Losing weight doesn't have to cost a dime and can be done quickly and easily. The speed of your success depends on your determination and ingenuity. You don't have to have a gym membership or any fancy equipment to exercise or lose weight, and can often make do with not only your own body power, but with common household items to add resistance and weight to exercise moves. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume daily, so once you have done that--and added a regular exercise routine--you'll see not only a fast drop in weight, but a drastic reduction in inches.
Step 1
Exercise every day, even if it's in small chunks of time. Fast spurts of exercise only take 10 to 20 minutes, and you can do them several times a day. For example, in the morning, get your metabolism revved up by doing five to 10 minutes of intense activity, such as performing 100 jumping jacks, 20 sit-ups, 100 waist twists, one or two minutes of marching in place (keep those knees up) and good old-fashioned lunges, knee bends and squats (25 to 50 each). You can do sets of these several times a day.
Step 2
Cut back on your calorie intake. Try not to go below about 1,200 calories a day for long-term weight loss management, but you can dip lower for short periods of time for extra fast weight loss. Remember to eat lean proteins from meats like chicken and turkey, fish (twice a week) and load up on the fruits and vegetables, which are low in calories but high in fiber, which will make you feel fuller longer. Fruits and vegetables are also rich sources of nutrients like vitamins and minerals.
Step 3
Go for a short 15- to 20-minute walk every evening or morning for an all-around mental and physical workout. Walking is a good all-around cardiovascular exercise that offers weight-bearing benefits and helps speed up the metabolism by burning calories and encouraging growth of lean muscle mass, which burns calories faster than fat. Walk fast, like you're running late for something important. If you're in good enough physical condition, jog, and intersperse walking with quick, 50-yard sprints, which will really burn the fat and calories.
Step 4
Drink plenty of water, which will help prevent dehydration, which will also prevent your body from shutting down processes to conserve water. To figure out how much water you should be drinking every day, divide your weight in half and that's the number of ounces of water you should drink. Increase water intake before, during and after workouts to help hydrate cells, tissues and organs to prevent stress. Water will also help flush out excess wastes and prevent water retention.
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