Losing weight is expensive! At least that’s what TV commercials, gyms, and health food stores would like you to think. The idea that you need a home gym, cutting edge workout clothes, ab roller, fitness DVDs, Gold’s gym VIP membership, protein shakes, supplements, and specially packaged low fat foods has been marketed into a billion dollar industry.

Wouldn’t be nice if you could ditch the weight and keep your money? (Instead of the other way around)

Here are 3 tips you can do right now that will help you lose weight and won’t cost you a penny!

1. Start eating 6 meals a day.

Keep eating the same amount as you are right now; just space your food out a little. You don’t even need to change what you are eating. We all know we could stand to eat better, but that can be expensive and cost prohibitive. Make eating at the right time your first step in the right direction.

Just by spacing your 3 big meals into 6 smaller meals you will help your body maintain its blood sugar levels and keep your metabolism fired up. This will translate into more energy throughout the day and more calories burned.

Make breakfast your biggest meal of the day and you will signal your body to start burning calories early. This also gives your body plenty of time use that energy you fed it early, on giving you plenty of power throughout the morning. Make dinner the smallest meal and avoid having your body turning all that food into fat as you sleep.

2. Tell the people around you that you are trying to lose weight

Talk is cheap, so cheap it’s actually free. Tell a spouse, friends, coworkers, the bus driver, anyone who will listen.

When we share our goals with others it reinforces those goals in our own minds. You are a lot less likely to grab a doughnut after you just told your coworker your plan to lose a few pounds for the holidays.

You are also building a support group around you for the times when you’re tempted. Knowing that others are cheering for you is a major motivator to stay strong and beat your cravings.

3. Turn off the computer and go outside

Most of us spend out day sitting in front of a computer or chained to a desk. We then go home and drop down onto the couch in front of the TV or start surfing the web on the computer. Turning these off is the first step in living a healthy active lifestyle.

You don’t need a fancy gym or activity specific clothes to be active, mother nature (or your backyard) is free and nobody cares what you are wearing! Walk down to the park instead of driving; go on a family bike ride; walk the dog; play Frisbee with your kids. It’s not so much a matter of what you do when you get and get out, it’s the fact that you are out doing something, anything, and that something is helping you burn calories.

So as much as I appreciate you all reading this, turn off the computer! Go! Shoo!

This entry was posted on August 18, 2009 at 7:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Articles by Casey 3 Comments