We’ve got some good news for anyone out there that HATES working out but wants to get rid of excess fat. 

You do not HAVE to exercise to lose weight!

 If you are a gym lover, before you stop reading, hear us out. 

What we are about to share is something you also need to be aware of because it could have a more significant impact on fat loss than that hour you spend in the gym.

You see, for most people, calories burned through exercise only account for a VERY SMALL percentage of daily energy consumption.

We get our energy from food, but we can only burn anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of the calories in that food from physical activity, like working out!

That means… you aren’t going to burn a ton of fat from exercise alone! 

In this article, we are going to tell you about FIVE things that you can do that will BURN FAT that don’t involve endless hours of cardio, or picking up a single weight.

Some of these methods are actually well documented to play an even bigger role in losing fat than going to the gym. 

Before we get into these 4 fat burning methods that don’t require the gym, we do want to  clarify that we are not saying skipping out on weight training is a good way to go about reaching your goals.

Working out is not only extremely important for your overall health, building muscle changes the SHAPE of your body. That’s important because nobody wants to just have a skinnier version of themselves. You want your body to actually LOOK and FEEL different.

You can only achieve that with less fat and more muscle. For those that hate the gym, we hate to tell ya, but the only way you can build muscle .. is by picking up those weights! 

Plus, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn even when you aren’t doing anything but sitting on the couch .. or sleeping.  

So weight training .. is important. 

But what if you want to lose weight, but have an injury? What if you don’t have time to hit the gym very often, or you’re just one of those people that will never prioritize weight training, even if you know you should?

That’s what today’s article is about!! Because exercise is not the only way, and not even the most significant contributor when it comes to FAT loss.

4 WAYS TO BURN FAT WITHOUT WORKOUT OUT

1: DIET

We are going to start with what you probably don’t want to hear. But it’s the most important, and that is .. your diet.

This one is crucial because it’s overeating, not lack of exercise that is the primary contributor to so many people being overweight.

If you want to lose fat, especially if you don’t want to workout, you are going to have to be in a calorie deficit (which means you need to take in fewer calories than you burn.)

But you have to create a calorie deficit method that you can sustain.

You never want to do anything drastic or resort to a fad diet that cuts out food groups. If you do that, you will just fall into a vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting and binge eating, weight loss, and then gaining back double.

Your body, metabolism, and mental health .. DO NOT want to go down that road. 

Here are a couple of tips to help make dieting a little easier .. 

Eat foods that keep you fuller, longer, and make sure and include plenty of foods with a high “thermic effect” with every meal. These are basically foods that require your body to use more energy to digest. They can help to temporarily increase your body’s metabolism, which is important if you want to lose fat. Your metabolism dictates the rate at which your body burns calories.

One food that is amazing at providing a metabolism-boosting thermic effect and keeps you feeling full .. is protein. There are countless studies on protein that show how beneficial it is for body composition, including it’s thermogenic effects.

Researchers have repeatedly found that people who consumed more of their total daily calories from protein have a higher metabolic rate than those who consumed less calories from protein. 

Make sure you have protein with every meal, aiming for lean meats such as grilled chicken, white fish, lean beef, eggs, or egg whites.

Also, using a quality protein powder is a great way to get enough protein. Not only is it easy, but you can actually use protein powder to make some pretty tasty, protein-filled foods that normally wouldn’t have much (or any) protein. Things like – protein pancakes, protein smoothies, even protein ice cream! These will not only help satisfy your sweet tooth, but they also help you feel more full.

When it comes to protein powders, you must focus on quality so that you actually absorb the nutrients and don’t experience any GI distress. These issues are super common with low-grade protein powders and often lead to gas and bloating.

Here is our favorite protein powder if you want to check it out. 

Another thing that will really help keep your calories in check is ditching liquid calories. Things like soda, sugary teas, juice, creamy coffee drinks, and alcohol. These are calorie bombs and do NOTHING for keeping you full. That is why they are called EMPTY calories.

2: FOCUS ON N.E.A.T

NEAT stands for Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. This is basically energy expended (or calories burned) for anything you do other than sleeping or working out.

Things like walking, computer work, playing with your kids, yard work, folding laundry, even fidgeting, are all considered NEAT.

These activities may not sound like they would do very much for fat loss, but research has shown that those with higher NEAT levels have less body fat. This is true for people who exercise and those who do not. 

Some studies have found that these NEAT movements can result in upwards of burning an extra 2-thousand calories a day beyond your basal metabolic rate (BMR is just the number of calories required to keep your body functioning .. at rest.)

Now, of course, the number of calories you can burn from NEAT will depend on things like your body weight and also your lifestyle. Still, there is no doubt that high NEAT levels are crucial, possibly even more important than exercise.  

For example, let’s say you sleep for 7 hours and if you do exercise, you exercise for one hour. 

What about those other 16 hours? What are you doing?

These hours matter because they make up the biggest chunk of your day. 

So you have to focus on NEAT, especially if you aren’t working out. 

• Try going on a walk first thing in the morning, on your lunch break, and after dinner.
• Set a reminder alarm to get up and walk around for a few minutes every hour, or get a standing desk to work at so that you’re not sitting all day.
• You can also sneak in extra steps by parking a little further away from your destination or a little further out in the parking lot.
• Take stairs instead of elevators, and even “pacing the room” while you are on phone calls rather than just sitting and staring out the window. 
• Make sure you are moving in other ways throughout the day. Try being more active with your kids, leaning your house, doing some gardening, or even stretching while watching tv!

Essentially, the less you “sit still” (even when you are relaxing), the more calories you will burn without having to technically exercise.

3: DRINK ENOUGH WATER

This one may come as a bit of a surprise, but drinking more water really can help with fat loss!

Just like we’ve seen clients drop fat when doing something as simple as eliminating their coffee run, or cutting out soda, we’ve seen clients do nothing else except start drinking ENOUGH water .. and they drop fat!! 

Researchers have seen the same thing.

In one eight-week study, scientists found that overweight test-subjects who drank about two cups of water (before breakfast, lunch, and dinner) – lost weight, saw a reduction in body mass index, and improved their overall body composition. 

This was achieved with only water .. no additional dietary changes.

There are several reasons why researchers believe this happens. The biggest factor being that the more hydrated you are, the more efficient your body is. 

60% of your body is water. It plays a role in just about every bodily function, including how efficiently your body burns fat. 

Another way researchers believe water can help you lose weight is that it acts as an appetite suppressant. 

When you are even slightly dehydrated, your body sends signals to the brain that are often mistaken for hunger, when really you are just thirsty! This same conversation happens with your brain when your stomach senses that it’s full. 

Since water takes up space in your stomach, filling up on water tells your brain .. “Hey, I’m full. I don’t need to eat or eat as much.”

So drink a big glass of water before you reach for food. You may find those hunger pains go away. If not, having a full belly of water will still make you feel fuller .. so you will be less likely to overeat.  

Another benefit of water is that it  helps your body get rid of waste.

This is super important because if you allow waste to build up, digestive issues start to happen. This will make you feel bloated or swollen and can make you look puffy and soft.

It can even add inches to your waist, or add a few extra pounds of water weight!

One other way that being dehydrated can hurt you is that it can increase your body’s production of the stress hormone cortisol.

We are going to talk more about how cortisol impacts fat loss in our next two tips. But studies have shown that being slightly dehydrated can increase cortisol levels.

When it comes to how much water is enough .. there really isn’t a one-size-fits-all recommendation.

You may have heard “eight 8-ounce glasses per day”, or you may have seen your favorite fitness role model downing 1 or 2 gallons a day.  But really, how much water you need will be dependent on things like .. 

• Age
• Activity level
• The climate where you live
• Your health status

As a starting point, The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) suggests a MINIMUM of 11 cups a day for adult women and about 15 to 16 cups a day for adult men. 

One easy way to know if you are drinking enough is to use thirst as a guide.

If you’re ever thirsty, you’re not drinking enough water. Aim to be proactive with water drinking habits, rather than reactive. Try to drink before you get thirsty. 

You can also do a “urine check” to see how hydrated you are. Your urine should never be dark, it should always be light yellow or nearly clear. 

4: NATURAL HERBS

This last weight-loss tip that doesn’t involve working out is effortless and has helped thousands of our clients shed unwanted fat.

Before we tell you what it is, we want to stress that this trick works BEST when combined with exercise and a healthy eating strategy. Or, in the least, when used along with the other 4 non-exercise fat-loss methods, we just went over.   

You can’t just include this in your day, head to the couch with a bowl of ice cream, and expect fat to melt away.

This method is not magic. But it can assist in fat loss.

Researchers have found, if taken consistently, there are specific natural herbs that can aid in increased fat-loss, without changing anything about what you are currently doing. 

These herbs can help with fat-burn in a few different ways.

• Create a thermogenic effect in your body.
• Increase your metabolism.
• Decrease your response to stress, which we mentioned is a HUGE contributor to weight gain.
• Increase your energy levels, therefore possibly motivating you to be more active.
• Slightly suppress your appetite, which means you won’t have as many cravings or hunger pains. 

Here is a breakdown of a few of the science-backed herbs we discovered that seem to have the most trustworthy research:

1. Capsaicin
2. Green Tea Extract (EGCG) 
3. Grains Of Paradise Seed Extract 
4.  Adaptogens (ex: Yohimbine and Rauwolscine)

Before you head to google and search for ways you can add all these herbs to your diet or supplement stack, you need to know that some of them will need to be in high doses to work. In some cases, they will also need to be encapsulated with a special type of pill coating.

Trying to figure out if a supplement meets these standards, isn’t easy.

If you don’t want the hassle of having to figure it out on your own, we have one for you, BURN EVOLVED

BURN EVOLVED has all of the natural fat-burning ingredients we mentioned above (Capsaicin, ECGC, Paradoxine, Yohimbine, Rauwolscine) – as well as a few other herbs with fat-burning potential. 

It is what we believe to be the best (and safest) thermogenic fat-burner available.

If you want to drop body fat faster (and keep it off), you need to unlock your body’s own natural fat-burning abilities. A quality thermogenic can help you do that.

It will not be very beneficial as a “stand-alone” way to burn fat. Still, it will make everything else you are doing (dieting, eating thermogenic foods, focusing on NEAT, drinking enough water, stressing less, and if you choose to hit the gym) – EVEN MORE effective!

There ya have it .. 4 science-backed ways to lose fat .. that don’t involve working out!

Does all this mean you shouldn’t workout  .. of course not!

Everyone, no matter your goals, should be active! Building muscle has benefits you can’t get from these other 4 fat-burning methods. But we hope this video helps you understand that there are other ways you can burn fat that don’t involve lifting weights. 

Things you should be aware of and implement … even if you love hitting the gym. 

Sources
https://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11518804/weight-loss-exercise-myth-burn-calories
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4258944/ (protein)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12468415/ (NEAT)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279077/ (NEAT)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4901052/ (water)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24179891/ (water)
https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/water-stress-reduction#1 (water)
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130806145542.htm (cortisol/brain)
https://www.capsimax.com/capsimax-difference  (Capsaicin)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23308394/ grains of paradise
http://www.paradoxine.com/science.php  Paradoxine
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/87/3/778/4633440#111217122 (8b) green tea
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15438620600987106 (9b) Yohttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0014299981901230?via%3Dihub (10b) yo
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306987701914598?via%3Dihub (11b) yo