Losing weight is certainly no picnic – especially when you’re struggling to achieve the results you want. However, dieting doesn’t need to be as hard as many of us think.

There are some simple lifestyle changes you can make, which require barely any effort, that can help the weight drop off.

Here, we talk you through 10 of the easiest ways you can blitz your body fat – without any added stress.

1. Get more zzzzs

This weight loss trick is so easy you can do it lying down.  Getting enough sleep helps blitz body fat – by curbing cravings, keeping your appetite in check and giving you the energy to move more.

What’s more, a bad night’s sleep can alter the way the body responds to food, leaving you in a vicious cycle. The less you sleep, the more weight you gain, and the more weight you gain, the harder it is to sleep.

A recent study revealed that those who only sleep six hours a night have bigger waistlines and higher BMIs than those who manage nine hours.

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We all want results without getting out of bed. Source: Supplied. 

2. Up your fruit and veggies

Adding more fruit and vegetables to your diet can provide you with speedy weight loss with results that are much more likely to last than fad diets.

A 2017 study found that a diet high in plant products is better for dropping kilos than other conventional diets.

3. Cut portion sizes

You don’t necessarily need to cut out all your favourite foods, you just need to limit how much of it you eat.

If you start by reducing the sizes of your meals by an unnoticeable 10 percent, that’s 10 percent less calories you’re consuming.

4. Eat breakfast

Breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day – as breaking the fast after a night’s sleep gets your metabolism working.

In particular, research shows that people who frequently have cereal for breakfast tend to have healthier weights and lower body mass indexes (BMIs) than those who don’t eat cereal, or who skip breakfast.

Overall, breakfast skippers have higher average BMIs than breakfast eaters, according to a 2003 study.

Check out Jessica Simpson’s amazing 45 kilo weight loss six months after having her third baby. And if you’re after more easy weight loss tips, this way to eat might help. 

Shred for summer with little effort. Image: iStock 

5. Stand up more

A recent study found that standing and sitting more frequently can lead to relatively fast and low-effort weight loss.

6. Switch to water

It may seem a bit contradictory, but one of the best ways to lose water weight is to actually drink more water.

That’s because if you’re constantly dehydrated, your body tends to retain more water in an attempt to prevent its water levels getting too low.

Water also boosts your metabolism, cleanses your body of waste and acts as an appetite suppressant, experts say.

Guidelines suggest about two litres per day, but it can vary from person to person, so simply drink when you’re thirsty and stop when you feel well hydrated.

You can usually use your urine colour as an indicator of hydration – if it’s light yellow or fairly clear then you’re well hydrated.

When it’s dark yellow or amber then you need to be drinking more water.

7. Eat more fibre

Munching on more whole grains is another key food to pick if you want to speed up weight loss.

Thanks to their high-level of fibre, they will make your digestive system healthier and more regulated.

Whole grains also have the added benefit of stopping fat from being stored around the stomach, by lowering the insulin and cortisol (the stress hormone) within your body.

On top of this, they’re a great low-fat source of slow-release energy, which keeps you going throughout the day.

8. Microwave your rice and pasta

The microwave might be the source of the weirdest weight-loss trick of all: pasta and rice that’s been cooked normally, then allowed to cool, then reheated contains less calories, meaning you’ll gain less weight eating it.

It’s because as these foods cool, their digestible starch converts to resistant starch – which your body can’t use.

And if you consider merely using the microwave to be an unachievable effort … well, you’re beyond help.

9. Eat mindfully

You’re more likely to wolf down more food and feel less satisfied by it if you eat while distracted by the telly or your phone.

A 2016 study found you eat less when you take time to focus on the pleasure of what you’re eating – its smell, crunch, texture and taste.

10. Record what you eat

Tracking the food you’re eating is key when it comes to blitzing body fat.

A 2019 study even revealed that people who tracked their food daily using a fitness app lost the most weight compared to those who used the app less diligently.

There are plenty of free apps you can download including MyFitnessPal, which calculates your daily calorie intake and allows you to log what you eat throughout the day from a nutrition database of over six million different foods.

It will also help you understand how the portions of food you eat each day stack up in comparison to one another.

This article was originally published by The Sun and republished here with permission.