies to last through the week. This way you have to think about food only once a week rather than 21 times, says Clark. "I tend to eat the same stuff over and over," she says. Researchers at the University of Buffalo suggest that limiting the variety of foods in your diet and eating them at standard intervals, like once a day or once per week, can help you eat less, as you'll be less tempted to overindulge in a food if you're consuming it regularly.
Shorten your shopping trip.
Instead of wandering up and down the aisles on an empty stomach, eat before you go to the grocery store and once you're there, purchase only the items on your list, suggests Joy Dubost, RD, PhD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. That way the only step left is deciding which brand or type of product to purchase. Dubost makes these suggestions: Reach for 1% or skim milk instead of 2% or whole milk; grab whole grain pasta, rice, and bread instead of white varieties; load sparkling water instead of soda into your cart; choose whole fruits or 100% juice over fruit-flavored drinks; and if you have a tendency to overeat straight from the package, pick preportioned sizes instead.
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