Turbocharge your weight-loss efforts— for free

If you’re among the 42% of us who put on extra pounds this year, you don’t need to fork over a ton of cash to shed them! Here, 4 fee-free ways to save on slimming

Get no-cost support

A U.K. study found that connecting with other women who are trying to lose weight is so effective at boosting motivation, it leads to nearly eight more pounds lost within six months than going it alone. But you don’t need to pay for pricey memberships to hear words of support and share tips with others when you can find in-person weight-loss support groups for free at Meetup.com/topics/weightloss. Also smart: Join an online Facebook group by searching for “weight loss” in the “groups” section. Research shows that getting virtual support provides the same waist-whittling benefits.

Track your day for nothing

Simply tracking your daily weight and foods you consume results in a four-pound loss within four weeks, shows one study. That’s because it keeps you focused on your progress, helping you stick to your goal. And there are plenty of free apps and websites to help you do it! Log daily weigh-ins with the Happy Scale App for iphone and ipad or Simple Weight Tracker for Android, and chart weight and food intake at Cronometer.com and Fatsecret.com. They turn your data into easy-toread graphs that inspire you to keep going!

Pay $ 0 for exercise classes

Prefer instructor-led workouts, but dread expensive gym memberships? Great news: There are plenty of free exercise classes at community centers, libraries, parks, schools and sports apparel stores. To find them, visit Eventbrite.com, type “workout” into the search bar, then select “free” in the filters menu. You’ll get a list of upcoming nocost classes near you. Prefer to work out at home? Try instructor-led exercise videos at Youtube. com/c/thebodycoachtv and Youtube.com/c/ fitnessblender, which offer a wide variety of workouts for every level of ability—for free!

Nab free counseling

Losing weight is easier when nutrition experts share customized advice about the best foods for you to eat based on your weight-loss goals, health conditions and food preferences. Lucky for you, nutritional counseling is often available free of charge. For example, Medicare covers fees to consult with a registered dietitian if you have diabetes or kidney disease, many private insurers pay for consultations with a nutrition expert and some workplaces offer to pay for nutritional counseling for employees and family covered under company healthcare plans.