The dieting and weight loss industry makes a vast amount of money each year in the United States. Dietary supplements, diet pills, prepared diet foods, gym memberships and exercise equipment can all cost a significant amount of money over time. The perceived cost of a healthy lifestyle for weight loss and toning your body may be disheartening, but it is entirely possible to lose weight, get in shape and tone up with zero, or very little, financial outlay.
Step 1
Calculate your body's daily calorie needs according to your weight, sex and height. MayoClinic.com has a free calorie calculator that takes these variables into account to give you a personalized calculation. Your body's daily calorie needs increase with your height and weight, and decrease with your age throughout adulthood. Men generally have higher daily calorie requirements than women. Calculate your calorie needs for an inactive or sedentary lifestyle to obtain your daily calorie requirements for weight maintenance without exercise. Even if you have an active lifestyle, calculate your inactive daily calorie requirements.
Step 2
Design a meal plan that meets but does not exceed the daily calorie requirements calculated in Step 1. If you prepare your meals at home from fresh ingredients, this will be much cheaper than buying prepared diet meals, supplements or subscribing to a commercial diet plan.
Step 3
Choose a form, or forms, of exercise that you can perform for free most days of the week. If you already have suitable footwear, free forms of exercise include walking, jogging and running outdoors. Your town, school district or other community organization may offer free exercise opportunities -- for example, free swimming lessons are offered each summer in many of New York City's public swimming pools.
Step 4
Calculate the calories you burn with every hour of your chosen exercise. Again, the calories you burn through exercise will vary according to your weight and height. The CSG Network's Calorie Burn Calculator provides personalized calculations of the calories burned by particular types of exercise and is available for free online use.
Step 5
Devise an exercise schedule that burns 3,500 calories every week. For the average adult, this might represent an hour per day of moderately paced cycling. If you can, build the exercise into your daily routine -- for example, commute to work by bicycle or on foot -- so that exercise time does not have to be scheduled separately. If you stick to your meal plan, the exercise will create a calorie deficit and you will lose weight. A deficit of 3,500 calories per week through exercise will typically lead to losing 1 lb. of fat per week.
Step 6
Use free alternatives to weight training to tone your body as you lose weight. Many toning exercises -- such as push-ups, sit-ups and stretches -- can be performed for free, using your own body as weight. If you like to lift free weights, consider using items you already own -- such as full cans of food -- in place of light hand-held weights as a cost-free alternative to the gym.
Tips and Warnings
- Individual calorie requirements vary from person to person. For example, a 6 foot 6 inch 200-lb. male will need 2,600 calories daily at 22 years old, even with an inactive lifestyle. A female who weighs 100 lb. and is 5 feet tall at age 60 will require only 1,300 calories daily for weight maintenance with an inactive lifestyle.
- Consult your doctor for personalized medical advice before starting any diet for weight loss. Every individual is different, and your doctor can make specific recommendations based on your present and past health status and medical conditions. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, it is dangerous for a man to restrict daily calorie consumption below 1,800 calories. For a woman, the recommended minimum is 1,200 calories daily.
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