Weight loss: How to burn fat without practicing cardio

When you aim to shed extra kilos, you put in a lot of effort to attain that goal. You follow complicated diets, perform strenuous exercises, or at times even starve yourself! For most people, cardio plays a significant role in their weight loss journey. It is the short form for ‘cardiovascular activity’ which helps in weight reduction by pumping blood and increasing your breathing rate. Cardio is helpful in burning calories as it speeds up a person’s metabolism. However, there are many people who do not wish to add cardio training to their workout regime.

That said, here is a list of ways you can lose weight without doing cardio.

Yes! You can reduce weight without putting in any effort. All you need to do is relax and seat yourself in a sauna, which helps burn up to 600 calories within an hour and 300 calories in half an hour. However, while you're at it, do not forget to hydrate yourself.

It is proven that a full body massage can help in eliminating 230 to 260 calories. In addition to that, massages also play a vital role in reducing the harmful toxins from your body. Through effleurage and petrissage movements, massage can improve blood circulation in the body, which aids in lowering the body's toxin levels. Elimination of toxins is said to result in weight loss.

Ice baths or cool showers speed up the functioning of the brown adipose fat and muscles in your body. Once these are accelerated, two hormones are released, which are called irisin and FGF21. The release of these hormones helps in burning the white fat tissues leading to weight loss. It is advised to take at least 3 to 6 minutes of ice bath for best results.

Yoga is one of the most effective strategies to lose weight. It majorly helps in burning calories, toning muscles, and speeding metabolic rate. Ashtanga, vinyasa and power yoga are some of the yoga practices which involve a lot of physical movement and can prove fruitful in your weight loss journey.

Reducing the consumption of high calorie foods and replacing it with nutrient-rich foods can aid you in your weight loss journey. Lean protein, fibrous fruits and vegetables and healthy fats should be included in your diet regime.

Intermittent fasting is a time-constricted diet, that requires a person to fast for certain period of time.

The most popular method involves 16/8 intermittent fasting, wherein a person restricts daily eating period to 8 hours and fasts for the next 16 hour window.

You can also follow the 5:2 diet, in which you consume only 500 to 600 calories on two consecutive days of the week, but eat as usual on the remaining 5 days.

Intermittent fasting is a great way to cut down your body’s extra fat. But this fasting method should be avoided by kids, pregnant woman and those dealing with eating disorders.