When you can’t get to the gym, you may feel helpless about controlling your weight and staying in shape. The truth is, however, a strenuous workout is not the best way to lose weight and feel your best. In fact, some simple self-care habits, like the ones below, can be more effective when it comes to your health.
Address Any Pain or Inflammation
Chronic pain can make it more difficult to stay active and lose weight. A lot of pain sufferers are turning to CBD (or Cannabidiol) to relieve their pain symptoms and help them get more active. CBD is an element found in cannabis, but does not produce the high associated with typical cannabis use. Research increasingly shows that CBD can significantly reduce inflammation and can effectively remedy pain with little negative side effects. But, you need to do some research and talk to your doctor to figure out whether CBD is the right solution for you. Another way to relieve pain, and help with weight loss, is to practice yoga. Certain poses help relieve pain, while also toning your muscles and reducing stress.
Concentrate on Improving Your Diet
When you cannot prioritize fitness, you can still lose a lot of weight by focusing on your diet instead. In fact, changing your eating habits is the most effective, efficient way to lose weight fast—and keep it off. By cutting out simple carbohydrates, sugars, and processed foods, you may be able to easily shed up to 10 lbs. in one week, without making any changes to your activity level. Portion control is also an important element in dropping pounds, so try to be mindful about how much you eat. An easy way to control your portions, and your cravings, is to meal prep. A few basic meal prep recipes are all you need to keep healthy salads, meals, and snacks stocked in your fridge, making it easy and convenient to stick to your new routine.
Look for Low-Impact Workouts
You don’t have to be able to go to Crossfit or run a marathon in order to keep yourself at a healthy weight. A little physical activity can help you manage your waistline, and can even help reduce your pain as well. Instead of stressing yourself out with intense workouts, try committing some of your time to low-impact workouts that will torch maximum calories with minimum stress on your body. Swimming just a few laps is enough to get your heart pumping and your body burning calories, and you will also be building more muscle that will burn excess fat. If exercise is just not an option right now, you can still stay active. Simply getting out for a quick walk, or even exercising your mind, can help you with your weight loss goals when you are unable to get in a workout.
Use Apps to Track Your Diet and Fitness
Whether you can work out a little, a lot, or not at all, accountability is key when it comes to losing weight. You probably use your phone to keep yourself accountable in other areas of your life. Your alarm gets you up in the morning and your calendar helps you track your to-do list. So why not put your phone to work when it comes to your health? There are tons of weight loss apps that can help you track your foods, figure out where you need to cut, and even motivate you to lose more weight and get healthy. Apps like MyFitnessPal can also sync with other health devices to make it effortless to track weight loss factors like sleep, activity, and steps. If you need some basic workout ideas, use one of these workout apps to have various levels of cardio and strength training at your fingertips.
If any injury or illness has taken you out of the gym, you don’t have to give up on your health and fitness goals. Instead, just make a few changes to your daily habits—whether it’s relieving pain or eating healthier—to make a big difference in the way you look and feel. Don’t let a setback turn into a major crisis for your health.
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