30 Small Changes for Sustainable Weight Loss That Don’t Involve Food

In this article: 

• When it comes to losing weight and managing health, small changes can be more sustainable than a major overhaul. 
• Health and weight loss are about more than just food. Here are 30 non-food weight loss tips you can easily add to your routine. 
• Create impactful habits around sleep, stress management, caring for yourself and others, and staying on top of health screenings, medications, and your doctor’s recommendations. 
• Lark can help you establish healthy habits for long-term changes with 24/7 coaching towards your health and weight loss goals.

Losing weight and managing things like blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure are largely related to what you eat, but choices throughout the day and night also have an impact. There’s no need for a sudden overhaul of your lifestyle to lose weight and improve health. Instead, it can be more effective to make 1-2 small changes at a time so you can establish habits and maintain benefits. Here are 30 ways to get started. 

Sleep Habits for Health and Weight Loss

1. Have a consistent bedtime. A consistent bedtime can be as important as the amount of total sleep you get. 
2. Go to bed 15 minutes earlier. Getting adequate sleep can lower your risk for accidents and injuries. In addition, getting more shuteye can lower blood sugar and blood pressure.
3. Stretch before bedtime. A bedtime routine can make sleep easier. Consider adding stretching, reading, or anything else you find relaxing.
4. Keep a journal by your bed. If you worry at night, write down the worry so you’re free to leave it until the next morning. 
5. Stop using social media within 30 minutes of bedtime. Scrolling social media can be endless. Limit yourself to avoid letting it keep you up late.
6. Eat an earlier or smaller dinner. If your stomach ever bothers you at night, try eating a lighter dinner with less fat and sugar. Finish eating 2-4 hours before bedtime.

Daily Movement for Weight Loss

1. Take the stairs instead of the elevator one or more times a day. Along with burning a couple calories and getting your blood circulating, it can lower blood sugar and help you maintain functionality.
2. Stand up, pace, or walk during phone calls. It’s a way to break up sedentary time without taking any time away from your day.
3. Park further away. Wherever your destination is, park a little further away than you normally do. Even parking at the far side of the parking lot makes a difference.
4. Set a timer for once an hour. When the timer goes off, stand up and move for 1-2 minutes. Walk, march in place, or do squats, lunges, or dips. You’ll improve blood sugar and blood pressure.
5. Walk before getting into the car and after getting out of the car. Anytime you park the car, walk 1-2 extra minutes before entering your destination. When leaving, walk 1-2 minutes before getting into your car. 
6. Walk for 5 minutes before or after meals. Try a walk before or after breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or work up to walking before or after 2 or 3 meals. 
7. Stretch once in the morning or afternoon. Focus on your shoulders, neck, and back to release tension from sitting. 
8. Strengthen muscles while brushing your teeth. Try wall sits, calf raises, and squats. 
9. Work on balance while waiting. Stand on one leg, then the other, while waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting for a bus to come.
10. Add 5 minutes of tidying to your bedtime routine. It’ll get you some extra activity in the day without interfering with sleep. As an extra component to your bedtime routine, tidying up can help you sleep better and wake up to a tidier home.

Stress Management for Weight Loss and Health

1. Breathe. Deep breathing can help relax you. Breathe in deeply, hold for a moment at the top, and breathe out slowly. Repeat until you reach 5-10 slow breaths. Try this every day until it becomes such a familiar routine that you can use it to center yourself when you feel stress. 
2. Visualize success. In your head, imagine yourself being successful, whatever success may mean to you at this time. It could mean relaxing, feeling happy, achieving a promotion, or spending a peaceful afternoon with a friend. Visualizing success makes it easier to achieve. 
3. Count to 10 before reacting. If you feel yourself getting angry or upset, count to 10 slowly before you respond at all. The habit of pausing before responding can help prevent you from doing or saying anything that you may regret or that may escalate a situation.
4. Check in with nature. Being in nature can be stress-reducing and mood-boosting. Lakes, forests, fields, and mountains can be great choices, but if you live in urban areas, parks, backyards, and even trees and porch gardens can work.

Self-Care, Gratitude and Social Connections for Health

1. Phone your friends. Staying socially connected can improve your mental health and inspire you to make better choices for your physical health. 
2. Identify 3 things or people you’re grateful for every day. Write them down or mentally note them.
3. Thank people. Anytime someone does something that improves your life, let them know. Thank them and tell them how it helped you. 
4. Volunteer or help your community once a month. Pack bags at a food pantry, read to kids at a school, shelve books at a library, or pick up trash at a park. It’ll make you feel good!

Healthcare and Self-Monitoring Habits 

1. Schedule and attend recommended screenings. Ask your doctor if you’re due for screenings like blood sugar, blood cholesterol, and blood pressure tests. 
2. Weigh in weekly or more often. Self-monitoring habits like weighing yourself can help you stay motivated and keep weight off. Weigh in at least once a week to stay informed and quickly notice any increases in weight.
3. Measure blood pressure daily if your provider recommends it. If you have high blood pressure, home monitoring can help you stay informed on how your blood pressure is doing. Monitoring blood pressure at home every day lets you detect rises more quickly so you can change your care regimen if needed. 
4. Test blood sugar as recommended. If you have diabetes, your provider may have asked you to test blood sugar one or more times daily. It can help you keep blood sugar within range and learn how different eating patterns and exercise habits affect your levels. It can also help prevent dangerous highs and lows.
5. Set reminders on your phone for each medication that you take. It’s easy to forget to take a dose, but taking medications as prescribed makes them more effective. 
6. Log your meals, steps, and workouts. It’s motivating and helps you keep up the habit.

How Lark Can Help

Small changes to your regular routine can help you lose weight and improve health, including when those changes aren’t related to food. Lark can help you make small changes to establish habits. Your Lark coach is available 24/7 for encouragement, nutrition and physical activity coaching, and habit tracking. Lark can help you make healthy choices and establish habits that fit into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off with or without GLP-1 medications. 

Click here to see if you may be eligible to join Lark today!