With the new year brings new years resolutions. A lot of new year resolutions include a fitness, health or weight loss goal of some sort. I know that personally I almost always start January first looking to finally lose those last 10-15 pounds and like many, I start with great intentions but fall off after a few weeks.
I have been able to isolate the main reason for my failures though. I don’t have a solid plan when embarking on my adventure. My goal is to ‘lose weight’ but rarely do I know exactly how I’m going to accomplish this. The obvious ”eat less, move more” sound simple until you try to put it in place, at least for me. I’ve had great success with the Weight Watchers program in the past but unfortunately my budget isn’t going to allow me to do it this year. I need to finally lose this weight, and do it as cheaply as possible!
Use A Free Gym
Unless you live in a bubble, you have access to an amazing free gym, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The great outdoors. Get outside and move. I’ve always enjoyed going for walks but recently started running though I’m sad to admit that the month of December my runs have been almost non-existent. While I do have some legit excuses I can’t excuse every miss. I have learned though that getting outside and moving your body is an amazing way to feel better. Getting out the door, especially in a winter climate is the hardest part!
If you’re not interested in walking or running try searching out playground workouts and use a local playground for a great workout that will make you feel the burn!
Use Your Computer to Work Out For Free
My sister-in-law lost over 20 pounds thanks to a set of free weights and You Tube. She did nothing other than workout videos she found on the internet. Proof that you don’t need a fancy gym to lose weight. If you don’t have internet access pop in a good ‘ol DVD, rented from your local library of course.
Anther great use for the internet is to use online classifieds to find free or cheap gym equipment. The free weights she used were from our local classifieds. Someone was moving and looking to take as little as possible with her, she put an ad up telling people to come by her apartment and take whatever they could carry (listing items she had). Though I haven’t looked yet, I’m willing to bet this is a great time of year to buy used gym equipment online too. If I was looking to sell, I’d post my treadmill for sale in January!
Partner Up for Accountability
If you’re like me, having someone to help keep you accountable helps, a lot. Invaluable actually. Even if you’re friend isn’t interested in partaking in your regime, ask them to keep you accountable with weekly phone calls. No texts or emails, an actual honest-to-God phone call. You can share successes and failures and work through it together.
My sister-in-law and I are great, and terrible for each other. When we’re good, we’re really good. When we suck, we both suck in terms of running and weight loss. It’s nice to share success and failures with someone.
I have already agreed to no more messing around and this will be OUR year. I want to finally lose the weight I’ve been trying to lose for almost four years and enjoy my body for a while before we decide to have more kids. I also want to be in the best shape of my life when baby #2 comes because pregnancy and breastfeeding do crazy things to your body, things I’d rather limit come next time!
How do you plan on getting fit/losing weight for cheap this year?
That’s awesome that your sister-in-law lost weight just from doing videos on You Tube! How cool. I never thought of that option before. We have a membership at a gym two blocks away from our house, so it is super convenient and we walk there several times a week. We totally love it!
I really want a membership to our local rec center but it’s not in the budget this year!
I never had a gym membership and honestly hate the idea of getting one simply because there are so many free things you can do to get a good workout in. Even cleaning your house can be great exercise!
It’s so true! I do admittedly want a rec center membership because it has a gym/rink/pools/classes but not until debt is paid off!
I love bike riding and usually can get in 3 days a week. Last month I added in The 30-Day Shred video three to four days a week. You can actually find lots of Jillian Michael’s videos on YouTube…for FREE! Having someone help you to be accountable is definitely helpful. Great to hear you have your sister-in-law!
Oh man Jillian Michales is killer! good luck!
My wife used Weight Watchers as well and had great success but it can be costly. We hold each other accountable to stay in shape. There are many times when one of us doesn’t want to workout but the other motivates them and we workout.
That is a huge help!
During the non-rainy months where we live, I walk/hike at least 60 miles per month. I do some biking, and I’ve got a set of dumbbells that help me do light weight training at home. I practice Tai Chi with a group 4 hours per week. Most importantly, I eat a whole food/plant-based diet. The net result is a BMI of 20.8!
Good for you!! I’m really concentrating on my diet (it’s always been pretty good just need to curb my sweet cravings) and need to get into weights a little more.
I just dance! It costs nothing to just put on the radio and dance for an hour. And depending on how in to it you are, you’d be surprised at the cost!
… And by cost, I meant “calories burned.”
Thats great!
I am a huge fan of bicycling and walking! I also happen to have a home gym too.
That’s all you need 🙂
Great Points!
If you are looking for a great free workout training program, definitely consider using ‘insanity’. It works very well, and the results are amazing. I do believe that it costs a little bit of money, but if you have internet connection, you can watch recordings on YouTube.
I’ve been thinking about looking into those!
I find it so much easier to workout on the cheap during the warmer months. During the winter I have to use the gym or else I’d never leave my couch.
I love to run and that can be done fairly cheaply…unless you are into high end shoes. It is tougher during the winter months and can cost more to bundle up with cold weather apparel.
We are really blessed with great weather here in LA so we have no excuse to get out there and workout. I do need to ride my bike more though. 🙂 I also use free apps on my phone.
Ugh I love where I live but do wish we had more conducive all year weather!
I just got a 7 day free trial for the gym in the mail which I’ll be using once the temps drop to polar vortex levels again. In the meantime, the cool weather runs outside have been really invigorating.
agreed!
For motivation and accountability, I think it helps to set smaller goals. If you go with a goal to ‘LOSE 30 POUNDS’ then you’ll start off on fire, but as soon as you see the true task and how daunting it is, you’ll tend to slide as you realize just how far out of reach it is. If you set smaller goals along the way, say a few pounds at a time, they’ll stay within reach, and you’ll be more inclined to stick with your regimen.
Agreed, I’m currently doing a dietbet where I need to lose 4% of my weight in 28 days. I hope to win!!
I love the idea of using videos already out there on You Tube for exercise. I’ll have to see what’s available!
That’s actually a really good tip, using one’s computer to get an at-home program to follow. Another excuse bites the dust!
haha
I work out at Planet Fitness where it’s only $10 a month, and if I’m stuck at work during rush hour I will sometimes get a quick workout in our free “gym”/exercise room.
Wow, I wish!!
I ride a bike to work. It’s sort of like making money since I don’t have to pay for gasoline [….]
You’re not wrong there!