3 simple rules to lose 5 pounds without dieting

Lose 5 pounds without dieting and avoid the Cumulative Weight Gain Effect: E.g., Get 2 pounds every year for 10 years, and you're left with 20 pounds! — Lose 5 pounds without dieting and avoid the Cumulative Weight Gain Effect: E.g., Get 2 insidious pounds every year for 10 years, and you’re left with 20 pounds!

Welcome to the Smart, Lazy Dieters Series! We’ve talked about how to use lack of willpower to your advantage, how to lose weight successfully the lazy way, and the best weight loss books for the summer. Today I’ll share with you what I did to lose 5 pounds, without dieting, as an already healthy person with healthy habits. At the end of the post, you’ll also learn what inspired me to create the Smart, Lazy Dieters Series.

But first, let me talk about a time when I hadn’t the healthy habits that I have now. At the time I needed to lose 15 pounds. I strategically chose not to diet but instead, used this as an opportunity to build healthy habits. Those are the healthy habits I still practice to this day:

I went from kind of exercising to working out 5 days a week.
I also went from eating out every day to cooking at home 7 days a week!
I did this by discovering why being lazy with weight loss is smarter than trying hard.

This habit-making strategy can be effectively applied and help you lose 15, 30, or 50 pounds, without feeling restricted or pressured. Weight loss will be a welcome by-product of living healthier. What a good decision I made back then to focus on habits first!

But if your habits are already good enough, then what do you do to lose weight?

Let’s now discuss what I did when I needed to lose 5 pounds without dieting, as an already healthy healthy person with healthy habits. But let me first give you more context about me:

1. I rarely find myself needing to lose weight.

The one time this happened, I needed to lose 5 pounds. You see, my healthy habits keep me inline, without me really trying for it.

2. I usually fluctuate 4 pounds – and that’s normal.

Water fluctuations, travel, all affect the exact number on the scale. When I exceed this 4 pound threshold for a few days in a row, that’s when I start becoming aware of what I eat.

3. Common reasons behind gaining extra weight?

Kids parties with pizzas. Christmas holidays with too many parties and gatherings to attend. Vacation overseas where I had to eat out all the time.

4. But if I only need to lose 5 pounds, and have a normal fluctuation of 4 pounds, then why lose weight on purpose and not leave it up to chance and let my body regulate this?

I could leave things to chance. That’s my default behavior for up to 4 pounds. However, when I exceed this threshold I take conscious action. The reason?

I want to avoid the Cumulative Weight Gain Effect:

Gaining a little bit of weight every year, quickly adds up. For example, 2 pounds every year equals 20 pounds in 10 years. So I’d better devote conscious effort to lose those 2 pounds this year, so that I don’t find myself getting heavier and heavier year after year.

So if I already eat pretty healthy, and exercise, then what did I do to lose the weight? Watch the video to learn the 3 simple rules that I followed to lose 5 pounds without dieting.

Behind the Scenes Info: What inspired this Smart Lazy Dieters Series

When I realized I need to do something about those 5 pounds, I created a program to help me and others from the Fitness Reloaded Insiders lose up to 10 pounds in two months.

And then I received backslash:

“I’ve been really enjoying your book and blog, but this is a disappointment. It’s like Oprah aways talking about self acceptance, then having boot camp! Everything is weight loss, weight loss weight loss. I’m a big fan, but this is distressing.”

Oh, that was a shock! Definitely not the reply I was expecting. And here are parts of my reply:

“I could never do something that feels bad for my body. It’s against my nature and I rebel against it before I even begin. But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to fit in my clothes just like I used to and not having to buy new ones. I also know this didn’t happen because of bad habits but because of special occasions, like vacation, kids parties, etc.”

“I did emphasize appearance in my email, but there’s a difference. I didn’t talk about it from a place of not being “enough” already, but instead from a place of excitement! I am both accepting myself and eager for more, hence the excitement. It’s like waiting for a Christmas present. If I didn’t do so I’d probably feel defeated or something like that.
Think about it: you might want a different house but that doesn’t mean you don’t love your current one! Hating your current situation and wanting to desperately change it is very different than being content with it and just eager for more! Again, it’s like the Christmas present. “

Indeed most people have associated weight loss with a lack of self-acceptance – and who can blame them? However, wanting to lose weight doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t accept yourself, or you hate yourself. It might just mean that you’re looking forward to something different, which is a very exciting place to be. If you follow the Christmas Principle, then no matter what you do, you’ll do it with love. You’ll never pressure yourself, and results will come effortlessly.

After I realized how many bad connotations the words weight loss carry, I decided I need to shed some light to it and show a different way to do it. One that does not involve hate, restriction or pressure, but love, and smart systems. Hence, the Smart, Lazy Dieters Series.

(Yes, we’re not really dieters, but what are we? Lose weighters? In absence of a better word, I went for “dieters”.)

And now I want you to tell me one of the two: