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Lose Weight for Less

Losing weight is more fun when it's free

Get some exercise
Change your eating habits

We all go head-over-heels for the latest fad diets and finding out what the celebrities do to get themselves super-skinny, but really it's just a simple equation of input versus output. The more junk you want to shove in your mouth the more exercise you're going to have to do to keep the fat at bay.

What's involved

If you can control what you eat, and get out of the office for a bit of exercise each day, then not only can you lose weight but you will also be healthier and fitter. The important thing to realise is to find out what you need and have a goal to achieve it.

The first question to ask yourself is: are you a healthy weight? There is no ideal weight and there are many different factors that determine your weight. You can check your body mass index (BMI) to assess your weight in relation to your height. You can check your waist circumference which gives an indication of how much weight is stored around your middle.

Boots and many gyms across the country offer scales combined with BMI calculators, where you jump on for a basic or advanced reading. The advanced reading will, as well as your height and weight, include your BMI index and body fat percentage, which will enable you to sit down and work out what you need to do next.

In some cases you may find you're underweight and need to put a bit of weight on to get healthy, and sometimes you may be a healthy weight but not happy with the way you look, which could mean a specific exercise plan helping you to tone specific muscles..

When you decide to lose weight, it's not just a short term thing - it's re-evaluating the way you live,what you eat and how you exercise. This is a total lifestyle change, and it has to be for good. Once you achieve your ideal weight you still need to maintain it.

Get some exercise

Run for it

Listen, it doesn't matter if you run like Phoebe in Friends, the point is you can do it anywhere. You can run on paths in the city, in the country, on the beach or through national parks. You don't need anything but a good pair of shoes - invest in runners that are going to support you.

There are many stores across the country that have systems for finding out the right type of shoe for you. If you buy from Runnersworld they'll do an analysis in-store to test your arches and flex. They then get you on the treadmill and video your foot strokes to find what type of shoe works best. You can also get some good deals from Sportshoes.com, Decathlon has some great own brand shoes that are affordable and good quality and JD Sports still has their summer sale on.

COST: Nothing to run, maybe £60 for a decent pair of fitted running shoes.

Go to the park

There's strength in numbers. If you prefer exercising in a group, don't think packed classes with lots of lycra, get your mates together at the park and take a Frisbee. Playing Frisbee for an hour will help you to lose 200-300 calories depending on how much you run and jump. Or you could take a football and flaunt your Beckham-like ball skills.

The other option is to get a team together for a bit of healthy competition. Your local newspapers and information centres will definitely have information on where you can join. Post an ad on Gumtree asking for teams, or check out TNTMagazine which has a section on getting into sport in London.

COST: It costs nothing to enjoy nature, but you would pay around £10 for a new football or Frisbee.

Go swimming

Get your togs on and head out to the beach or your local pool. Kick your legs and swing your arms, it's that simple to make it effective. Swimming in the ocean is harder work and therefore better for you. Its fun and you can do it on your own or take your mates - playing ball or Frisbee in the water is a great workout.

COST: The beach is free, but the local pool may cost you a quid or two for entry. If you end up going often see if you can get a weekly pass for cheaper.

Get your Wii out

If you're one for sitting in front of the TV or computer whiling the hours away playing games, then get yourself some active Wii games like boxing, tennis, golf and bowling. Wii also have a new game called Wii Fit, which comes with a special balance board and four training categories aimed at improving player's muscle condition, balance, flexibility and aerobatic capacity. The Times tested it out, and found figures showing that 12 hours of Wii usage a week can burn 1,830 calories and you can lose over 12kgs a year.

You can get a free Wii plus Wiifit when you get a new phone and take a contract out with Moneymagpie's Best Buys. Click here for more information.

COST: Around £150-200, or free with a new phone contract or compare prices with Kelkoo or BuyCentral.

Work out at work

If you sit at a desk for most of the day keep active by getting up at least once an hour and do two laps of the office or building, or walk up and down the stairs a couple of times. Go to the kitchen to fill up your water glass or bottle, and get out of the office during lunch time. Physically leave your desk and lunch for half the time, and then go for a walk during the other half. Shoulder and leg exercises are also quite easy to do at your desk, as well as chair squats and abdominal stretching.

COST: Nothing!

Housework is good for you

Hate the housework? Don't. Combine housework with some loud rocking music and go crazy. You don't have to dance around the house, although it is fun (and you're partner will have both eyes on you rather than the TV) but rocking music will help you put more effort and umph into scrubbing/vacuuming/sweeping/wiping. Another great exercise is when you are carrying the shopping home, to hold the bags in both hands at a 90 degree angle and then slightly lift them in towards your chest, hold and release. This helps to tone your biceps.

COST: Nothing!

Change your eating habits

You will have a much easier time losing weight from exercising if you are also watching what you eat. It is NOT a matter of starving yourself, this actually makes the situation worse. When your stomach is not being fed properly the fats you do eat will store themselves because your body doesn't know when you will be fed next.

If you eat 500 calories less than your recommended daily amount then you can lose a healthy 0.5kgs a week. There are no bad foods, you can just think of ways to easily cut down on the things you like eating. Things like including ice in a glass of coke cuts 70 calories out of it, and switching from a cream-filled doughnut to a chocolate covered doughnut cuts 100 calories. Rather than having four scoops of ice cream, have two scoops with one banana.

Once you get sick of those foods, start substituting the coke for water with ice, or eat crudités (sticks of celery and carrot with tzatziki dip) instead of crisps.

SAVINGS: Coke, doughnuts and ice cream are more expensive than water, bananas and crudités, especially if you shop at a farmer's market. See more hints for saving money food shopping, and check out Sarah Lockett's food blog here.

Lay off the fast food

How about just don't do it?! It's so easy to pack a lunch or take a snack for in-between meals and it costs a hell of a lot less in the long run. However, if you find yourself craving fast food there are always better options, like this list of 40 fast food choices under 400 calories.

SAVINGS: For the cost of one fast food meal you can afford to make sandwiches for an entire week of lunches. Have a look at our article on making your lunch money go further.