Trying to lose weight is, for most of us, vexing, exhausting, and filled with contradictory information. In a 2016 article published in The New York Times Magazine, author and neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt notes that there's a robust body of research showing that "in the long run dieting is rarely effective, doesn't improve health, and does more harm than good." The crux of the issue, Amodt writes, is the fact that each person has what's referred to as their body's "set point" — a certain weight range that "varies from person to person, [and] is determined by genes and life experience." The brain will engage in all sorts of tactics to bring the dieting body back into its set point range, and this is why diets so often fail.



The combined effect of all this information — to say nothing of how hard it can actually be to lose weight — can quickly lead to a sense of paralysis and feeling overwhelmed. To say that it's fraught would be an understatement akin to noting that the Titanic had a small misunderstanding with an iceberg.

If diets aren't an effective means of long-term, sustainable weight-loss, then what can help people shed some pounds without the negative consequences of dieting? We spoke with some experts on the matter, and they helped clear away the confusion.

Public enemy number one: stress

One sneaky piece of the weight-gain equation is, surprisingly, stress. And even celebs aren't immune to life stress leading to packing on the pounds. As Doctor Fatima Cody Stanford explained to Glamour, "A large majority of my patients will gain weight when they have stress." And she would know: Doctor Stanford is an obesity medicine physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and instructor of medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She added that this typically happens in cases of chronic stress: "[t]here's a certain threshold by which people can identify when they feel that burden of stress, beyond daily life stress…. Usually when that threshold has been reached is when we see the battle with weight regulation."

Why does this happen? Kate Klein, a naturopathic doctor based in Durham, Ontario, told us that stress causes our bodies to produce high levels of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol "leads to insulin spikes, which then makes our blood sugars drop, leading to cravings of sugary and/or salty food," and can lead to "emotional eating [and] over-eating," Klein explained, which is quite a double-whammy when it comes to weight-gain.

De-stress

Since stress makes our bodies pack on the pounds, one of the best things we can do for both health and if we're trying to lose weight — and this is some of the best health advice ever, short of being ordered to go sit on a tropical island — is to relax. According to Klein, "Learning to cope with stress in healthy ways such as exercise, meditation, mindfulness, etc. can help control or manage our stress, which in turn may lead to weight-loss."

Janis Isaman, a Calgary-based trainer and nutrition coach, told us that yoga, especially relaxing types such as yin and hatha, are "one of the ways to down-regulate the nervous system. If you are bombarded with physical or mental stress, busyness, noise, people all day, you need to try this as a tool to calm your body down. Calmer bodies reach for food less often and store food differently."

So when you're feeling frazzled and in need of a break, remember: not only is relaxation good for your overall health, it can even help with your weight.



Drink more water

You've probably heard that if you want to lose weight, you should drink more water. That's not all, because the benefits of water are touted all over the internet. Whether you believed in water's ability to help you lose weight in the past or not, our expert said it's totally true! Rebecca Kerkenbush, a clinical dietician in Watertown, Wisconsin, explained that increasing your water intake — and if not plain water, then other low-calorie or no-calorie beverages like sparkling water, seltzer water, or tea — can help control your appetite.

"Our body may signal hunger when in reality we're thirsty," she explained, which can lead to unnecessary food consumption when what you really need is some water. Also, she noted, "adequate hydration can also aid with digestion," so you derive multiple benefits from staying attached to that water bottle.

Even though some no-calorie beverages have the same benefits as water, the weight loss benefits don't necessarily apply to diet soda. So choose your beverage carefully.

Eat more protein

While it's easy to associate the idea of high protein intake with those uber-manly tubs of protein powder and biceps the size of the Space Shuttle, eating extra protein can greatly help with weight-loss efforts. Kerkenbush recommends eating 20 to 30 grams of protein per meal, and notes that it can "help with satiety and stabilizing blood sugars."

Lauren Harris-Pincus, a registered dietitian specializing in weight management, told us via email that eating a high-protein breakfast is especially important. "Most people do not eat enough protein at breakfast," she explained, noting that it's important to "distribute protein throughout the day to maximize muscle growth and repair and prevent muscle loss as we age." Harris-Pincus added that eating a breakfast rich in fiber and protein will keep you feeling full and satisfied for longer, and can help keep mindless snacking to a minimum.

Where to get all that protein? Kerkenbush recommends looking to foods like lean meats, nut butters, seeds, low-fat or non-fat dairy products, seafood, and tofu.


Exercise is key

In news that likely won't come as a surprise, exercise is a key component if you want to lose weight without going on a diet. However, there are some surprising details about how and when you exercise that can have an impact on weight-loss efforts! For example, a study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport and explained in Prevention by trainer and fitness writer Linda Malone, women who ate a high-protein meal before exercising burned more calories than women who exercised on an empty stomach—so if pre-breakfast sweat sessions aren't your thing, there's no need to force yourself to do it in the name of a better calorie burn.

Additionally, according to a study published in the Journal of Endocrinology, men who exercised more intensively, and for a longer period of time, had lower levels of ghrelin—a hormone that stimulates hunger—than men who participated in moderate exercise. While the link between exercise and ghrelin levels isn't clearly understood, the study suggests that long stretches of vigorous exercise may help keep hunger at bay.

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