While I enjoy going to the gym and exercising, I would be lying if I said I feel motivated to hit the gym 100% of the time. There are periods of time that I am incredibly motivated to workout multiple times a week, and there are others where I struggle to get to the gym on a regular basis. Being in a city that gets crazy cold can put a huge damper on wanting to leave the house at times. Because of this, I am sharing with you several lazy girl fitness tips that I use to get me through those patches of time when the workout struggle is real.
Lazy Girl Fitness Tips
Let’s be real for a sec because this is important. Just because you can’t make it to the gym every day does not mean you are lazy. Life happens, work happens, commitments happen. Plus, we all know that endless hours at the gym and super restrictive diets can sometimes be super hard to maintain. As you know by now, I will always advocate eating healthy and exercising, but there are other ways to lose weight without making the gym your second home.
#Facts
The truth is, we all have a lazy person inside of us, and sometimes it is easier to prioritize other things over health and fitness. Sometimes we want to change our bodies, but we do not want to spend the time to make those changes. Often the lazy person wins the battle, and we are stuck in a repetitive cycle of wanting to make changes, but not being able to.
For those who struggle with winning the internal struggle with the lazy person inside of you, these tips will help you creatively lose weight and win the battle with your inner lazy person.
12 Lazy Girl Fitness Tips
Before I get into my lazy ways to lose weight, I must make a disclaimer. Every tip below will require some effort from you to implement. This post will not be filled with intense workouts like my typical posts, but consider it as a guide filled with tips that you can add to your daily routines to help you lose weight. But since we all know how much I love sharing workouts, I will include several exercises for lazy girl workout routines that you can start doing along with the tips I’ll be sharing.
Remember, it all starts with you.♥
Use Smaller Plates
Start with a small plate and a smaller portion, and you will be surprised by how well this method works. It’s the same as having a giant plate of food, and feeling like you must eat everything on the plate.
Let us not use the small plate as an excuse to take multiple trips to refill it. When you go to a restaurant, and they serve you on a giant plate, for some reason it makes us feel like we must eat the entire serving. The problem with thinking this way is that in most cases the serving sizes in American restaurants are 2 to 3 times larger than what they should be, which makes us overeat when we finish the full meal.
When you are at a restaurant, opt for the half portion size if that is an option. At home, instead of grabbing the large dinner plate, grab the next size down for your meal. Sometimes when we are hungry, our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. What I mean by this, is that we think that we are much hungrier than we actually are, so we pile food onto our plates which forces us to overeat.
In many cases for me, I feel like I am ravenous in my mind. I grab a plate, put a regular amount of food on it, and when I am done, I feel full.
By grabbing a smaller plate, you are forcing yourself to eat a smaller portion, which results in consuming fewer calories and ending in you losing weight. Taking the smaller plate and smaller portion approach is one of the best lazy ways to lose weight because it is an easy change that does not require a huge effort to implement. The self-restraint of sticking with eating a small portion size can help you lose weight the lazy way.
Do Not Drink Your Calories
Many of the drinks we consume like soda and energy drinks are filled with empty calories. Yes, that also includes those “sugar-free” diet sodas. The empty calories in those drinks help to make us overweight because they cause our bodies to store excess fat. The average latte drink from Starbuck’s has about 200 calories in it, and we typically do not drink coffee alone.
So think about it this way, if you have your latte with 200 calories, and you add a slice of cake or other breakfast pastry that contains 300 – 500 calories, you have already started your day by consuming 500 – 700 empty calories.
Try to avoid drinks that are filled with empty calories, as they will hinder your ability to lose weight the lazy way.
Slow Down When You Eat
While many of us are lazy about working out, we act like we are racing against time when it comes to eating our food. Meaning you are always the first person done with your meal, or you can eat an entire sandwich in a couple of minutes.
When we eat in public, we tend to eat our food slower because we don’t want to look like animals in front of everyone in the restaurant. If you have guests in your home, you probably take a similar approach because you are entertaining and conversing while consuming your meal.
When we eat our food too quickly, we do not allow ourselves enough time to enjoy what we are eating. If your food is here one second and gone the next, how could you have really enjoyed your meal?
When you sit down to eat a meal, try to take your time and eat each bite. Remember when you were a kid, and your grandma told you to count to 10 as you chewed your food? Well, I am not saying that you must count each bite you take, but you get my drift.
It takes our bodies time to decide if we are full or not. If you eat your food too fast, your brain might not have enough time to catch up resulting in you going and getting that extra plate of food. When you slow down and eat your food, you allow your body to trick itself into thinking it is full. It takes our brains about 20 minutes to feel full after we eat, so if you do not feel full immediately after eating, wait a bit before going in for that next serving.
Listen to Music
Another lazy way to lose weight is to listen to music. Hear me out before you scroll on to the next tip.
Many lazy girls go to the gym from time to time, but when you get there, you do not do much exercise.
You arrive at the gym, do a couple of movements, and then you’re out of there. Does this sound familiar?
If so, this is where music comes in handy. When you workout with your favorite music playing, you distract yourself from being so focused on what you are doing.
Tip: do not become so distracted that you are trying to lift too much weight or use improper form.
But, immerse yourself into some of your favorite music while you are there. When we do this, we distract ourselves from being so focused on getting our workouts over and doing the bare minimum. Listening to music can get you so in the zone that you end up doing more reps, and having a much better workout than you would have otherwise had.
Walk More, Drive Less
This may not sound like a lazy girl hack, because it is so easy to get in our cars and drive even the shortest distances, but it can be helpful.
Walking outside does not require a huge effort, and taking a walk can help you burn calories after a meal. Which can result in weight loss.
If you live in an area where things you need are close to you, take a walk. If the grocery store is close by and you only need a few small items, walk instead of driving. The more steps you incorporate into your days, the better off you will be.
Plus, taking a walk is way easier than getting dressed to go to the gym, or running outside. Taking a walk is an easy and lazy way to burn a few calories.
While walking will not burn nearly as many calories as working out at the gym, something is better than nothing when you are taking the lazy way to lose weight.
Drink More Water
Did you know that if you consume a glass of water before your meals, it can help you to eat less? In many cases, as I mentioned earlier, we are not as hungry as we may think we are.
Before sitting down to have a meal, try to drink a full glass of water. Drinking a glass of water before a meal can act as an appetite suppressant which in turn will make you eat less food.
When we drink water, our stomach’s feel fuller faster, and in some cases, it can reduce that 20 minutes it takes us to feel full down to 10 minutes. Making this another great lazy girl way to lose weight.
Avoid Packaged and Highly Processed Foods
Avoiding highly processed foods is a tip that I will repeat over and over again. Highly processed and packaged foods are loaded with preservatives and sodium. The excess sodium makes our bodies retain water, which results in weight gain instead of weight loss.
Try to avoid the fast food window, and opt for healthier choices like fruits and vegetables. When possible, try to cook your food at home as much as you can using fresh ingredients.
Plan Meals Ahead
Most of us are busy adults who struggle to find enough hours in our days. Sometimes being too busy can result in us getting even lazier, and making bad food choices.
If you are someone who does not have time to exercise all the time, you will want to take extra care to pay attention to what you are putting into your body.
You can do this by planning your meals for the week, and packing your lunch and snacks for the day. When we are hungry, our brains want fuel, so we go for the first thing in sight.
By preparing your meals in advance, you will have healthy options in front of you to stop you from grabbing chips, candy, or other unhealthy options.
Brush Your Teeth After Meals
When we brush our teeth, our mouths feel minty fresh. In most cases, we may want water when we are done. But the last thing you want after brushing your teeth is food.
Toothpaste and food just don’t go well together. The other benefit of brushing after meals is that you are removing excess food particles from your teeth, and keeping those chompers nice and white.
If you consume dessert with your meal, brushing your teeth right when you are done can be the difference between being done, or choosing to have another cupcake.
Taking the extra 2 minutes to brush your teeth, can act as a great way to curb your appetite. Brushing your teeth does not take up much time, and it is a great lazy way to keep your portion consumption under control.
Green Tea
I love drinking tea. Green tea is one of my favorite teas because it has so many health benefits. Green tea helps to burn belly fat, boost your metabolism, and it aids in digestion.
If you’re feeling lazy, drinking a metabolism boosting beverage like green tea is a double win for you. You can consume a delicious drink that also aids in boosting your body’s functionality.
Get Rid of the Sweatpants
Sweatpants are some of the most forgiving clothes out there. And I know that they are the clothing of choice for most of us when we are feeling lazy.
The problem with wearing sweatpants all the time is that it makes it hard for us to see when our bodies are changing. They stretch as our bodies stretch, and before we know it, they are the only item of clothing we can wear because nothing else fits.
Try to wear clothes that are less stretchy to keep you in check with how your weight is progressing. Jeans, unlike sweatpants, will tell you immediately if you are bursting out of the seams. And trust me, the first time your jeans don’t zip or button, you will have no problem saying no to that extra cookie or cupcake.
Do Shorter Workouts
Don’t get scared reading this. I know that going to the gym is not the favorite activity when you are feeling lazy.
Trust me, I understand that getting off the couch, and getting to the gym is not always the easiest thing to do. So I am not asking you to go to the gym and do 60 deadlifts (although your legs would thank you later if you did). What I am asking is that you commit to shorter workouts that can be done at home or the gym.
If you are looking to see drastic results, you will want to eventually build up your workouts to a point where you exercise frequently, and with a higher intensity. But, since you are reading this lazy girl guide to getting fit, I’ll go out on a limb and say it is probably safe to assume that we are not there just yet.
And that is ok because eventually, you will get there. The key here is to get started because as I always say, we all have to start somewhere.
There are several workouts that you can do at home that will only take 10 – 15 minutes of your day. These workouts can be done in the morning before work, or even after work as soon as you get home.
When I work out, I typically do so for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes. So to put this in perspective, I am only asking you for 10 – 15 minutes total.
How hard could that be, right? That’s not much time from your day even if you are feeling lazy. You could knock that out by listening to a few songs. See, easy, right?
1 – Song Workout
This one- song workout will tighten your tummy and flatten your abs, and it will be over before you know it!
10 Minute Workout To Sculpt Your Body
This 10-minute workout will tighten up all of the muscles in your body!
No Gym, No Equipment, No Problem
This exercise routine can be done in the morning or in the afternoon, and the best part is that you do not need any equipment.
Want a Better Butt?
Try this 30-day glute challenge that can be done in 10 minutes or less each day for 30 days.
Workout courtesy of Blogilates
Who Doesn’t Need to Wind Down Before Bed?
Here is a quick 7-minute routine that you can do to help stretch your body and prepare for a relaxing night of rest
Wrapping Things Up
We all have periods of time when we do not feel like working out. The goal is to keep yourself accountable and not to allow those periods of laziness become your lifestyle. Being fit is a lifestyle, and with small changes to your daily habits, you can maintain your goal weight and look and feel good! Try adding these lazy girl hacks to your routine to burn calories, and lose weight.
Be sure to pin this post on Pinterest to access it over and over, and share with a friend! And follow me on instagram for more workouts!
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