When you're ready to lose weight, you might feel overwhelmed by all the pills, supplements and diet plans you can buy. They may sound tempting, as many claim that you'll be able to lose weight quickly and easily if you are willing to spend the money. Fortunately, you can lose weight for free by making some simple eating and lifestyle changes.
Step 1
Keep a food diary Kathleen Goodwin, RD, a registered dietitian with the Diet Channel, advises using a diary to identify bad eating habits. This will show specific areas in which you must make changes to lose weight. For example, you might discover that you eat high calorie snacks from the vending machines at work or while watching TV at night. You can switch to fruit, rice cakes, nuts or another healthy, low-calorie snack.
Step 2
Plan your meals. This will eliminate making bad last-minute choices. Put together a weekly menu that incorporates healthy choices like lean meats and plenty of vegetables. Gloria Tsang, a registered dietitian with Health Castle, says you should eat at least five servings of vegetables each day. Shop for the week, and hold yourself to the pre-planned menu. Tsang says it's better to break your eating into five or six smaller meals throughout the day.
Step 3
Exercise at least five days each week for a minimum of 30 minutes, Goodwin says that exercise is essential to a successful weight loss program. There are many ways to exercise for free, such as walking, running and biking. You can also buy a cheap workout DVD and exercise right in your home.
Step 4
Incorporate weight training into your fitness routine. Goodwin says that weight training has powerful fat burning benefits, allowing people who use it to lose 44 percent more weight than diet alone. All it takes is buying a cheap weight set and DVD. Then you can do a free routine at home every day.
Step 5
Limit eating out to an occasional treat. It's harder to make healthy choices when you are at a fast-food restaurant or sit-down eatery. The food often has a high calorie content, and the portions are typically large. Eat out only once or twice a month and choose healthier items such as salads with dressing on the side and baked items instead of fried foods.
Step 6
Team up with a friend or join an online support group. Many paid diet programs offer meetings, internet forums and other support. You can get the same thing for free by doing your workouts with a friend and joining no-cost weight loss sites with forums.
Tips and Warnings
- Goodwin advices making small changes as you implement your weight loss plan. It's easier to make one or two small changes than to suddenly change your entire lifestyle. Give the changes enough time to become habit, then add some more. For example, start with healthy snacks. After a couple of weeks, start making your meal plan.
- Don't get discouraged if you lose weight slowly. Weight loss products that advertise fast results are usually ineffective. Quick weight loss programs may use methods that are effective in the short term but impractical as lasting changes. Slow weight loss is more likely to be permanent because you are making healthy lifestyle changes.
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