There is no magic pill you can take to lose weight. Well, technically weight loss pills do exist – but they alone won’t have you shedding pounds. All weight loss strategies require some degree of effort and willpower. That said, some are much simpler and more convenient than others.
If weight loss feels like a medieval punishment, then it’s likely you’ve mistakenly chosen one of the hard options. While some of these challenging weight loss methods can lead to more rapid results, they are often joyless and not sustainable. By choosing one of the easy methods, you could find that losing weight is so much more rewarding.
Just what are some of the least challenging ways to lose weight? And what are the most challenging methods worth avoiding? This post explores some of the hardest and easiest weight loss methods to help you take the right route.
The hardest
Fasting
Skipping meals or even going an entire day without eating can help some people lose weight. But let’s face it: starving oneself isn’t fun. It can also create other health issues – while it may be an effective way to reduce your calories, you’re also starving yourself of essential nutrients. You could feel dehydrated, tired, dizzy and even sick as a result. It could be harder to get to sleep. And you may find yourself getting irritable and struggling to concentrate on tasks. All of this becomes more likely if you do it long-term – so, in other words, it’s not sustainable.
Juice diets
Drinking only juice can lead to rapid weight loss. But like fasting, this is another weight loss method that requires an insane amount of willpower. You’re likely to feel drained and hungry after a couple days on juice because of the lack of fibre, protein and essential fats. In the long run, it may not even be good for your health. Continuing to eat some solid foods while substituting certain meals with juice could be easier to keep up and healthier.
Paleo diet
The paleo diet is another heavily restrictive diet that involves eating like a caveman. This means cutting out any food that wouldn’t have been available in the paleolithic era (pretty much anything processed – and in some cases dairy, grains and legumes too). While it may have kept early humans skinny, they ate like that because they had to. Many people find this diet to be gruelling and end up caving pretty soon. While its core idea of going organic is worth following, you need to allow yourself some modern treats.
Not eating sugar
While it’s definitely worth cutting back on sugar, cutting out sugar completely is likely to make most people pretty miserable. Even if you’re substituting sugar with artificial sweeteners, you’re likely to still get sugar cravings, as artificial sugar doesn’t actually satisfy our sweet tooth. Allowing some sugar can make dieting much less punishing.
Extreme exercise
Exercise is key to losing weight, but you don’t need to overdo it. In pursuit of rapid weight loss, some people engage in lengthy forms of exercise each day – pushing themselves until they feel sick. This could make you feel exhausted and could even increase the risk of developing an injury. It may even lead to chronic stress, which may trigger the body to start converting more food into fat for energy reserves – potentially making you gain weight more easily the moment you stop over-exercising.
The easiest
Static exercises
Static exercises as found in yoga and pilates can be practised anywhere without equipment and won’t leave you feeling sweaty. They are low-impact, making them suitable for those with joint issues and injuries. And most importantly they can help you lose weight! You won’t burn quite as many calories as you would from moving your body, however holding poses can slowly make an impact – often reducing stress and increasing strength and flexibility in order to help with weight loss.
Portion control
Eating the same meals but simply reducing the portions can help you still enjoy all your favourite flavours while cutting down your calorie intake. It’s one of the simplest tricks to help you lose weight – you may find that it doesn’t require as much willpower as cutting certain foods out or fasting, because you still stick to the same eating routine and prepare familiar meals.
Chewing more
Did you know that simply chewing more times can help you lose weight? By savouring each mouthful, you can slow down the pace that you eat at and get fuller more quickly. Combined with eating smaller portions, it can be a great way to reduce your calories simply by moving your mouth a few more times.
Staying hydrated
Drinking more water throughout the day can help you to feel fuller and can reduce the urge to snack. Aim to drink a glass of water every 2 hours and you could find that your food cravings disappear. Drinking lots of water is also good for our metabolism – you could find that it speeds it up, causing you to burn more calories throughout the day.
Weight loss injections
Injectable medications like compounded semaglutide are possibly the closest thing there is to a weight loss cheat code. These injections help suppress the appetite and enhance the metabolism – causing you to want to eat less and burn more calories. You still need to exercise and eat relatively healthily to see results, however you could find that you don’t have to work quite so hard. Weight loss injections are prescription-only, so you will need to talk to a healthcare professional and meet certain criteria to be considered for this treatment.
Weighing it all up
Methods like fasting, juicing and extreme exercise may help you to lose weight rapidly, but they can be pretty unpleasant and may have negative side effects when practised long-term.
By choosing easier weight loss methods like controlling portions, doing static exercises and staying hydrated, you could find that weight loss is less of a chore. Being physically active and eating a balanced diet are still recommended to guarantee results, but you don’t have to overboard with either.