Many people struggle with excess weight but also have a crisis of will. And with good reason. Cardio can be exhausting and very discouraging. Especially for people who never got into physical activity. It’s understandable why you would try to substitute the exhausting cardio exercises.
This article will show you that – yes, you absolutely can lose weight without cardio. We’ll single out 10 tips for your weight loss without cardio.
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1 There’s no magical solution
Before talking about what works, we need to establish this as rule number 1. You can’t achieve results with magic pills, plants, and devices while changing nothing about your life. Forget about that.
Yes, there are some less exhausting methods of losing weight compared to cardio. But that doesn’t mean you can sit down and get results from a belt that “removes your fat cells.” That’s simply not true.
You need to put in the work. Follow the rest of our tips below, and you’ll see results in no time.
2 You need to have a calorie deficit
What does that mean? It’s simple.
You need to take fewer calories than you spend. That way, the body will start spending your accumulated reserves – and that’s how you lose weight!
But, you need to make sure to introduce your calorie deficit slowly. When you cut calories quickly during a diet, you will lose weight. But the weight loss is unsuitable and increases the chance that you’ll lose more muscle mass than you would during a slower cutting phase.
More rapid weight loss might lead to bigger results. But fat loss can only occur so quickly, and the key distinction is how much muscle you lost.
3 Cut alcohol, sweets, snacks, and sugary soda
These ingredients are bad for you in two different ways.
Number one, they add crazy amounts of calories, which you don’t have the time or the energy to spend.
Number two, they cause your body to produce a hormone called dopamine. This hormone is designed to “reward” you for doing something useful, by making you feel good. Only this time, it will make you feel good even though you haven’t done much.
You become addicted to these fake sources of dopamine and start substituting useful behavior like work, exercise, communication, flirting and making someone laugh…with drinking and eating sugary food.
That’s not good for your body, but it’s not good for your mind either. Cutting these will make you lose weight faster. But that’s far less important than changing your life habits.
4 Lifting weights can produce weight loss
When you lift weights, you burn calories, and weight training also speeds up your total metabolism. Lifting weights creates lean muscles. Muscles actually burn more calories throughout the day. Building muscles will help reduce weight.
It can be a terrific technique to reduce fat to hit the weight rack, but it can also result in a greater weight on the scale. Don’t worry about that. With this weight gain, you’re not getting worse. Visceral fat is actually lighter, making the switch a healthy one.
It’s easier to get into lifting than cardio, it’s fun, and you’ll start noticing results quickly. It’s also “addictive” because it will cause dopamine surges, making you feel great. When you get your dopamine from these healthy habits, you won’t have to resort to eating sweets, drinking, or scrolling through social media endlessly.
Not only will this help you lose weight, but it will also make you a better person!
5 Try the Hell Fast Walk
This science-backed method of walking is amazing for weight loss. It consists of specialized hip-twisting speed walking on the treadmill.
This is one of the most beneficial and fastest methods to reduce stubborn belly fat and get rid of excess water.
The trick is to create a specific posture and rotate your hips while walking. That way, you would produce targeted muscle friction in the core. This motion causes contractions of abdominal muscles, targeting the stubborn belly fat deposits.
You can start doing this walk even if you’ve never done anything related to exercise and see results in 6 weeks. If you find running exhausting, this will make you smile. The hip-twisting should only be done by walking. That is the only way to target the core correctly. Running or jogging will not produce the desired results.
6 Try intermittent fasting
You fast intermittently if you skip meals for a specific period of time each day or week. The following are a few tried-and-true techniques for intermittent fasting:
- alternate-day fasting means a regular diet for a day, followed by either completely fasting or only taking a small meal the following day (less than 500 calories).
- A 5:2 fast means eating normally five days a week and fasting for two days.
- daily fasting during set hours means eating normally but limiting your eight-hour timeframe for meals. Consider missing breakfast while having lunch at midday and dinner around 8:00 p.m.
According to studies, alternate-day fasting for weight loss produces outcomes comparable to those of a typical low-calorie diet. That seems sensible since eating fewer calories ought to produce weight loss.
7 Take enough protein
If you’re going for weight loss through lifting, sufficient protein intake is crucial. Consuming enough protein can assist or enhance recovery, and hormone synthesis. It also helps muscles stay in shape.
Research suggests that athletes and lifters who want to maintain as much muscle mass as possible during a fat-loss phase should eat higher protein and decrease calories. That allows adequate carbohydrates to be ingested and fuel hard training and recovery. Decreasing calories during a cutting phase via diet moderation is key.
8 Increase your daily activity
Increased regular physical activity is one of the simplest methods to affect energy balance without negatively affecting muscle retention or gain.
This means taking walks, the stairs, bike rides, or engaging in outside activities. These low-intensity physical activities can make a big difference during the day.
I’m not advocating more cardio, but if you can choose between the steps and an escalator, pick the stairs.
9 Listen to your body
Fasting, cutting calories, and lifting – these are all established methods confirmed by research. But, you need to always keep track of how you are feeling. Listen to your body, and pay attention to how you react to these methods.
There’s no research that can address you and your body alone. That’s up to you, to always be in touch with your inner feeling.
Cut bad food, and unhealthy habits. That’s your starting point. Start researching other methods from there. It can be fasting, yoga, specialized walking, or something else entirely – whatever feels right and produces results.
10 Manage your expectations
Your first goal is to lose weight without sacrificing muscle mass and energy level. Remember that. Don’t try to achieve too much in a smaller time frame. You can drain your body or get discouraged.
When people become too aggressive with their diet, they are probably losing muscle. Don’t expect too much and put yourself in an excessive energy balance deficit. Aggressive diet restrictions and excessive training will drain you.
If, on the other hand, you don’t get any results in your projected time frame, you can give up and get nothing out of the process. That’s why managing expectations is important.
Conclusion
There’s no reason to feel discouraged if you’re trying to lose weight with no prior experience. You have an abundance of options and they don’t have to include pushing yourself beyond your limit.
However, certain change is necessary. You will need to change your habits and introduce some exercise. Luckily, you can do things that aren’t as exhausting and disheartening as cardio is for beginners.
Good luck!