How to Lose Weight Without Stress and Exhausting Workouts

During quarantine, extra pounds can accumulate due to two main processes: fluid retention in the body and excess fat.

This article explains how these processes are connected, why you shouldn't torture yourself with exhausting workouts wrapped in plastic wrap, and provides several tips on how to return to a normal routine without stress.

It’s Not All Fat; Some of It Is Water

Physical activity levels have dropped for everyone during quarantine. We move less: there’s no need to commute to work, no need to go out for lunch, gyms are closed, and the path from the bed to the computer or fridge takes less than a minute.

In such conditions, fluid can stagnate in the body, leading to swelling. The best thing you can do right now is to add some physical activity in the initial stage. This could be a 40-minute walk at a steady pace, any form of exercise, dancing, or a 30-minute home workout. All of these activities will help reduce fluid retention and improve your condition. Fluid retention also occurs when you overeat carbohydrates.

When there’s an excess of glucose in the body, it’s stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. One molecule of glycogen attracts four molecules of water!

When you overeat bread, chips, sweets, even fruits, or drink a lot of alcohol, your body accumulates excess glucose, which then turns into glycogen and is stored in the liver and muscles.

This explains the sudden weight gain overnight, such as seeing an increase of 1.5-2 kg on the scale in the morning. This is due to the accumulation of fluid and glycogen in the body.

If this sounds like you, eliminate fast carbohydrates, reduce the number of fruits to one per day, cut out white bread, alcohol, and sweets from your diet.

If you can’t completely give up sweets, opt for a small piece of dark chocolate (not milk) and consume it with other food. Don’t eat it separately, especially with tea or coffee, as this combination can also cause swelling.

How to Lose Weight Without Stress

Understand that fat is a high-energy substance. For instance, 1 kg of body fat provides 7,500 calories of energy. To burn 1 kg of fat, you need to expend that amount of energy.

This doesn’t mean you should wrap yourself in plastic wrap and run 10 km if you haven’t even run 2 km before.

Remember, your body is very intelligent. If you subject it to such stress, you risk breaking down the next day—that’s just how our nervous system works.

Here are a few tips to reduce body fat without torturing yourself.

1. Reduce Portion Size and Add Vegetables Reduce your intake of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats while adding more vegetables. Of course, you still need carbs, proteins, and fats, but allocate half of your plate to vegetables. This way, your portion will be large enough, but its calorie content will be lower.

   Also, include lean proteins: lean meats, lean fish, eggs. Use plant-based fats, as they provide good satiety and are beneficial for the body. They are found in vegetable oils, avocados, nuts, and seeds. You can add a small amount of plant-based fats to each meal. But remember the quantity: eating 5 avocados is also bad.

2. Avoid Snacking Remember that a snack is also a meal. Coffee with milk is a snack, and coffee with milk and a cookie is quite a caloric snack.

   Have regular and complete meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This way, you’ll be less likely to snack.

   If you really want a snack, choose healthy alternatives: fruit leather, whole-grain bread with peanut butter, a cereal-nut bar, a serving of yogurt, one fruit, or a small portion of berries.

   Also, remember to eat 2.5-4 hours after your last meal. Maintain proper intervals and make smart snack choices.

3. Drink Water Monitor your water balance. If you drink too little water, lymphatic drainage won’t occur, leading to swelling as mentioned above.

4. Increase Activity Levels Once you’ve gradually introduced daily physical activity, you can engage in more active exercises.

   For example, when you run or jump rope, your heart rate increases. The heart uses fat as an energy source. Therefore, when you engage in active sports and your heart rate increases, lipolysis (fat breakdown) processes intensify.

   However, remember not to exhaust yourself with high-intensity workouts. Start small, and once you get used to it, you can gradually increase the intensity.