Great Home Weight Loss Secrets

You don't have to enroll in a weight-loss group, order pre-packaged foods off the TV or join a gym to lose weight -- everything you need is right at home. Taking advantage of the research exercise physiologists and dietitians have done on how people lose weight will let you take pounds off and keep them from coming back.

Eat More Often

Believe it or not, eating more often may be key to your weight loss plan. Taking long fasts between meals creates a blood insulin response to food that can promote fat storage and weight gain, according to Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky, writing at the clinic's website. If you eat five to six smaller meals and snacks throughout the day, you won't be "starving" at meal time and will be less likely to overeat. Make sure you have plenty of healthy, pre-portioned snacks at home and set times for daily snacks.

Home Gym

Use what you have around your house to create workouts. Your stairs are a great exercise device. Walking up and down at a rapid pace is an effective cardio workout. Going up works your calves, while going down works your quads. Fill empty milk cartons or soda bottles for weights you can use to do exercises such as bicep curls, tricep extensions, flies, rows, kickbacks, squats and lunges. Stand between two chairs and hold onto the tops, then raise your legs off the ground to do chair dips. Placing your hands in front of you while you raise and lower yourself works the chest and biceps. Placing your hands behind you works the back and triceps. Find a cord or laundry line you can turn into a jump rope. Follow along with workout programs on TV to join a free aerobics class.

Eat Soup

The longer it takes you to eat, the less likely you will be to overeat. Adding a soup course can help decrease your total calories per meal. It takes your brain 10 or more minutes to realize your stomach is full, according to Dr. Thomas Friedman, writing at his website, GoodHormoneHealth.com. This causes you to go back for seconds or continue eating after you've had enough. Penn State University researchers found that study participants who ate a bowl of soup at the start of meals ended up eating 20 percent fewer calories at each meal.

Your Cupboard Is Library

Most packaged foods contain nutrition labels that give you a wealth of information on what's inside. If you only use the calorie information, you can still benefit. Plan each day's meals and snacks using nutrition labels to guide you. It's easy -- just look at the number of servings per box and find the number of calories per serving. Once you practice this for a while, you'll quickly be able to create your day's eating plan in minutes.