Diet programs like Weight Watchers are a strange paradox: the people who are able to use them successfully are completely committed to losing weight, sticking to their diet, and not wasting money. Yet, those who fail are stuck feeling twice as bad since they’ve now wasted money on a calorie-counting system and discipline they didn’t follow, and one that didn’t stop them from gaining weight.

In reality, if you are the kind of person who is serious about losing weight and sticking to your diet, there is no need to join a diet program. Here are some of the easiest ways to slim down without compromising your health (or wallet):

Read 5 Easy Ways to Banish Cellulite

1. Write Down Everything You Eat
It may sound obsessive and annoying, but writing down everything you eat is a huge component of diet programs.

Why it Works: This is a great way to analyze what you’re eating and see what food groups you're missing. It will also prevent you from binge eating or indulging in junk food as you become more disciplined and don’t want to write anything embarrassing on your list. You can count calories if you really want to, but most people are well aware of the nutrition quality of what they’re eating, especially once they see it in the context of a list.

Take it Further:  If you would prefer to count calories, Nutritiondata.com is a free site that lets you track what you eat, offers a free nutrition analysis, and logs your water intake and deducts calories burned from exercise. Basically, if you want to join a diet program like Weight Watchers, this is the site that lets you do it for free.