7 Simple Tips for Burning Body Fat at Home Without a Gym Membership

CNET

5 hours ago

If you're looking to lose weight or build muscle, a gym membership can be a helpful tool. But with membership costs on the rise, it can also be a pricey investment. A recent CNET survey found that 25% of adults surveyed have had to cancel a subscription or membership due to rising costs and budgetary constraints. If you're not looking to add on another monthly membership fee, you may want to skip the gym and work on your fitness goals right at home.
If your primary fitness goal is to reduce body fat, you don't have to pay for a gym membership to get results. In fact, there are simple habits you can do at home to burn body fat. Just remember to avoid spot training since research shows that focusing on a single area with targeted exercises won't result in fat loss in just that spot. Instead, when you exercise, your body breaks down fat stores from various areas, not just where you're focusing your efforts.
To achieve your desired fat loss, you'll want to focus your efforts on moving your body regularly and maintaining a balanced diet. We've detailed seven easy habits you can adopt to progress toward your goal.
1. Get your steps in
Walking is an ideal workout outside the gym. It can be done around the neighborhood or at a park. On good weather days, you can also get some much-needed fresh air. Plus, it's free, and you can take your dog with you (if you have one).
Walking is also a body fat buster. One study found that healthy postmenopausal women lost 3.9% of body fat after 30 weeks of walking and 1.8% after 15 weeks of walking. While we can't target specific areas, walking can help lose belly fat.
According to a December 2024 meta-analysis, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise (like walking) per week may help adults with obesity or those who are overweight slightly reduce waist circumference, body weight and measures of fat. However, the greatest improvement was seen with 150 minutes per week.
2. Try intermittent fasting
One diet trend that has risen in popularity over the years is intermittent fasting. As the name suggests, this is where people fast for a certain time, and then eat at other scheduled times. One study review found that subjects who fasted intermittently had weight loss ranging from 0.8% to 13%. The idea is to force the body to use up its immediately accessible sugar stores and start burning fat.
A perk of intermittent fasting is that you can customize it to your preference and ability to abstain from food. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, fasting can last for a certain number of hours every day or even just eating one meal per day for two days out of the week. For instance, you might only eat during an 8-hour period each day and fast the rest of the day.
It's important to note that intermittent fasting is not for everyone, especially those at risk for disordered eating or during pregnancy. Before trying intermittent fasting, consult with your doctor to ensure you follow the best plan for you and your goals.
3. Lift heavier weights
This point might seem counterintuitive since we just covered how you can't burn fat in one specific region, no matter how many stomach crunches you do. You can balance weight training to target multiple muscle groups or work on certain body parts as part of a whole-body workout. That may give you more balance and a lean appearance and help with body composition.
If you don't have dumbbells at home, check out these household items that double as weights.
Weight training can also help you lose fat while building muscle. Studies show that 3 pounds of lean muscle weight gain corresponded to 4 pounds of fat weight loss. Resistance training has also been shown to reduce body fat percentage, body fat mass and visceral fat (the fat that surrounds your organs).
The National Institute on Aging recommends resistance training, either with weights or bodyweight exercises like pushups, for at least two days a week, so it can be a fairly easy exercise to fit into your schedule.
4. Start running or jogging
Azlin Nur Bakarudin/EyeEm/Getty Images
Another great exercise idea to lose body fat is to start running or jogging. Like walking, you can do it around the neighborhood or in a park, so it's free. If you're concerned about the weather, you can also find an indoor track at a gym or community center. You can also consider getting a treadmill or elliptical to run or jog at home.
Sprint training, where you switch how fast you run every several seconds, is especially good at busting the fat. The Centers for Disease Control also recommends 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity or a mix of the two every week. The CDC lists walking at a rate of a 15-minute mile as moderate activity and jogging or running as vigorous.
5. Focus on high-intensity interval training
This type of exercise, often shortened to HIIT, involves exercising as hard as possible for short bursts and then spending some time doing lower-intensity training. A perk of this exercise is that it can be any activity that gets your heart pounding, from jumping jacks to stair climbing, so it's customizable based on how much room you have and what equipment you have around.
It's a fat buster too. It may result in a modest reduction of overall and abdominal fat.
You can do 30 seconds to several minutes of hard-as-you-can working out and then 1 to 5 minutes of recovering with a lower-intensity exercise level. These workouts typically last about 30 minutes, including 5-minute warm-ups and cool-downs, but they can be tailored to suit comfort and fitness levels. Typically, the aim is to do these sessions five times a week.
6. Eat the right foods
You can also focus on your diet. While there are no foods that'll magically burn your fat, there are foods that can increase your metabolism. Most of these foods are high in protein and good-for-you fats, making you feel fuller longer.
Some foods to incorporate into your diet if you're trying to reduce fat, as listed by the CDC, Healthline and the World Health Organization, include:
Fat-free, sugar-free yogurt, such as Greek yogurt
Fatty fish like tuna, herring or salmon
Eggs
Veggies
Fruit
Green tea
Whey protein
Olive oil
Beans
Grilled chicken
7. Prioritize quality sleep
We tend to associate burning fat with endless exercise and painfully restrictive diets. Getting a good amount of rest can also help get rid of the fat. Staying awake for too long can make us eat sugary foods to stay awake, give us tired and ineffective workouts, and may even contribute to stress and inflammation, leading to poor workout recoveries.
One study found that not getting enough sleep decreased the proportion of fat weight loss by 55%. Another found that better sleep quality was linked to more weight and fat loss. Another study found a positive relationship between sleep duration and body fat loss.
The Mayo Clinic recommends adults get seven or more hours of sleep at night. Sleep needs can vary by individual, so adjust higher if seven doesn't quite feel like enough.
The bottom line
When it comes to losing fat at home, you have many different options. You could try walking, running, high-intensity interval training or bodyweight training, all of which have studies backing up their fat loss capabilities.
You might also try adjusting your diet. Eat foods that are low in saturated fat and sugar and ones that can keep you full longer. Opt for high-protein or low-calorie foods like grilled chicken, beans, eggs or green tea. You can also try intermittent fasting.
Finally, make sure you're getting enough sleep. A good amount of sleep is also associated with fat loss.