Losing weight is a seemingly complex task. Some people spend thousands of dollars on special drinks or equipment, and even more than that on programs that are guaranteed to make you look exactly how you want. The fact of the matter is, burning fat doesn’t mean burning through your wallet. With the right kind of effort and a changes in behavior, just about anyone can see results with the right kinds of efforts. If you truly want to get healthier, burn fat or lose just a few pounds you can do so without spending a dime.
The following ten weight loss tips include ways to lose weight without spending any money by changing some of your daily activities, making healthier choices and using technology to replace some of the traditionally costly options for dieting.
- Change Your Behavior
Before you set out on a weight loss plan, a good way to start is to take a look at your typical lifestyle and see where you are already practicing unhealthy habits that are causing you to gain weight.
Experts say that the typical Western lifestyle is naturally unhealthy because we are dependent upon technology and vehicles. By increasing personal output and simply being more active the average person can lose 5% of their body weight within only a couple of months by replacing sedentary tasks with more active ones.
- Watch Your Intake
It isn’t until people start to think about losing weight that they realize how many calories they are taking in each day. The formula for weight loss, one that has been proven to work for most individuals is taking in less calories than are expended each day.
When you become more aware about what you were eating, how many calories, and what nutrients are in the foods you eat you can easily make better choices. Consider a free calorie counting app such as My Fitness Pal that allows you to set up macros to track your daily caloric intake.
- Cut Where You Can
There is no need to buy expensive drinks or programs to help you lose weight once you are mindful of your daily caloric intake. For example, perhaps you go out to eat because you live a busy lifestyle and you get your lunch as well as a few snacks throughout the day. With a free app such as My Diet Assistant you can choose from alternative meal options and plan healthier meals with less fat and calories that will help you meet your weight loss goals.
Replace your daily burger with a sandwich with light mayo or keep dried fruit at your desk when you are hungry, rather than eating a candy bar from the vending machine. If you do this on the regular basis, you will be cutting down the amount of calories that you take in and replace them with healthier options. This way you will not be hungry, but you will also not be taking in needless calories.
- Stop Drinking Soda
Drinking soda offers no nutritional value. If it is the caffeine that you need, you can drink black coffee or take caffeine supplements and get those pick me up set you need without any calories. it is estimated that by removing soda from the typical Western diet that one can lose 30 lb over the course of a year without doing anything else.
Not only did you not spend any money on losing weight with this tip, you’ll be saving money by not buying soda. For many, that is a win-win when it comes to losing weight!
- Get MovingÂ
Of course, most people understand that they need to be more active in order to lose weight. for a person that lives a sedentary lifestyle, such as those that work in offices often do, increasing daily activity by 15 minutes is enough to get your body to start burning fat on its own.
This could mean taking a walk on a break or choosing the stairs instead of an elevator. Other ideas include parking as far away as you can in a parking lot from a grocery store. All of the little steps add up to fat being burned off.
Pedometer apps and games are great ways to include more steps to your day. Consider tracking with these free apps and see the inches fall away from your waist.
- Pokemon Go!
- Runtastic Steps
- Argus
- Get a Hobby
Getting a hobby is a solution for so many of life’s little challenges and losing weight is no different. For some, it is difficult to exercise or be involved in an intense workout routine because they have health issues. For others, who have been working out and reach a plateau or see no difference getting a hobby can increase weight loss as well.
The reason for this is twofold. First, hobbies have statistically shown to increase happiness levels which increase the serotonin levels in the brain. Increase serotonin is often linked with weight loss. The other reason is because hobbies will generally create active movement that is not part of a person’s typical routine. By changing activity patterns you increase the ability for the body to process fat and calories and in turn it off and results in weight loss or a healthier body.
- Go to Sleep
Sleep is required for the body to be healthy and most Americans do not get the amount of sleep that they need. One sleep study showed that by getting an additional 30 minutes of sleep per night that people on average, lost an additional 2 pounds per month.
If you have difficulty sleeping consider including snacks that help the body to naturally increase melatonin levels. This way you don’t have to purchase additional supplements and you get the sleep that you need. For those that drink a lot of soda, this is another way how a reduction in soda can help you lose weight because it will help you to sleep better at night.
Make sure that you are getting adequate sleep with these free tracker apps by keeping track of how much you sleep and setting up reminders that help to ensure that you get to bed on time in order to get the rest that you need.
- Go to Sleep
- Sleep Cycle
- Sleep Better
- Make New Friends
Studies have proven that people are more likely to lose weight when they have a workout partner to keep them motivated. Most cities offer light workout facilities and local parks or have walking and hiking trails that are just waiting to be utilized. What better way to get out and be active then with another person that is going to encourage your fat burning goals?
You don’t have to pay money to find new people either. Craigslist offers a section for leading others to meet new friends and there are plenty of apps that you can download to your phone that encourage social interaction. Post on one of these and find the support of people that you need to have in your life to help you reach your weight-loss goals.
Additionally, you can use your phone to find friends or fitness challenges on one of these free buddy finding workout apps:
- Run Social
- Athlete Network
- Jaha
- Drive Less
It seems like everyone has a reason to drive their car even on the shortest of trips. One of the reasons that Western culture is overweight is because of their use of modern vehicles. Put on your walking shoes and put your feet to the pavement rather than driving when you go short distances.
Some studies have estimated that by cutting down on the use of a vehicle by only 5% can result in a 10 pound weight loss over the course of 6 months. However, depending on how much you drive vs. how much you replace driving with walking, this can be a simple solution to save money on gas while losing weight without spending money.
- Drink More Water
Water is a vital resource for the body but it is something that most Americans don’t get enough of. Drinking water can help you to lose weight a number of ways including detoxifying your body, acting as an appetite suppressant and boosting your metabolism naturally. For weight loss, it is recommended to have at least 8 glasses of water each day. That doesn’t mean that one should drink massive amounts of water in one sitting. Rather, drinking throughout the day will ensure maximum efficiency for the body to process the water and keep constant hydration.
Consider using an app for your phone to track your water each day. Free apps that can help with this goal include:
- Plant Nanny
- Hydro Coach
- Waterlogged
You’ll notice that a lot of the ways listed here focus on some of the money spending endeavors that other people utilize. Joining a gym or eating certain foods normally require money. However, there are ways that you can do these things without actually spending money. Furthermore, by following some of the above methods you are bound to burn fat without burning through your wallet.
