Easy Ways To Lose Weight Naturally

Introduction

Welcome to the world of natural weight loss. Natural weight loss is not merely a trend for many individuals, it is a natural way of life. Watching your diet, eating better, exercising more, and making some lifestyle changes all assist your metabolism while also taking in fewer calories. You can live a healthier lifestyle that helps in weight reduction by focusing on the body’s needs and responses to diet and exercise.

Understanding weight loss

Calorie consumption

The number of calories consumed through food, beverages, and other items. How many calories you should eat is influenced by your age, gender, height, weight, and how active you are in a day.

Calorie expenditure 

The calories needed for eating, breathing, bloodstream development, and the calories consumed during other activities of work and exercise. 

Metabolism

Your metabolism is The rate at which calories are burned is influenced by genetics, age, body muscle mass percentage, and body activity level. A rapid metabolism implies that your body burns calories more effectively, making weight control easier.

Invest in activity to increase metabolism if you must, and also to work out. Muscle growth is accelerated by exercise. Metabolism influences how easy or hard it is for the body to use calories. This performance is affected by many factors, including genetics, ageing, and the amount of body muscle and regularity of activity.

Faster metabolism ensures that your body will burn calories more efficiently. Regular physical activity, especially workouts that help you improve your muscles, can help you increase your metabolism. Muscle development burns more calories at rest than fat cells.

The easy ways to lose weight 

Nutritional adjustments

Increase consumption of resistant starch

Resistant starch has gained attention in recent research for its potential weight loss benefits. Unlike refined carbohydrates, which we often reduce in our diet, resistant starch can aid in weight management.

Sources of Resistant Starch(RS)

• Natural sources include legumes, cereals, seeds, and certain starchy foods. These can be incorporated into the diet in various ways
• Unripe fruits like green bananas and raw apples are also rich in resistant starch¹

Incorporating resistant starch in your diet

• Oats: A simple and quick source, oats can be consumed in the morning as oatmeal. High in dietary fibre, protein, and minerals, oats not only support weight control but also improve overall health
• Cooled rice: The resistant starch content in rice increases after cooling. Although not as tasty when cold, cooled rice can be delightful when used in fried rice or sushi, providing a delicious way to increase resistant starch intake

Reduce sugar and refined carbohydrates

The carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity suggests that a recent increase in the intake of high-glycemic load processed carbohydrates triggers hormonal changes that promote fat storage and increase hunger.² This is directly associated with an increased risk of weight gain. In the UK, sugary drinks, cakes, biscuits, confectioneries, and other sweets contribute significantly to free sugar intake, making it easy to consume excessive amounts.³

A 2023 study in China involving 298 participants revealed insightful findings regarding dietary approaches for weight loss.⁴ Results showed that reducing carbohydrate intake, even without limiting total calorie consumption, was more effective in achieving weight loss over 12 weeks among overweight or obese adults.

Increase protein intake in your diet

While high-protein diets are often thought to be high in fats, they offer several health benefits that can contribute to weight management. This is because People generally feel more satisfied and full on fewer calories after consuming protein compared to carbohydrates or fats. So people will eat less food, which helps reduce overall calorie intake.

Additionally, the body expends more energy digesting protein compared to carbohydrates—a phenomenon known as the thermic effect of protein. Numerous studies⁵ and clinical trials have validated that high-protein diets are the most effective way to combat obesity and prevent or manage conditions like non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD).In conclusion, increasing protein intake not only helps in weight management but also promotes overall health.

Incorporating physical activity

While it may seem easy to lose a lot of weight, keeping it off is hard for about 80% of people. The American College of Sports Medicine advises that adults should be active for 200-300 minutes each week at a moderate level. This is about the same as walking for 60 minutes a day to help manage body weight and meet public health goals.⁶

Various exercise programs can help people lose around 2 kilograms. Although this might not sound like much, it's important for better health and lowering the risk of diseases linked to being overweight. Regular exercise helps not just with losing weight quickly but also with keeping it off long-term. Making physical activity part of your daily life can boost your metabolism, increase your energy, and improve your life quality, all while reducing the risks that come with sitting too much.

Lifestyle changes eating dinner earlier

Recent research published in Cell Metabolism⁷ in October 2022 highlights the relationship between late dinner times and increased weight gain. The study, a randomised crossover trial, identified several negative effects of eating dinner late:

1. Reduced serum leptin levels: The production and release of leptin, the hormone that signals satiety to the brain drops significantly when meals are consumed late in the evening. Low leptin levels in the morning result in increased hunger and, consequently, greater food intake throughout the day
2. Decreased energy expenditure: Eating later can slow down the body's metabolic rate, which means fewer calories are burned. This reduced calorie expenditure contributes to easier weight gain
3. Altered fat gene expression: Consuming meals later affects how fat cells function, accelerating both the rate and volume of fat storage

The study highlights that delaying dinner can lead to an "all-around" quicker and more substantial weight gain. Moving dinner time earlier could not only help in controlling weight but also improve overall metabolic health. This finding underscores the importance of aligning meal times with our body's natural circadian rhythms, optimising metabolic processes, and potentially reducing the risk of obesity and associated metabolic disorders.

FAQs

Direct supplementation of resistant starch: is it feasible?

As you read this, many of you might wonder whether it's possible to supplement resistant starch directly in our daily diet as done in studies. It's important to note that the use of resistant starch, as a supplement for weight loss, lacks clear guidelines in the majority of countries and there isn't a validated and widely recommendable plan currently available for the general public.

Are artificial sweeteners useful for weight loss?

On May 14, 2023, the WHO published the latest version of the Non-Sugar Sweeteners (NSS) Guidelines, advising against using NSS for weight control and weight loss. Theoretically, replacing our usual sugar intake with non-caloric (or extremely low-caloric) artificial sweeteners would mean a reduction in overall dietary calories, thereby creating a caloric deficit that could facilitate weight loss.

However, recent reports have suggested that non-sugar sweeteners might affect the body's energy metabolism, satiety, and hunger regulation through various mechanisms. They can deceive the taste buds into sensing sweetness, but not the brain, and might even make the brain more cunning.

Consequently, even when consuming real sugar, the brain may no longer prepare as actively for digestion, and the feedback mechanism for feeling "full" becomes weaker and slower. As a result, sweet foods might become increasingly unsatisfying to your appetite.

Summary

Thus, natural weight loss is a combination of proper diet, physical activity, and lifestyle changes that occur and are made to support and cultivate a healthy weight. By focusing not only on diet but also on physical activity and daily routines, people can create a sensible plan for lifelong health and well-being. It is useful not only to eliminate obesity but to live better.