There are many natural ways to lose weight, but most recommended methods are questionable and are not necessarily based on science.
So instead of going the unsure, even possibly risky path to weight loss, here are 5 scientifically proven natural ways to lose weight.
1. Eat fruits and veggies every day
Even small changes in your eating can make a big difference in your weight and health.
For example, going from processed foods to natural, whole foods like fruits and veggies can help you decrease the number of calories you eat per day.
Generally, fruits and veggies are low in calories but supply many vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that help support your metabolism and keep you in good health and avoid potentially serious chronic diseases.
So they will not only help you lose weight naturally, but they will also keep your body healthy.
Choose from a variety of sources including red, orange, and dark leafy green vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, kale, swiss chard, and broccoli, along with many others.
Fruits and veggies are naturally rich in antioxidants, helping you fight off diseases, in addition to losing weight.
Aim for 5 to 9 servings of fruits per day.
2. Cut out processed foods
Processed foods are usually high in added sugar, trans fats, and calories. They offer very little nutritional benefits to your body and health.
What’s even worse is that these foods would make you eat a lot more than when you eat fresh whole foods, packing in more calories than you should.
Overall, they are more likely to cause overeating and over intake of calories.
Avoid them, and start losing weight right away.
3. Avoid liquid calories
Liquid calories come from beverages like soda, fruit juices, and energy drinks.
These drinks are not only bad for your weight, but they’re also harmful to your health.
Studies have shown that they increase your risk of obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
One study shows that there is a high increase in the risk of obesity amongst children, for each daily serving of a sugar sweetened beverage.
And since the brain does not register liquid calories as the same way it does when you eat solid foods, you end up adding these empty calories on top of everything else you eat.
If you want to drink something sweet, blend some fruits together to make a smoothie instead of fruit juice. All the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals will remain in your smoothie. This will automatically help you eat fewer calories.
Another way to enjoy non-sugary drinks is to create infused water, which often tastes delicious and doubles as detox water. There are varying combinations of fruits, herbs, and vegetables you can use to create healthy, tasty infused water.
4. Limit Refined Carbs
Refined carbs are carbs with little to no nutritional values at all.
Think of white bread, pasta, pastries, white flour, and cereals.
Their most beneficial nutrients have been removed from these foods.
More often than not, the refining process leaves nothing but easily digested carbs, which can increase the risk of overeating and disease.
Removing them from your diet and replacing them with complex carbs, such as quinoa, vegetables, whole grains and other healthy unprocessed carbs will not only help you lose weight but also boost your nutritional intake.
5. Move your body
In order for you to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume.
And there is no better way to burn extra calories than exercise.
Even though you can lose weight without exercise, but by skipping exercise, you will also lose muscle as well.
In fact, it is reported that about a quarter of the weight people lose is muscle weight.
This is because when you cut back on calories, your body is forced to find other sources of fuel. Unfortunately, this means you burn muscles along with fat.
Including exercise as part of your weight loss regiment along side your diet can reduce the amount of muscle you lose.
This will help you not only in the short run, but it will also help prevent future weight gain.
It’s a necessary component of weight loss that’s too good not to take advantage of.