You don't need a gym membership to lose weight. In fact, you don't even need to leave the house. There are many things you can do right at home to help you lose weight and get fit, and none of them needs to be boring. Whether you're choosing to lose weight at home because of a lack of time or money, there are plenty of options to get you on your way to a better body.
Group Work
Rather than going at it alone, put a group together. If your partner, sister or parents want to join you, let them come along. If not, invite friends or coworkers. Once you have a group formed, come up with weekly challenges. Make sure you choose things that can be done at home and don't require a gym membership or a long period spent outdoors. For example, a week's challenge can be to give your cupboards a makeover, getting rid of high-fat, highly processed foods and replacing them with nuts, whole grains and oatmeal. You can do this together, by congregating in a specific house one day and then moving to the next one on the list. Or you can challenge each other to do this on your own and then take pictures that you can compare to see who has the best new pantry. You can also challenge each other to meet a specific number of daily steps, like 5,000 a day; to try a series of low-calorie recipes; or to do 100 crunches while watching your favorite TV sitcom. Compare notes at the end of the week.
Video Games
A popular exercise game is the Wii Fit workout. Created by Nintendo, it consists of a platform called a balance board that can read physical movements and connect them to what you're seeing on your TV screen. There are four basic modes for training: yoga, balance games, strength training and aerobics. Wii Training Plus contains 15 games that include kung-fu, skateboarding, snowball fight and an obstacle course. There's also an add-on called My Wii Fit Plus that allows you to create your own personalized workout.
Gardening
Growing your own garden, whether it's a flower or a vegetable garden, can have a number of rewards. For starters, gardening is a very Zen activity and getting your hands dirty can do wonders for your stress levels. For maximum calorie-burning power, do everything manually. According to the Pioneer Thinking website, raking leaves burns about 162 calories in 30 minutes, while general gardening, such as planting and weeding, burns 202 calories. The more involved the activity, the more you will burn, so shoveling snow burns 243 calories, the same as chopping wood.
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