I give in. I think the only way I will be truly successful in my weight loss efforts is to involve myself in some sort of group workouts, team sports or gym membership. I am not a good motivator for myself and having others expect me at workouts or events keeps me on track. Now it just comes down to the $$. Given our economic standing and unemployment rates I am guessing this is a common issue.

My husband was unemployed for over 2 years during a 3 year period so I am not exactly into spending money on anything but food and bills. I once spent over $600 in one year trying to lose weight (not very successfully) but this is so worth it.

I looked into Zumba classes in my area = $87 a month

I looked into gym memberships = $47 a month

I looked into the Y = $35 a month but $3 per class.

I think I need to join the gym! The crappy thing, I just passed up a groupon for this gym... I knew I should have jumped on it but I got something my husband needed instead.

Anyway I am curious what the weight loss budget is for some of you. I know this is an investment worth investing in but for some reason I still have some guilt over a seemingly measly $50 a month for my health.

Savings from food= several hundred per month.
Exercise equipment (including bodybugg, elliptial from craigslist, handweights, and weighted hula hoop)= <$150.00
Exercise videos from the library, hulu, or neflix= $0

So far, I'm actually making money from the change.

Me too! It's costing me so much less to not eat out nearly as much and do my own shopping. I also eat less amounts overall. I exercise outside, so no gym fees. I have saved a lot of money.

I agree, the biggest saver has been cooking my own food. I probably average less than 15-20 minutes a day on this, save tons of money, and the food is so much yummier!

Interesting one!! My grocery shopping is much cheaper now - it has come as a shock how much I was spending on little treats and snacks! I used to but anything branded low fat and eat three times as much!

The extra expense is the gym membership - and now the new smaller clothes!!.

Do you have any friends locally who could go running with you or would be willing to do exercise videos with you? If you're in the states have you looked online for running groups or something similar? Check sites like meetup.com and I know there are some more.

I really don't spend anything at all a month. We have a gym now in our apt building but that's a relatively new phenomena since we recently moved. Before that I did a lot of exercise videos and running.

When it comes to food we actually spend much less because I cook from scratch and we rarely eat out. I also prefer to bake all my own desserts so they have way less calories inthem.

I am a bit confused, though. It looks like you've already lost a lot of weight and are doing wonderful. Why do you feel you need a group fitness class when you've been so successful already?

Good point about the portion size too. I find that even when we do eat out my food lasts for at least 2-3 meals (unless DH gets to it first!) whereas before it would last for only 1 meal.

ETA: also, clothes are cheaper now for me because I don't need specialty sizes

Kelly- you rock. I should be considering the change in the food budget. Compared to what my husband and I were spending on food a couple years ago... yeah I have really saved us a lot there!

runningfromfat- I recently gained 12 after falling off the wagon. I lost all that weight the first time around without paying for it but that was when I had a gym in my apartment complex. I moved from the midwest and live in a college town. Over the past 6 years all of my friends have moved away and I kind of stopped trying to make new friends since they all move away. All of my other friends are an hour or more away. It's sad, I need friends. lol

Christine- I hope one day soon I will be back to consistent outdoor workouts but I think I want to keep the indoor stuff going too so I am less likely to fall off the wagon again.

Ah, ok, I see now. Sorry for the confusion. I still would definitely look into some sort of meet-up locally that does biking/running or something you enjoy if classes themselves are way out of your price range. Then it would be a great opportunity to make new friends too.

have you checked into Community Ed. classes? I know that in my area, they offer 2 month long classes for about $35. The classes are usually held at local schools or public places such as community centers or pools. I've taken a hardcore water aerobics class through community ed. at a school district and really liked it. (However, it was only 2x/week, so I had to use that in addition to working out on my own outside.)

runningfromfat- thanks for the tip, I hadn't thought of local free groups! I will have to look into that.

kariatari- I love the community classes! I took a group aerobics class for over a year awhile back but then my instructor suggested I join the gym she teaches as since it would save me money AND completely open up my workout options. I was more consistent when I paid for the classes though.

I looked on CL for people who were also looking for weight loss buddies. I was lucky enough to find a girl who had similar goals as myself. And while we haven't met (yet), we do text each other daily and are accountable to each other.

As far as spending $$ to lose weight, I really haven't. I walk a few miles around my neighborhood every day. I do push ups, ab exercises, and a few other exercises. Both of those are free. And I bought some light weights that I left, and they were inexpensive. I'm down 43 lbs over the past few months, so I don't think you necessarily have to spend a lot of money on classes and gyms to lose weight!

Good luck!! You're doing great!

Do you have a 24 Hour fitness in your area? If you do, memberships are only 26.99/month and the classes are free.

i odon't save any money on my grocerys becuase i still have to buy my husband the bad food lol.
I spend 30 dollars a month at the gym (i get a student discount). but i love the gym. I love the atmoshphere of it. So to me its well worth it. Its really just a dollar a day, and all the classes are included even zumba in my 30 dollar membership!

I bought a membership to the gym 5 years ago for 4 years, and my annual renewal is only $69....Then I had a client that I helped out a little, and in return he gave me a 1-year membership to HIS gym, which is actually closer to my house.

However, I NEVER go to the gym. I've been meaning to, but it's so much easier to just walk out the door and jog down the street than to drive 10 miles to the gym. I'm not that motivated either, at times, so some things sound good to have (i.e. elliptical, treadmill, gym) but more times than not they just sit there collecting dust.

I say just do what you're doing -- that you can afford -- and improvise around the house with exercises. Squats, crunches, jumping jacks....all are free.