These 9 'non-diet' steps can help you lose weight

1. Eat more protein: Include some form of protein in each meal. This is a sure way to fight hunger pains and lose weight in a better way. Protein takes longer for your body to digest, and hence keeps you full for longer. The key, of course, is to opt for lean protein. So, instead of eating a huge red meat steak, opt for chicken, turkey, fish, nuts, tofu, cottage cheese and eggs.

2. Enlist a diet buddy: The weight loss journey isn’t fun at all. But enlisting a partner — a friend, a colleague or family member — as a diet buddy can make it far easier than when you’re doing it alone. Choose someone who shares your weight loss and workout goals, though. Challenge your diet buddy to a step duel — a head-to-head step battle which lasts a day, a week or more. Reports suggest that duos get 50 per cent more steps done daily.

3. Follow the negative calorie diet: The idea is to eat more of the foods (mostly fruits and vegetables) that take a long time to get absorbed and break down in the GI tract (gastrointestinal tract), in order to feel and stay full for a longer duration. Plus, these foods are not just low in calorie, but often use up more calories while getting metabolised than the calories they provide. Apples, asparagus, beets, berries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, cauliflower, cucumber, lettuce, lemons, oranges, onion, pineapple, spinach and turnips fall into this category.

4. Cut cravings: Have you ever craved for cabbage and cauliflower? Or felt guilty about eating too many apples? Ever heard a little voice in the back of your head saying “eat, eat, eat broccoli?” Never! Yet, when you eat fried foods, you crave more; when you eat anything with sugar, you crave it. That’s because while natural foods balance the body, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, salt, saturated fat, refined starch and refined sugars cause chemical imbalance in the body, which results in cravings. Work on cutting your cravings, to lose weight.

5. Reboot your brain: Compulsive overeating has more to do with your mind rather than the need to eat. So, basically, it’s about maintaining a balance. For that, you need to be strong-willed. Your decisions are in your control and your brain should be trained to make the right decisions.

6. Think like a kid: Children are always on the go, ready to climb any wall, run, swing, jump over hedges, cycle, fight, play. Exercise comes effortlessly to them. So, if you are trying to get fit, go dust your skates — or buy a new pair and get moving today. Or take out your basketball and start shooting hoops again! You’ll get closer to your weight loss goal by right away. Children are active because moving their bodies brings them joy. Aim to translate the same joy to your workout.

7. Liver detox: Liver is the main fatburning organ, but if it’s overloaded with toxins, it can’t process fat effectively. A tired, toxic liver is the number one stumbling block whenever anyone is trying to lose weight. So, cut down the booze, refined sugar and saturated fat. Do a citrus cleansing of your liver every day — squeeze one-fourth of a lemon, mix it with 250ml warm water, and drink it every morning.

8. Focus on the right nutrients: If you don’t have enough iron, your body doesn’t provide enough oxygen to your cells, which slows down your metabolism, which results in weight gain. Equally important is magnesium, a mineral that increases your metabolism by giving energy to the cells. So, have three to four servings of lean red meat, soy nuts (iron) and peanut, spinach (magnesium) every day

9. Quit worrying: When people are stressed, hormones like cortisol stimulate the appetite, slow the metabolism and encourage fat storage in the abdomen. This increases cravings for sweet, fatty food (chocolate, candy, etc). So, find an activity that reduces stress, like listening to music or practising yoga.

(Part of Mail Today's ninth anniversary series.)

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