Psychological Ways to Lose Weight
7 Ways to Shed Pounds When You Can't Do Physical Exercise
Jan 15, 2008
There are many reasons you may not be able to exercise: recent surgery or illness, a broken leg or sprained ankle, major depression, or an intense dislike of sweat. To help you shed the pounds, here are seven psychological ways to lose weight without exercising.
P.S. If you’re trying to lose weight, make sure you’re making lifestyle changes that last. If you’re popping weight loss pills to lose 20 pounds before summer, then you may be setting yourself up for failure. The only way to lose weight permanently is through positive, sustainable lifestyle changes. If you walk or do yoga occasionally but find your motivation to exercise is decreasing, try 5 Tips For Staying Active.
Psychological Ways to Lose Weight Without Exercising
- Take up knitting. Do something else with your hands: knitting, crocheting, cross stitching, exercising with hand balls, or painting. This is a psychological way to lose weight without exercising because it keeps your hands busy and your mind occupied. Your mind will be on what you’re doing, not what you want to eat.
- Enjoy occasional treats. If you totally deprive yourself of the food you love, you’ll gorge at the drop of a hat. Enjoying occasional treats is a psychological way to lose weight because you don’t feel like you’re on a diet.
- Get enough sleep. This is a psychological way to lose weight without exercising because if you’re tired, you’re more likely to make bad decisions about eating. It’s biological, too: enough sleep allows your body to build up more leptin (a hormone that helps you feel full).
- Seek dietary counseling. One study shows that dietary counseling can lead to a weight loss of approximately 10-15 pounds in one year. Though this seems slow, remember how fast the years go by – and remember that slow weight loss can be permanent weight loss. See a nutritional counselor to help you set realistic weight loss goals,
- Keep a food diary. Simply writing down everything you’re about to eat can help you eat less, and more nutritiously. Monitoring your food intake with a food diary is a psychological way to lose weight because it keeps you aware of how much and what kind of food you consume. Plus, it helps you notice your mindless eating habits and emotional eating tendencies.
- Use small dishes & cutlery. To cut down on the amount you eat, simply use smaller plates, salad forks, and teaspoons. This is a psychological way to lose weight for three reasons: you’ll automatically put less food on your plate, your plate will look full, and you’ll take longer to eat. This will help you feel full, which makes you less likely to overeat.
- Listen to your body. Let yourself get hungry. What does it feel like? Now, eat a few bites. How do you feel now? Many of people have lost touch with our feelings of hunger and satiety. They eat because they’re watching TV, at the movie theatre, or scared about their lives. This psychological way to lose weight without exercising will help you tune in to your body, and strengthen your mind-body connection.
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