The Best Way to Lose Weight at Your Own Home

You don't need to check yourself into a weight loss center or join a fancy gym to drop weight. Accomplish your weight loss goals at home with a few tools and organization. You won't need to hire a nutritionist and personal trainer to get ready for swimsuit season if you track your calories, exercise and remove junk food from your home.

Get Rid of the Junk

• Stop sabotaging yourself with mindless junk food eating. If it's not in the kitchen, it isn't as easy to snack on. Toss any food containing more than nine grams of sugar per serving, fried foods, food made with white flour or processed food.

  Replace the sugary, processed foods with natural, whole food such as fresh or frozen vegetables, fruit, lean chicken or fish, nuts and low fat dairy. Have a small apple with a teaspoon of natural peanut butter instead of eating a few peanut butter cookies. Natural, low fat vanilla yogurt is a good substitute for vanilla pudding too.

Commit to an Exercise Program

• Get a great workout in your living room with the right program. All you need is a little space for working out and a few light- to medium-weight dumbbells.

  Follow a celebrity trainer to lead your workout. Try celebrity trainer Jillian Michael's Biggest Loser DVD or 30 Day Shred which is available at local retailers. Another DVD to try is Jackie Warner's Workout or Tony Horton's PX 90 complete diet and exercise program.

  Another avenue is to purchase a workout book such as "The Body Sculpting Bible for Men (and Women)" by James Villepigue and Hugo Rivera.

  For a cardio workout you could also run on a treadmill or use a stationary bike at home. If you want to venture outside, go for a run, walk or bike ride for exercise. Try to keep a steady pace for at least 45 minutes. A good cardio DVD is any of the Billy Blanks Tae Bo series workouts or Jillian Michael's new Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism.

  Complete your workout at least five days per week. This should include 45 to 60 minutes of strength or cardio training. Hit cardio one day, followed by strength the next day. Rotate between the two throughout the week.

  Don't forget that you burn calories doing regular chores such as vacuuming, sweeping and general housecleaning, too.

Keep a Food Journal

• Control how much you eat by tracking your calories in a food journal. Purchase a small daily planner and use it to record what you eat, when you eat and how much you eat each day. Determine the number of calories you want to consume each day and calculate your caloric intake at the end of the day.

  Obtain calorie and serving size information online at Calorie King.com or The Calorie Counter.com. These sites also include calorie counts for many popular restaurants, too.