5 Surprisingly Easy Ways to Lose Weight (From a Personal Trainer)
If you're trying to lose weight but feel overwhelmed by strict diets and grueling workouts, you're not alone. As a personal trainer in Etobicoke with 8 years of experience, I've helped hundreds of clients get results by focusing on small, simple lifestyle shifts. These are the 5 easiest weight loss habits that actually work—and don’t require counting calories or spending hours at the gym.
1. Drink More Water for Natural Weight Loss
Seriously. That’s it.
I’ve had multiple clients start doing just this and lose up to 5 lbs in a week—without changing anything else. Why? Most people are chronically dehydrated. That means your body is holding onto water, slowing digestion, and confusing thirst for hunger. You end up snacking when really your body just needs a glass of water.
One client told me, “I didn’t realize how tired I was from being dehydrated until I wasn’t anymore.”
Make it a rule: drink half your body weight in ounces of water daily. If you weigh 160 lbs, aim for 80 oz. Yes, you’ll pee more at first. That’s how you know it’s working.
2. Walk 10,000 Steps: The Easiest Way to Burn Calories Daily
This one comes from personal experience.
During the pandemic, like many of us in Canada, I was stuck at home. No gym. No clients. No walking around. My step count dropped below 4,000 steps per day. Within a week, my weight crept up from my usual 175 lbs to 185. I wasn’t eating more. I wasn’t training less. The only change? My movement.
Later, when things opened up and I was back to hitting 10,000 steps per day, my weight dropped as low as 170—again, without changing diet or training.
It’s not about chasing steps with a Fitbit. It’s about understanding how powerful daily movement is for calorie burn and metabolic function. Walk the dog, pace during phone calls, park further away—whatever it takes.
3. Boost Metabolism by Eating More Protein
I can’t stress this enough. If you’re not eating enough protein, you are sabotaging your weight loss. Period.
I had a vegetarian client who worked out 3–4 times a week and cooked all their own meals—super clean eating, lots of veggies, very disciplined. But after a month, they were frustrated. “I haven’t lost a single pound.” So we took a deeper dive.
Turns out, they were only getting 30 grams of protein per day. That’s less than what some people get in a single protein shake.
They were hitting their calorie target, but the macro breakdown was off: 70% carbs, 10% fat, 20% protein. I suggested shifting to 40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat. Same calories. Same workouts. Boom—5 lbs lost in the first week, 8–10 lbs total by the end of the month.
When your body can’t repair the muscle you break down during training, you lose lean mass. And when you lose muscle, you lower your metabolism. That means fewer calories burned at rest, and way more frustration.
4. How Chronic Stress Stops You from Losing Weight
Weight loss isn’t just about calories in vs. calories out. It’s also about hormones—especially cortisol.
Cortisol is your stress hormone. And when it's elevated for too long, your body goes into storage mode. It doesn’t want to burn fat; it wants to save it. Your body is essentially saying, “Something’s wrong. Better hold onto everything we’ve got.”
I’ve seen this with so many of my clients who are entrepreneurs, executives, and high-performers. They train hard, eat clean, and avoid processed foods—but they’re always stressed. And they can’t drop a pound.
Then they go on vacation and come back excited:
“Rob! I lost 10 lbs!”
Me: “That’s amazing! Did you work out every day?”
Them: “Nope!”
Me: “Did you cut out drinking?”
Them: “Definitely not!”
Me: confused “So what changed?”
Them: “I slept great and didn’t work once. No meetings. No emails. Just relaxed.”
Exactly.
When stress goes down and recovery goes up, the body finally lets go of that stubborn fat. It’s not lazy—it’s smart.
5. Improve Your Sleep to Accelerate Fat Loss
This one ties directly into stress, and it’s arguably the most underrated factor in weight loss.
Poor sleep increases cortisol. Poor sleep increases hunger hormones. Poor sleep reduces your body’s ability to recover, repair muscle, and burn fat. Sound like a recipe for weight gain? That’s because it is.
You don’t need to become a monk and meditate for two hours a day. Just start with this: go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Turn off screens 30 minutes before bed. And if you’re sleeping 5–6 hours a night? Prioritize bumping it to 7–8.
You can’t out-train chronic exhaustion.
Final Thoughts
None of these changes require extreme dieting or punishing workouts. They don’t take hours of your day. But I’ve seen them work over and over again in my clients—and in myself.
Want to lose weight? Get these five habits in check first. Then, if you want to get more advanced, we can talk macros and lifting strategies. But you’ll be amazed at what just a little consistency with these simple habits can do.
Ready to Start Your Journey?
If you're tired of spinning your wheels and ready to make sustainable changes, I’d love to help you. Book a free consultation today and let’s chat about your goals, challenges, and how to get you results that actually last.
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Stay strong,
Robert Uhls
Personal Trainer | Etobicoke, ON