Feeling discouraged about your weight loss efforts? Put an end to yo-yo dieting and get off the weight loss ride. What if we told you that you could lose weight at home? Even best, without expensive gym memberships or confusing diet plans?
The truth is, that sustainable weight loss starts from within your own four walls. In fact, doing exercise and eating healthy can help you lose weight all over. You don’t need to exercise for hours either. A 15-minute workout can make a big difference in your health and weight loss.
Today, we’ll walk you through science-backed exercises for losing weight at home effectively. You’ll know what things you need to shed those extra pounds. Plus, we’ll share practical tips so that you can keep pushing forward on your journey. Get ready to transform yourself from the inside out!
Equipment You Need for Workouts to Lose Weight at Home
Getting in shape at home doesn’t have to be expensive. You just need a few basic items, depending on your chosen exercises. Consider these for your home gym —
- A yoga mat
- Comfortable training shoes
- Hand weights
- Resistance bands
- Weighted jump ropes
Feel free to add more, like a treadmill, boxing bag, or exercise bike.
Remember, losing weight isn’t just about exercise. It’s mostly about eating less than your body uses. For example, you might walk for 45 minutes to burn 100 calories, but eating a small amount of ice cream can add those calories back in no time.
9 Best Exercises to Lose Weight at Home
Here are some simple exercises to lose weight at home you can do that will surely help you lose weight.
1. Choosing the Right Foods for Weight Loss
When exploring ways to lose weight at home, it’s important to focus on what you eat.
Although no food can directly burn fat, some can increase your metabolism. Foods rich in protein and healthy fats keep you full for longer. According to the CDC, Healthline, and the World Health Organization, try adding these to your diet to help lose fat —
- Greek yogurt (fat-free and sugar-free)
- Eggs
- Fatty fish (like tuna, herring, or salmon)
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Olive oil
- Beans
- Green tea
- Grilled chicken
- Whey protein
2. Begin with Walking
Walking is a great workout outside the gym. You can do it in your neighborhood or a park, and it’s a chance to enjoy fresh air on nice days. Plus, it’s free, and if you have a pet, it’s a good way to exercise them too!
Plus, walking is effective in reducing body fat. Research shows that women who walk regularly lose a significant amount of body fat. While you can’t lose fat from specific areas only, walking is good for reducing stomach fat.
A study in ‘Nature’ found that walking for 30 minutes most days can significantly decrease body weight and fat percentage. It can be as effective as longer walks, especially when combined with a healthy diet.
3. Running or Jogging
Jogging, running, or even walking is another excellent way to lose body fat. You can do it in your neighborhood or a park for free. If bad weather is a concern, look for an indoor track at a local gym or community center. Or, consider buying a treadmill to use at home.
In addition, sprint training is highly effective for fat loss. It involves alternating your running speed every few seconds. The CDC suggests trying either 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of intense exercise each week.
Moderate exercise includes walking at a 15-minute mile pace while running counts as vigorous exercise.
4. Skipping or Jumping Rope
Skipping rope is a full-body workout that strengthens muscles, boosts metabolism, and burns many calories quickly. It can also help with mental health, reducing stress, depression, and anxiety.
As for your mental health, you can even opt for a wellness program that boosts your mental well-being. Additionally, skipping is good for your heart and lungs, keeping them healthy and functioning well.
Everyone’s body responds differently to exercise. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume, and skipping is great for this. It can burn about 1300 calories per hour.
5. Eating Meals at the Right Time
When and how often you eat affects your mood, cravings, and hunger. Eating your meals at regular times helps you maintain healthy habits for a positive lifestyle and control your appetite.
If you have a regular day schedule (not working night shifts), try to finish dinner by 8 pm and wait until after 10 am for breakfast. Here’s why —
- Eating late can slow down your digestion and metabolism, making you need less energy. Eating after 8 pm might make you feel bloated and disturb your sleep.
- Also, if you eat late, you might get hungry again in the evening and snack too much.
- Some people believe that not eating for long periods (known as intermittent fasting) helps them avoid bad eating habits. However, there’s not much scientific proof for this. What’s clear is that eating just before bedtime isn’t healthy.
6. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
HIIT is a very effective workout. It involves short, high-energy bursts followed by less intense activities or rest. When you do these intense bursts, your heart rate and body temperature rise significantly.
These changes improve your metabolism, so you keep burning calories even after the workout as your body cools down. The best part? You don’t need special equipment or a lot of space, making it great for home workouts. So, try a 20-minute HIIT session and see the difference.
7. Push-Ups and Pull-Ups
Push-ups are a well-known exercise that anyone can do anywhere. They’re great for weight loss because they require energy to lift your body off the ground, which burns calories.
Plus, they target large muscles in the upper body like the chest, back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps. They also strengthen your core, making you stronger and more stable.
Regular push-up practice builds lean muscle in your chest, shoulders, biceps, and triceps. Over time, as you build more muscle, your body will burn more calories to maintain this muscle mass.
8. Planks
Plank exercises are great for your whole body. They work many major muscles, including those in your core, shoulders, arms, chest, back, and hips. Planks are also effective for burning fat and calories quickly. While they might look simple, they’re quite challenging.
The longer you hold a plank, the better your results. To see improvements, focus on maintaining the plank position for as long as possible.
There are different variations of planks that target various muscles. Each type helps improve your core strength, balance, endurance, and posture.
9. Sleep Well
Often, we think losing fat is all about tough workouts and strict diets. But good sleep is also key. Staying up too long can lead to unhealthy eating, less effective exercise, and can increase stress and inflammation, affecting recovery after workouts.
Research shows that not sleeping enough can significantly slow fat loss. Another study linked better sleep quality to more weight and fat loss. Also, longer sleep is associated with more body fat loss.
Plus, the Mayo Clinic suggests adults should get for at least seven hours of sleep per night. Everyone is different, so if seven hours isn’t enough for you, try sleeping more.
Keeping Up Motivation for Home Workouts
Exercising at home means no gym closures or bad weather to disrupt your schedule. But, it also means you have to motivate yourself, as no one else will know if you skip a workout.
It’s okay to be flexible with your workout times due to unexpected issues. However, some days will require more effort to stick to your exercise plan. So, how can you stay committed to working out at home without a gym buddy or instructor?
Here are some tips —
- Choose exercises you enjoy. You’re more likely to keep up with fun workouts.
- Minimize distractions. Focus on your body and movements to fully engage in the exercise. If your mind wanders, you won’t get the full benefits.
- If long workouts are hard to fit in, do three 10-minute sessions instead of one 30-minute session
- Keep exercise intensity comfortable. Don’t push so hard that you need distractions.
- Schedule workouts in your calendar to avoid postponing them.
- Give yourself time to switch to workout mode. Listen to upbeat music, hydrate, and have a small snack if you’re low on energy.
Conclusion
When you’re trying to lose weight at home, it’s more than just exercise; it’s about a complete lifestyle change. You must eat the right foods at the right times and mix up your workouts with activities like walking, running, rope jumping, and intense short exercises.
And don’t forget exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and planks. Also, good sleep is just as important as being active. Looking ahead, the secret to losing weight at home is to keep a balance of these practices, stay driven, and consistently make healthy choices.
Remember, you’re not doing this alone. We’re all working together towards a healthier way of living.
FAQs
Is exercise alone enough to lose weight?
No, to lose weight, you need to exercise regularly and eat the right foods. Both are important for getting results.
How many calories should I eat each day?
To find out your daily calorie needs, multiply your ideal weight in pounds by 14. For example, if you want to weigh 135 pounds, you should eat 1,890 calories a day (135 times 14).
What foods should I stay away from to lose weight?
Avoid foods that are high in carbs and fats. This means cutting out things like french fries, potato chips, white bread, pastries, cookies, and sugary drinks.
