This ” How to Lose Weight on a Budget ” post describes the tips and tricks I did to lose weight. This post contains affiliate links/ads. See disclosure policy.
Are you on the Budget but still want to lose weight? If your answer is YES to this, then, this post is yours.
I’ll tell that it is hard to lose weight when you are on the budget because you need to buy foods that may not always fit your budget. But that doesn’t mean that there are no other ways to lose weight while on a budget.
Before we begin, let’s be clear on an important piece, that is, this post is not for crash dieting.
It is important to understand that if you are looking for a sustainable weight, one which you can maintain too, then crash diets will never do their magic for you. You might get the desired results quickly, but these results are temporary.
Bless those people who spread the rumor that losing weight in a healthy manner is expensive. Not always. I weighed 170 lbs before and I am only 5’7”. For that height, I was overweight. I felt sluggish, tired, and unhealthy.
I was able to trim down my weight and came from 170 to 140 lbs. in less than a year. Since then, my weight has stayed around 140s. I didn’t do the crash diet. Some may say 30 lbs. in one year is not a whole lot since there are a lot of people losing 10 lbs. in just two months or something like that.
But I didn’t resort to extreme exercises and expensive diet foods. Either way 30 lbs. is 30 lbs.
Well, I think a healthy lifestyle is cheaper. You don’t always have to go with a proper, high-end gym training to lose weight.
You can easily live a healthy lifestyle through some simple lifestyle choices.
Note: I'm not listing the cheap weight loss supplements here. I don't generally believe in weight loss supplements.
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How to Lose Weight on a Budget
These are some really painless and easy ways through which you can lose weight and feel amazing, too. Weight loss through these ways is gradual (definitely) but you will see great results within some time and these results last. So let’s get started with some simple, cheap ways to lose weight fast or gradually.
Stay hydrated (seriously)
This is the key to losing weight. If you don’t stay hydrated, your body swells. A lot of people complain that their face turns chubby out of nowhere and they don’t realize that their water intake is less. The Human body needs water to function in several different manners.
Do you know that dehydration causes mood swings, headaches, and fatigue? It is true. This means you need to drink more to keep yourself from experiencing these not so good feeling.
Staying hydrated is the first key to losing weight. It also gives you a feeling of fulfillment and you don’t find the need to keep eating something all the time.
Try not to eat anything after 8 or 9 at night. If you feel hungry, make yourself some fresh juice or just drink water. It ends the hunger amazingly.
Skip (not) the breakfast
A lot of us just skip breakfast because we either don’t get up on time and are running late or we just don’t have a habit of attending to it. However, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Your body is technically starving for hours since you don’t eat while you are asleep. The last time you ate, let’s say, was at 8 at night and then you woke up at 8 in the morning. After what you call a decent 12-hour gap of not fueling your body with food, your body is yearning for food so that it regains some energy.
People who skip breakfast and eat hours after they wake up will feel hungry shortly again. Moreover, this habit also slows down your body’s metabolism as your body is taking energy from the food that is already stored in it.
Eating after such a long-time gap will leave your blood sugar level extremely high. What’s even worse is that you’ll end up eating more without you even knowing it.
A lot of people do not feel hungry when they wake up and that is just fine. However, eat something like protein bar, so your metabolism goes running.
Eat fruits and veggies
Eating fruits and veggies is one of the reasons why a lot of people say that healthy eating or losing weight on a budget is impossible. Well, a single fruit or vegetable won’t make you go penniless.
A lot of people buy it all in bulk and that is okay, too. But I recommend that you just buy the amount of food you’ll consume in a week. Fruits and veggies go bad after a week or so. To avoid food waste, buy what you need for the whole week.
Fruits and veggies give your stomach a fulfillment feeling. You’ll end up not getting hungry for a few more hours. Plus, they are nutritious and cost way cheaper than we buy slices of pizza, pop tarts, and others. I’m just saying.
Be light on dinner
Unless there’s an occasion or you are out on a date or party, you need to stay low key when it comes to dinner.
Occasions occur (once in a blue moon) and usually, they happen during dinner time. It’s ok to eat a lot during dinner but not always.
On a daily basis, dinner should be the lightest meal you eat. Studies show that if you eat large meals during the day and eat less at night, then, you are probable of losing more weight than the ones who eat more at night. The human body digests really slowly during the night time.
Read: Save Money Eating Out : The How-To Guide
Replace your dessert cravings
Leaving behind the dessertcravings can be the hardest part (yes, I’ve been there) but once you gain control, you are all set to achieve what you have thought of.
Eat fruits instead. This might sound bad but once you develop a habit of eating fruits, you are likely going to end the craving of sweet sooner than later.
However, your sweet tooth does not have to suffer completely. You can take a day off and enjoy your favorite cake, too. But always keep in mind that the proportion you eat matters a lot. You don’t have to dig into the cake and eat the whole cake in a few minutes.
You can easily have the smallest piece and eat gradually so that your craving is satisfied without having to eat a lot in a short period.
Throw sugary drinks away
Soda and sweetened drinks are the enemies of losing weight. They won’t let you lose the extra and dirty fat that is gathered up around your tummy or thighs etc.
Unsweetened teaand water are definitely off this list. Liquid sugar like sodas can or will promote weight gain. Instead of drinking sugary drinks, drink water instead. If you do really like to drink sugary drinks or add some sweet taste in your water, put sweet fruits like mango, strawberry, etc. in your water.
Cut down on your beef consumption
Surely a bad news for beef lovers, isn’t it? When I say “go away”, what I mean by that is you cut off your beef consumption not cut out.
It is not only going to save you money but it will also decrease your consumption of calories. You can replace beef with some of the best and amazing foods like beansand other protein-enriched foods. Simple foods like beans don’t cost a lot and won’t break your bank.
These protein-enriched foods are not only packed with nutrients but they are also low in calories. They are a great way to lose weight on a budget. So, ditch the beef for a day or two in the week and see how easily you can manage your budget too and lose weight as well.
I should say cutting down on your beef consumption is one cheap way to lose weight without exercise.
Read: Best Grocery List App or Apps To Use Now
Avoid salty snacks
Who does not like chips for snacks? That’s an easy question with an equally easy answer. Of course, the answer is everybody or almost everybody.
Chips are bad for your health. Replacing them is important if you want to lose weight on a budget meal plan.
Salted snacks give you a bloated feeling. You are likely to feel less full and more bloated. But if you eat fruits instead of chips and other salty items, then, you will feel that the bloating feeling will disappear and you will have a feeling of tummy fulfillment, too.
You are going to kill that hunger by eating fruits and veggies without consuming too many calories, fats, sugar, and other unwanted chemicals. For instance, you can have veggies like carrot for your snacks. Cucumber is also a great snack, too.
I say that this is one way on how to lose weight on a budget and buy schedule.
Go slow on the junk food
This is the toughest battle to fight especially if you are always on the go and not at home a lot of times. For instance, your college cafeteria is the most attractive thing on earth and that healthy sandwich you take along with you seems the worst thing that meets your eyes.
Control is what you will definitely have to master in order to actually lose weight. Junk Food is one of those culprits that contribute to weight gain. Therefore, it is important to cut down on eating junk food.
Once a month is okay because cheat days are what keep us all going, don’t they? But just make sure that you stay really low key on junk food or make yourself a yummy burger, snack, or something at home so you know what goes in there and what you are eating!
Read: How I Paid $40K Of Debt and Saved $70K in 2.5 Years
Be selective about cheat days
Okay, so we have been talking about cheat days in the article. But that does not mean that you can have a cheat day every other day or once a week. Don’t even try it.
You need to be really selective about your cheat days and you don’t have to eat everything on the single cheat day.
For instance, you can eat your favorite junk food item once a month. Keep the first week of the month or the middle one for it. Select one weekend to satisfy your dessert cravings. Make sure that you work out or jog or whatever you do the next day so that you burn those calories for sure.
Be really selective and don’t just keep one day for everything!
Get a food journal and start recording
If you want to lose weight on a budget, a food journal can be helpful. Choose one that makes you want to pick it up and write on it. Also, use sticky notes and colorful post it notes so that your journal looks pretty enough that you don’t bother writing on it from time to time.
This is the food journal I used. It worked and I love it so much.
Record your achievements in this food journal. It is really important and will help you in ways than you can imagine.
The best part is that a journal is a secret thing to keep, so no one will know if you cheated an extra day or two. Putting everything what you do to lose weight or control it is necessary. This way, you can see, in writing, what works and what doesn’t.
While you can just reflect and think what works or doesn’t work, it is always easier to just put everything in writing and browse through your notes when you need to.
Skip the gym
Doesn’t sound like a good advice? Actually, it is.
Gym membership costs a ton of money. Instead of going to the gym, you can go to the park and spend time there doing exercises. You can also setup a home gym that doesn’t cost you a lot of money.
Go for a jog or run every morning because that does not cost a penny. Dance for half an hour and burn around 130 calories! Skip a jumping rope and burn even hundreds or more calories. All of this does not need you to be in a gym.
All you need is motivation and a little bit of creativity. So if you want to lose weight on a budget, you can pick out exercise, which burns excessive fat without you having to do go to the gym or get charged with a gym membership.
Read: 15 Gym Accessories on The Budget
Final thoughts:
Well, here they are!…. the 12 simple, painless and easy ways to lose weight on a budget. These ways can or will help you lose weight without you shelling a lot of money. Stay motivated because the results will be amazing and worth the while.
Don’t lose hope and quit while you are in the middle of doing them because, in the end, your motivation is what keeps you going on during your fitness journey.
Are you ready to lose weight? Do you think that losing weight on a budget is doable?
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- 15 Gym Accessories on The Budget
- Big Family: How We Live Off Well On Under $37,000/Year
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