There are so many tools and equipment out there for weight loss, but which one do you choose? Should you use free weights or weight machines? The treadmill or exercise bike? How much should you pay for exercise DVDs?

Instead of worrying about the amount of choice you have, let’s get started! If you want to start your healthier lifestyle today then collect these five tools for weight loss. If you do have the tools in your home, use substitutes for the time being.

1. Attire

Your clothes and shoes need to be suitable for the exercise you are doing. If you need to, practise some parts of your exercise routine in the changing room. You could jog on the spot, stretch your legs, etc, and see how you feel. How does it feel? Do you feel comfortable or restricted? Do you feel hot or is the outfit helping to cool you down? Besides the technology behind the material/fabric, how does the outfit make you feel? Does it accentuate your best features? Would you feel confident wearing these clothes in public? Repeat this process with your shoes.

2. Towel

Exercise, especially you are unfit, can make you sweat bucketloads. Instead of standing there dripping wet, you’ll need to mop up as you go along. A towel will also come in handy at the gym if you come across equipment covered in the previous user’s sweat. Use a small, highly absorbent towel, not the towel you use when you step out the shower.

3. Journal

Not only is it nice to look back at your progress, but it’s also very important when you get stuck. Looking at your prior methods can help you plan for the future, based on your past mistakes. Even if keeping a journal isn’t your thing, do it for ONE week or ONE month. You’ll learn a lot from this short exercise, so much it’ll be surprising. You can lie to yourself, but can you lie to your journal? Probably not.

4. Resistance/strength training

There are many forms of resistance. You can use free weights, weight machines, cans of food, resistance bands. If you can’t afford any of that right now, just use your own body. Lunges, push backs, sit ups are all strength training. There’s no shame in leaving the weights and bands for now. Ease into them slowly and then build up to heavier weights overtime.

5. Routines

If you don’t have workout DVDs, don’t panic! There are two types of exercise routines available for free online. One is detailed instruction with pictures showing two or three key parts of each exercise. The second is a short or long video featuring at least one instructor. Try both to see which one you prefer. If you’re someone like me, who learns by watching, then I recommend the videos. Four websites I use for free workout videos are: Self Magazine, Sparkpeople, ExerciseTV and Youtube.

There you go! Five tools for weight loss. Over time you will find many more, but these five are necessary for you to get started. Everything else will come in time, so be patient and enjoy the ride.