If plodding away on the treadmill is your idea of hell, try these healthy habits to lose weight without losing your mind.  

Increase your water intake  

Water helps to flush out and detox your system, as well as keep your mind and body in good working order. Getting at least 2-3 liters a day means that you’ll be operating at a higher frequency!  

Increasing your water intake can help to keep your energy and mood regulated, and digestion in check, and help you to achieve clear and glowing skin. Since your brain is 80% water, it can also help you to focus, improve your memory and keep your brain functioning sharply. Win-win!  

Plus, when you’re dehydrated, it can make you feel hungry rather than thirsty, so you can control your appetite to avoid eating more than you need to.  

When your body needs energy or a mood boost, it will naturally crave carbohydrates since they can quickly boost your energy levels and serotonin, but any excess your body doesn’t need may go on to be stored as fat.  

Take a hike (or walk)  

Ever been for a walk and noticed you burned more calories than you did in your gym class? That’s because walking is one of the best ways to lose weight and lessens your chance of developing long-term health conditions. It’s also amazing for your mental health! Hiking to the top of a mountain or even walking around your local park with a friend can make a fun day out, so grab your water bottle and hit your local green area.  

It’s scientifically proven that seeing more greenery improves your mood. Build a daily walk into your routine to help you stick to it – go first thing in the morning, or when you finish work to round off the day. Overcome a challenge, get fit, and reconnect all at once, then bask in those feel-good endorphins!  

Weight training  

Running on the treadmill, cross-trainer, or stepper in the gym isn’t the only way to lose weight. Weight training is also amazing for helping you to shed pounds, and improve your strength, as well as your joints and bone health. Resistance training can increase your resting metabolic rate. In other words, more muscle, more daily calorie burn (even if you’re binging your favorite Netflix show)!  

Contrary to popular belief, weight training doesn’t make you look bulky. Bodybuilders work really hard, with grueling workout routines and intense nutrition habits to look like that. Want to look more toned? Strength training can help you get there!  

Plus, if you conduct weight training in a high-intensity circuit, you’ll get a good aerobic workout too – it’s another version of cardio that doesn’t require boring, repetitive movements! Plus, it feels fantastic when you hit a new PB! Get pumped with energy boosters, and pre-workout blends, and encourage better muscle recovery with protein.  

Find movement you love  

Losing weight, keeping it off, and staying happy and healthy should be sustainable which means you need to enjoy it!  

That’s why it’s important to find movement you love, not what that influencer on Instagram is telling you to do. It’s different for everyone. It could be anything from mountain biking to salsa dancing; pole dancing to open water swimming; Thai boxing to playing netball.   

Reduce stress  

Levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, rise during tension-filled times. This can make you crave sugar-rich and fat-filled foods, instead of nutritionally-balanced meals.  

Reduce stress, anxiety, and tension by finding ways to relax, from yoga and meditation, mindful breathing techniques, laughing with a friend, exercising, walking, having a calming bath, doing some self-care, or watching your favorite TV show. It’s also worth avoiding caffeine and alcohol, which can heighten anxiety levels. Feeling stressed? Try calming remedies with adaptogens and anti-inflammatory ingredients like CBD, turmeric, and stress-relief tea.  

Get enough sleep  

Getting enough restful shuteye is so important to our mind and body. It keeps everything else in check. When we don’t get enough sleep our body struggles to repair and recover which can affect our digestion, energy, mood, sleep, brain function, immune system, and more.  

More importantly, when it comes to losing weight, it’s even more important. Have you ever noticed that you tend to snack on junk food when you didn’t get enough sleep the night before?  

Intermittent fasting  

Lots of people swear by intermittent fasting to shed a few pounds. This means that they eat between a particular time window each day. For example, they might fast for a period of 16 hours (7 pm – 11 am the following day) and eat between the hours of 11 am-7 pm.  

It works for some people, but it’s often much easier for men since women have to take their menstruation cycles into account. Intermittent fasting works by giving the body enough time to digest all the food and put it to good use. Our bodies struggle to digest and use the food for energy efficiency so it gets stored as fat. Fasting makes our bodies conserve energy better so our metabolic rate becomes more efficient, and a result of that can be weight loss.  

Eat nutritionally-balanced meals  

Nutrition plays a massive part in weight loss and weight gain. Incorporating the right amount of protein, healthy fats, and good carbohydrates, including whole foods, each day can help to keep you fuller for longer and keep your body suitably nourished.  

If you’re not consuming enough protein, you might find yourself snacking a lot which can cause weight gain. While carbohydrates aren’t the enemy (they’re an amazing source of energy), consuming healthy, complex carbohydrates (quinoa, sweet potato, vegetables) will fuel your body more effectively than simple carbs (white bread, pastries, white pasta).  

The keto diet works for some people who want to lose weight too. The low-carb, high-fat diet forces your body into using a different type of fuel, instead of relying on glucose from carbohydrates, but it’s not suitable for everyone and can come with risks, so it’s worth doing your research first.  

Try cold water therapy  

The shivering aspect of cold-water therapy is what helps you to lose weight, but it’s also got lots of other incredible benefits. It can strengthen your mind and body’s resilience to stress and change to help you work through tough challenges. It supports muscle recovery and repair by reducing inflammation, which can help to reduce pain (perfect after a tough workout) and can extend your healthy lifespan.  

Get the most out of cold-water immersion by moving between a sauna and a cold plunge pool. This action of switching between hot and cold temperatures is the most effective way to use cold water therapy for its health and wellbeing benefits including weight loss. You could, of course, do this in the Great Outdoors with some wild swimming to combine it with some fun exercise to burn even more calories.  

Keep your digestion in check  

Good digestion starts with a nutritionally balanced diet. It should include fermented food or drink to bolster good gut health which includes probiotics (yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh, kimchi, kombucha, miso) and prebiotics (apples, asparagus, bananas, barley, berries).  

Adding some walking into your day can improve your digestion, especially after meals. Getting enough sleep supports healthy digestion, along with fiber-rich food, a variety of vegetables, and plenty of water, thanks to its detoxing and cleansing powers.  

Finally, leaving two hours between your final meal of the day and bedtime gives your body time to digest the food before it settles down for the evening.  

When cardio isn’t your thing, these healthy habits can help you to lose weight too! Choose the ones right for you.