The holistic weight loss approach can help you shed unwanted weight in a sustainable way that will also make your body stronger and healthier. In this post, I’ll give you the not-so-secret secrets on how to lose weight without dieting, based on a naturopathic approach. The goal? To make you a healthier woman who also feels happier in her body.
Be Kind to Yourself
My best weight loss tip for women is to start by treating yourself and your body with love and kindness. Not being at your ideal weight isn’t a moral failing – you’re a wonderful, strong person, and your size says nothing about your worth.
During the first few weeks of weight loss efforts, cultivate an attitude of self-love. Try mindfulness meditation to help you eliminate negative self-talk, or practice positive affirmations in the morning. A positive mindset will help you stay motivated even when you hit hurdles.
It’s Not All-or-Nothing
With diets, there’s often an “all-or-nothing” mindset that leads to cycles of extreme restriction followed by binge eating. You may have heard of “yo-yo” dieting or know people who gained weight immediately after stopping their diet.
In part, this comes from the mentality that you have to do things perfectly or not do them at all. Instead, for holistic weight loss, it’s much better to focus on living your life in a way that encourages healthy eating, and to aim for “good enough” rather than “perfect.”
Keep Your Diet Natural
Now, let’s get actionable. My next weight loss tip for women is to try to eat more naturally. The fewer processed or pre-packaged foods, the better. Processed food is often laden with unhealthy fats and sugars, and tends to be very calorific but minimal in beneficial nutrients.
Whole foods, especially plants, are low in calories but pack a big punch of vitamins and antioxidants. The larger a role they play in your diet, the easier you’ll find it to shed weight quickly.
Depending on your previous lifestyle, eating whole foods might be a big change, so take things slow.
Meal Prep
The most affordable way to eat naturally is to make your own food. In today’s busy world, finding the time to cook can be difficult. It’s often easier to find one or two days a week when you can prepare meals in bulk, rather than having to make three meals from scratch every day. This will also make it easier for you to keep track of calories and nutrients.
Drink Enough Water
We need water to live. It’s simple and fundamental. Being dehydrated makes it much more difficult for the body to move and function well. Instead, it triggers muscle breakdown and fatigue.
While drinking more water alone isn’t going to help you lose weight, it’s essential for supporting your other holistic weight loss efforts. In particular, drinking water will be beneficial as an alternative to sugar-dense beverages.
Eat Enough
Eating 900 calories a day might be the fastest way to lose weight as a woman, but it’s unlikely you’ll keep it off. Whether you decide to track calories or not, it’s important you eat enough to fuel your body.
Extremely restrictive eating can put the body into “starvation” mode where it retains fat, not to mention that it’s entirely unsustainable. Instead, you can try intuitive eating or make sure to have realistic daily calorie targets.
Eat More Protein
Hunger is another great demotivator when it comes to weight loss. The best foods for staving off hunger are rich in proteins. As a bonus, they also help the body build muscle, especially if you’re exercising regularly.
Get your protein from diverse, minimally-processed sources. Chicken and fish are excellent choices, while vegetarians will benefit from beans, eggs, tofu, tempeh, nuts, and plain Greek yogurt.
Try Food Tracking
Food tracking can be incredibly beneficial for some women. You want to be aware of what you eat and when, as well as which foods keep you full. For some, it’s also the best way to stay on track if sticking to a specific nutritional plan.
The type of tracking you choose can vary, though. Knowing how many calories you’re consuming can be helpful for some and harmful for others. Tracking your macronutrients, like proteins, carbs, and fats, might be more beneficial, instead.
Try a Holistic Weight Loss Program
For many women, losing weight is a struggle. We live in a society that makes it difficult to lead a healthy life.
Our lives are busy and stressful while the most accessible foods are the least healthy. Diet culture is demoralizing – the extreme calorie restrictions are impossible to stick to, while the appearance-focused messaging only leads to self-hate.
For these reasons, I’m fully aware that some of my suggestions will be very difficult to follow. Individual factors like genetics and hormonal imbalance make it even more difficult for some women to lose weight.
But I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to do this alone. As a naturopath, I help women develop holistic weight loss programs that take into account their lifestyle and individual conditions like PCOS or hypothyroidism. There is no one-size-fits all when it comes to weight loss for women.
If you’d like to start your weight loss journey, book a consultation today.