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Five completely free things you can do to start losing weight today
1. Walk.
For those who are physically able, walking is one of the best and simplest ways to start burning calories. An adult weighing 200 pounds who walks at a moderate rate of 3 mph will burn about 335 calories during an hour-long walk. That’s comparable to what a jogger of the same weight would burn (450) on a typical 30-minute run.
2. Bodyweight exercises and stretching.
Though the rooms full of machines and equipment at gyms seem to suggest otherwise, you can get fit by using nothing more than the equipment you were born with. Push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, squats and dozens of stretches can all be done from right where you are now standing. Visit the American College of Sports Medicine’s Exercise Is Medicine site for instructional videos on proper technique in order to get the most out of your exercises and avoid injury.
3. Ask yourself if you’re really hungry.
You really want to devour that entire pint of Chubby Hubby in the freezer, but are you actually hungry for it, or are you having a craving? Making a connection between your brain and your body’s level of hunger can really help you forgo eating for eating’s sake. Even if you’re skeptical, it can’t hurt to practice.
4. Move away from the screen.
It’s no mystery that the addition of the Internet to our thousands of TV channels has greatly increased our screen time while decreasing our level of physical activity in America. So, do your muscles and your retinas a favor and power down. You’ll be way more likely to get up and move if the plug is pulled from your arsenal of convenient electronic distractions.
5. Play.
Seriously, go do something that you really like doing. We all have something we enjoy (or maybe used to enjoy) that will get us onto our feet. If you can shoehorn an hour of movement into each day, you’re at least going to have fun for that one hour, and you don’t even have to call it exercise: Shoot some hoops. Hit tennis balls against a wall. Walk to the creek and cool your feet in the water. Walk the dog. Walk your neighbor’s dog. Go to the mall and walk around while enjoying a climate-controlled environment. Crank up your favorite music mix and dance!