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How to Lose Weight for Free

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The weight loss industry is worth billions of dollars per year.

Every day more people are joining gyms, buying expensive diet supplements and investing in special low-fat foods.

Not to mention all the “proven” books and courses.

With this marketing frenzy you could be forgiven for thinking that if you want to lose weight you’re going to have to invest a lot of money.

However nothing could be further from the truth.

If you’re able to ignore all the hype around the latest fad weight loss diet then it’s entirely possible to lose weight for free. Here’s how…

How to Lose Weight for Free – Basic Principles

In order to lose weight all we need to do is to create a “calorie deficit”. In other words we need to burn more calories than we actually consume.

The difference in what out body needs will then come from fat stores. And as the body burns fat, so we lose weight.

The question is how many calories our body really needs. From here we can work out how many to consume in order to achieve a calorie deficit and to lose weight.

How Many Calories Does Your Body Need?

This is calculated using a formula known as the Harris-Benedict equation. Thanks to BMI Calculator (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/bmr-formula.php) the formula is as follows:

Women = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years )

Men = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.8 x age in year )

Once you have calculated this figure all we need to do is to multiply it by how active you are in your everyday life.

If you get little or no exercise then multiply this 1.2. For light exercise multiply this by 1.375 and if you are highly active multiply the number by 1.55.

The figure that you calculate is how many calories your body will use on average per day.

How Many Calories To Lose Weight

A lb of fat is roughly equivalent to 3,500 calories. In other words if you under-eat by 3,500 calories a week you should lose roughly a lb of fat. That’s roughly 500 calories a day.

Under eat by 7,000 calories a week – or 1000 calories a day – and you should be capable of losing 2lbs (roughly a kilo) of fat per week.

So how many calories should you be eating to lose weight? Simply subtract your desired weekly weight loss target from your calorie requirements and you’ll know.

For example if your daily calorie needs are 2,000 kcals per day and you want to lose a pound of fat per week you’d want to consume an average of 1,500 calories (2000-500) per day. Stick religiously to this figure and you’ll be able to lose weight – irrespective of the other variables.

What To Eat To Lose Weight For Free

You’re already going grocery shopping each week. All you need to do is:

  1. Reduce the volume of food you’re consuming each week
  2. Change from “bad” foods to “good” foods

It should be more than possible to go on a diet without spending any more money on food, quite simply because while you might be buying different foods, you’ll also be buying less.

This means that overall you can spend the same money – or even less.

In other words you’ll be losing weight “for free” – at least in comparison to your normal spending.

So what should you be eating?

Largely I have had the best results myself with a paleo diet.

That means focusing your food intake on:

  • Lean meats – chicken, turkey, seafood
  • Vegetables – excluding starchy veg like potatoes and vegetables
  • Nuts – unsalted and unsweetened
  • Whole Grains breakfast cereals, granary bread etc.

The biggest foods to avoid are:

  • White carb sources – white rice, pasta, bread etc.
  • Junk foods – chocolate, pizza, cookies etc.

Within the confines your diet just spend some time with a fitness tool like MyFitnessPal which will let you easily calculate your daily calories.

Use a tool to create a weekly meal plan that suits you; one that is bearable-enough in terms of flavour yet allows you to stay within your calorie intake boundaries.

Sample Weight Loss Diet

I realize this dietary advice is rather open-ended. While this can make some people feel lost with the all the options, I would also say that this is a real benefit; after all if you can create your own meal plan then you can create one that suits you.

However incase you’d like to see an example of what is working for one person, below you will find my meal plan. I eat the same things 5 days a week and then relax a little bit on the weekend. I don’t go crazy on the weekend but I’m also not quite as rigid.

I find that sticking to the following plan allows me to lose around a pound a week while still enjoying a few “treats” on the weekend.

Please note that I a 30-something male, so the following meal plan may offer far too many (or too few) calories for your needs. It is provided only as a broad guide for those looking for inspiration:

  • Breakfast – fast (I eat nothing to conserve calories for later in the day).
  • Lunch (Midday) – 2x wholemeal tortilla wraps filled with grilled chicken and chopped salad. Roughly half a chicken breast per wrap.
  • Dinner (6pm) – 2x scrambled eggs on granary bread
  • Supper (8pm) – bowl of whole grain cereal with skim milk

I drink nothing but water so this day of food clocks in at around 1,500 calories – allowing me to stay well under my calorific target and lose weight pretty much every week like clockwork.

How to Exercise to Lose Weight For Free

Strictly speaking, exercise isn’t necessary to lose weight. The fact that you took your activity level into account earlier on when calculating your calorie needs means that if you’re not very active you should still be able to lose weight for free.

However, in truth many people opt to do some kind of exercise; the decision, however, is yours.

However if you want to know how to lose weight for free then that means an expensive gym membership is essentially off the cards. There are alternatives however, and I have two recommendations for you to consider…

Cardio Vascular Exercise – If you own a bike, go for a bike ride. If you don’t, go for a jog. I personally find jogging twice a week for around 45 minutes before work has done me very well.

Remember that if you don’t normally exercise, any kind of exercise will take time to get used to. It’ll also boost your weight loss results significantly.

Lifestyle Changes – If you hate exercise but you want to lose weight then possibly the best “exercise” option is simply to make some basic lifestyle changes to remain a little more active.

Walk to the post box rather than driving. Go out of your way to play football with the kids in the park. Spend the weekend digging the garden.

Just try to get a bit more active in every aspect of your life so you’re constantly burning off more calories while still enjoying yourself.

Conclusion – You Can Lose Weight For Free

As you can see, there really is no need for over-priced “diet” foods or gym memberships. Using the basic laws of physiology anyone can lose weight for “free” – well, at least without spending any more money than you do now.

All you need to do is to make some smart choices about your grocery shopping and your meal planning and you’ll soon be shedding weight like there’s no tomorrow

How much weight are you hoping to lose? What diets have you tried in the past – and with what results? Please leave your experiences in the comments section below…

How to lose for free. Getting into shape and dropping your waistline doesn't have to be expensive - here's a proven plan for losing weight without cost.

Richard

Sun-worshipper and obsessive frugality blogger. For loads more money-saving advice come and join us on Facebook.

1 comment

  • Nice coverage of avoiding all the noise, focus on the basics and lose weight – and save money in the process – for free.