Healthy, sustainable weight loss is a slow process that can take weeks or months. But that doesn't mean you can’t take steps that will start boosting your success right now. After all, getting leaner is really about making lots of little choices and changes. You don’t have to wait for those decisions to come to you, though. In the time it takes you to catch up on your social feeds, you could be taking a small, but significant, step that can add up to more kilos lost. Here are 15 to try - all of which will take you less than 15 minutes.
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Check your calendar.
Scan your schedule to see what’s coming up for the week. If you spot anything that might derail your weight loss - like a dinner reservation or a meeting that cuts into your workout time - make a plan for how you’ll stay on track. Maybe you can plan to wake up early to squeeze in a run, or consider reviewing the restaurant menu and pre-selecting a healthy dish to order.
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Soak up the sun.
Spending a few minutes outside before you settle in at your desk might just make those scones in the break room less tempting. As it turns out, exposure to morning sunlight is linked to lower body weight and reduced appetite, found one PLoS One study. Park your car at the furthest corner of the parking lot or get off the train a stop early to soak up some rays.
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Find some fresh culinary inspiration.
Head to Pinterest to hunt for delicious new meal and snack ideas. Take tempting fare like cupcakes and nachos out of the equation by sticking with boards that are dedicated to clean eating. We like this one and this one.
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Call a friend.
Junk food cravings don’t last long, and they’re surprisingly easy to ride out when you have something - or someone - to distract you. Plus, haven’t you been meaning to see if your pal wants to grab a coffee?
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Take a walk during lunch.
Strolling at a brisk pace for 15 minutes burns around 290kJ (70cal). Do it daily, and that’s 2,000kJ (490cal) burned in a week - nearly the equivalent of a banana split. Hey, you just earned yourself a treat!
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Prep healthy snacks for the week.
Portion out nuts and dried fruit into individual bags, wash and slice raw veggies, or whip up a quick batch of hummus. Having clean snacks ready and waiting means you never have to succumb to the vending machine or the junky leftovers in the fridge. Now that’s time well spent.
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Meditate to slash stress.
When you’re trying to slim down, spending a few minutes doing nothing can be a great use of your time. Yes, you read that correctly! Calming activities like meditation thwart the production of cortisol, the stress hormone that drives you to scarf down fatty, sugary snacks.
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Get in the garden.
Pulling up those annoying weeds won’t just make your yard look prettier; it’ll also burn around 250kJ (60cal) in 15 minutes. Not to mention, all that squatting and standing will tone your butt and thigh muscles. Not bad, right?
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Cook a batch of quinoa.
Okay, quinoa technically takes about 18 minutes to make. But it’s one of the quickest cooking whole grains, a type of carb that could help you burn an extra 400kJ (100cal) daily, according to Tufts University findings.
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Grab a mop.
Or a rag, broom, or vacuum. Cleaning counts as legitimate exercise, people! In 15 minutes, you’ll burn around 100kJ (25cal) dusting, 190kJ (45cal) vacuuming, or a whopping 420kJ (100cal) scrubbing the tub. To burn even more kilojoules and make your chores feel, well, less like chores, turn on some tunes and bust a move between tasks.
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Grab the free weights.
If you’re only doing cardio, you’re missing an opportunity to accelerate your weight loss wins. Resistance training builds lean muscle tissue, which burns more kilojoules and fat than not-so-lean body mass. Not sure where to start? Try a few sets of a basic move like squats, deadlifts, or tricep kickbacks.
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Go to bed earlier.
Crawl into bed 15 minutes earlier each night until you’re logging a solid 7 to 8 hours of shut-eye per evening. This way, you’ll actually be well rested come morning. Sleep deprivation can zap your motivation to exercise and drive you to eat more. In fact, one University of Chicago study found that people who are short on sleep take in around 300 more kilojoules a day (usually in the form of high-carb fare) compared to those who logged enough snooze time.
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Tweak your social feeds.
Start following your favourite sites (ahem) or bloggers for a daily dose of wellness inspiration. And consider taking a break from people or sources that tempt you into veering off course - like your former coworker who’s always sharing pictures of her homemade desserts. Sure, they’re impressive, but you don’t need peanut butter brownies in your face every day. One study even found that looking at pictures of high-kJ foods can trigger junk food cravings, so seriously, unfollow.
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Change your light bulbs.
Well-lit spaces make people up to 24% more likely to choose healthy fare, found one Cornell University study. Swap out those dim bulbs or candles for something brighter - and see if a salad doesn’t suddenly sound better than mac and cheese for dinner.
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