Weight loss is the most common fitness & health goal. Many people struggle with it, because they don’t know how to achieve it. However, there are plenty of ways to lose weight.

A lot of diet plans can leave you feeling hungry and deprived, and they’re not sustainable in the long run.

The best and healthiest way to shed those unwanted pounds and keep them off permanently is to lose weight naturally. The key is to find balance and find a plan that you can do long-term, not something extreme that will make you torture yourself or that will lead to weight gain because it’s so unsustainable.

That’s why I’m sharing a roundup of healthy and natural weight loss strategies that are proven to work and will help you reach your weight loss goals.

20 Healthy Ways To Lose Weight Naturally

Eat more produce

Eating more fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to lose weight naturally. Fruits and veggies are high in nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, and usually lower in calories than other foods.

That makes them perfect for healthy weight loss. 

Plus, they’re full of fiber, which helps your digestive system.

Don’t skip breakfast

Skipping breakfast isn’t a good way to lose weight. In fact, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it gives you energy for the whole day.

So, you should strive to eat energy-packed breakfasts every day, which will help you not binge-eat later on in the day. A good breakfast will make you feel full until lunch.

Switch to whole grains

Instead of eating regular grains, switch to whole grains. Processed grains are stripped of valuable nutrients, and whole grains have all of it - so by eating whole grains, you’re getting more nutrients, which is overall important for your health and for weight loss.

Portion control

An important aspect of weight loss is portion control. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to stop eating before you’re full.

That simply means making sure you don’t eat more than you need to be full, and that you eat more healthy than less healthy foods.

When we fill up our plate with a huge portion, we often tend to eat all of it, just because it’s on the plate and we don’t want to eat. Or we eat all of it mindlessly, without even stopping to see if we’re full before finishing the plate. So, we overeat.

To stop that from happening, put smaller portions on the plate. You can always add more later if needed.

Also, make sure you put more veggies on the plate, and fewer carbs or any unhealthy parts.

A general rule (which you don’t have to follow always and completely, but generally strive for that) is that half of your plate should be veggies, one quarter should be protein, and one quarter should be healthy carbs. Plus, you can add some healthy fats to any of those parts.

Make healthy swaps

An easy way to lose weight naturally is to make healthy swaps. That means eating like you normally would but switching out some foods you eat that aren’t super healthy, or that are higher in calories, with similar-tasting healthier options.

For example, switch pizza crust to cauliflower crust. From time to time, switch regular rice to cauliflower rice. Swap mashed potatoes with cauliflower mash. Switch heavy cream sauce with greek yogurt or light cream cheese sauce. Swap regular desserts for fruit-based desserts. Switch from sodas to freshly squeezed fruit juices. Swap out regular spaghetti with zucchini noodles from time to time.

Making those simple changes will really have an impact on your weight loss journey. 

Eat more protein

Protein is important for weight loss, because it keeps you full, gives you energy, and helps you build muscle.

Strive to eat high protein foods with every meal - eggs, chicken, turkey, etc.

Also eat protein-rich vegetables and legumes - beans, chickpeas, etc.

Cut down on alcohol

Alcohol has lots of calories, and if you’re not careful, you can compromise your weight loss results because of alcohol. We tend to forget drinks have calories, and alcohol typically has lots of them. Especially if we’re talking about cocktails.

So try to limit your alcohol intake when you’re on a weight loss journey.

Cut down on fast food

When you’re on a weight loss journey, fast food isn’t something you should eat often. Obviously, it’s very unhealthy and very high in calories, so when you’re trying to be on a low calorie diet, or just overall trying to eat better, it’s not the right choice.

Of course, it’s okay to eat it every now and then, I already said it and I’ll say it again - it’s all about the balance and finding something you can do long term, which usually means you’ll eat junk food from time to time.

However, try not to eat it often, and make sure the majority of the food you eat is healthy and nutritious.

Get active

Working out will help you burn calories more quickly, and it will help you get tones. There are many different ways you can be active: lifting weights, doing cardio, pilates, yoga, dance classes, hiking, etc. Find something you enjoy and do it a few times per week.

It will also help you boost your metabolism and burn body fat.

Drink water

I probably don’t even have to talk about the health benefits of staying hydrated - you know it’s essential. Make sure you drink enough water throughout the day. If that’s something you struggle with, check out this post where I provided easy ways to drink more water daily.

Check labels

Make a habit of checking labels when grocery shopping. Make seemingly healthy foods actually have tons of artificial ingredients in them, so make sure the foods you’re getting are actually clean and healthy.

Eat more fiber

Fiber helps your digestive system, and it’s important to eat it with every meal. High-fiber foods are fruits and vegetables, and we already talked about the importance of eating produce daily.

Eat slowly

When you chew slowly, you give your brain enough time to figure out when you’re full. When you eat super fast, you’ll tend to eat more, because your brain doesn’t have time to realize you got full in the middle of eating, so you’ll end up overeating.

Balanced diet

A balanced diet is key to healthy weight loss. You want to strive to eat healthy most of the time, but let yourself eat the less healthy foods you enjoy from time to time. It will actually help you stick to your healthy diet, and you won’t end up binge eating.

Cook your meals

Instead of eating out or ordering food all the time, cook your meals. That way you know exactly what’s in them, and you can control the ingredients that go into the food, and the way it’s prepared.

Plan your meals in advance

Planning your meals in advance will allow you to make a balanced plan for the whole day, instead of just focusing on individual meals.

Meal prep

Prepping your meals in advance, or at least parts of your meals, helps you lose weight because you won’t end up ordering something unhealthy when you don’t have time to cook - instead, you’ll have a healthy meal ready to go.

Get enough sleep

Getting enough sleep is very important for processing and digesting the food you ate, and that’s very important for weight loss.

Stick to your grocery list

When you go grocery shopping, make a list and stick to it. When you don’t, you end up buying unhealthy things because they seem interesting and they catch your eye easily.

Don’t ban any foods

Don’t ban any foods completely. As long as you eat healthy most of the time, no food will make you gain weight if not eaten too often.

Food And Drinks That Help You Lose Weight

Soups

Soups and broths are amazing for weight loss, as they don’t have many calories, but they are super nutritious and can be very filling.

You can eat them as meals, or as appetizers. Either way, they should be a staple in your meal plans.

Apples

Apples are low in calories and very nutritious. Plus, you know the saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” - they’re very healthy!

Leafy greens

Leafy greens are very low in calories, so they’re amazing to be eaten as volume food. Plus, a lot of them are nutritious as well - spinach or arugula for example.

Broccoli

Broccoli is full of nutrients, fiber, and protein - so it will not only help you lose weight but stay full for longer as well.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is an amazing addition to every weight loss diet because it’s healthy and can often be used to replace some less healthy carbs.

Greek yogurt

Greek yogurt is full of protein, so it’s great for weight loss and weight management. Plus, it contains probiotic bacteria which makes it great for gut health.

Another benefit of greek yogurt is that it’s a great swap for sour cream.

Eggs

Eggs are full of protein, which makes them an amazing breakfast. They will keep you full, and they’re healthy.

Chicken breast

Chicken breast is considered a lean protein, and it’s not that high in calories compared to some other meats.

Beans

Beans and legumes are full of protein and fiber, which makes them amazing for weight loss.

Tuna

Tuna has lots of protein and healthy fats (which your body needs).

Freshly squeezed fruit juice

Freshly squeezed fruit juice is an amazing addition to every weight loss diet - it’s nutritious and much, much healthier than sodas or artificial juices.

Chia seeds

Chia seeds are low in calories, yet super high in fiber and in nutrients in general. There’s a reason they’re called super food.

Whole grains

Whole grains are much better than processed grains (as we already explained), and they can help you reach your weight loss goals.

Cabbage

Cabbage is full of fiber, and nutrients, and is low in calories. It’s great as a salad, or as an addition to meals.

Grapefruit

Grapefruit is an amazing source of nutrients, and fiber, and can make you feel full.

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