Woman Drops 20 Pounds With 3 "Lazy" Habits That Actually Stuck
"I had never experienced an exercise high in my life, and I couldn't imagine living without bread, rice, and noodles," confesses Richa Prasad. After years of failed diets and a medical scare, she discovered that sustainable weight loss didn't require the intense lifestyle changes she'd been attempting.
Meet Richa, who, along with Lucy Liang, founded Coach Viva—a company helping people lose weight through simple, sustainable habits. Her approach? Work smarter, not harder. Here's how she lost 20 pounds using three surprisingly simple habits that finally stuck.
Why Your Past Weight Loss Attempts Failed
"There was a secret part of me that felt weight loss was something to get over with—like I was dragging behind in a race," Richa explains in her post. This mindset led to a cycle of intense starts and disappointing stops.
"Look at your lean friends," she says. "They aren't doing anything intense. But I kept trying to catch up to them with unsustainable plans, only to fall behind and regain the weight."
The First Lazy Habit That Changed Everything
After booking a personal trainer and dedicating months to exercising, Richa learned a crucial truth: "Physical movement contributes just 20% to our metabolic rate—and only 5% comes from structured exercise."
Instead of intense workouts, she focused on simple movement. "Even if you went to the gym for two hours, it doesn't compensate for 14 hours of sitting," she explains. "Adding a little more movement every day compounds to a big metabolic boost."
RELATED: 12 Ways People Actually Lose 30 Pounds Coach Explains
A Realistic Movement Plan Anyone Can Follow
"Start by checking your average daily steps," Richa advises. "If it's below 6,000, that's your sufficient goal. Set an upper goal 1,000 steps higher for high-motivation days."
The beauty of this approach? "Because this isn't intense, my hunger levels didn't spike, so sticking to my nutrition plan was way easier. When I'm walking, I'm not mindlessly snacking, and the bar is set low enough that it minimizes the all-or-nothing thinking."
The Second Habit That Made Food Choices Simple
"With so much conflicting nutrition information out there, figuring out what to eat can feel like navigating a minefield," Richa acknowledges. Instead of eliminating food groups, she developed three simple rules:
- "Drink one glass of water before eating. Early stages of dehydration manifest as hunger, not thirst."
- "Have one palm-sized amount of lean protein first. It causes the highest metabolic rate of any macro."
- "Use a half-cup-sized bowl for everything else. This gives your brain time to catch up with your stomach."
The Final Habit That Sealed Her Success
After testing 33 different sleep hacks, Richa discovered the key to maintaining her new habits: consistent sleep. "Your body doesn't understand the concept of a weekend," she explains. "All it wants is predictability."
Her three-step sleep routine:
- Wake up at the same time daily—even on weekends.
- Get immediate morning sunlight.
- Keep phones out of the bedroom.
RELATED: Woman Tried the Dopamine Menu to Break Free From Her Phone and Here's What Happened
Why These Habits Actually Stick
"Weight loss is like a domino effect," Richa concludes. "You tip one small domino, triggering a chain reaction leading to massive results." By focusing on these simple, "lazy" habits rather than extreme measures, she found sustainable success that lasted—without feeling deprived or exhausted.
"The start-stop approach unsurprisingly caused poor weight loss, but these habits? They're so simple I actually kept them. And that made all the difference." And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.
