Try a simple workout routine, either creating your own, or youtube for one. I love using HASfit.com as they have fantastic supersets for specific muscle groups. For instance, check out their 8 minute Killer Chest workout!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoIOJtz7Mwk

You can a great routine at home using bodyweight exercises and all those fun things you've already bought. Wait on the kettleball. Those dumbbells are enough to start with! Most kettleball exercises can be done with a dumbbell.

I do around 4 exercises per muscle group, and make a superset out of those 4 exercises. I do supersets for Chest, Biceps, Triceps, Shoulders, Back, Legs, Glutes, Abs, Core.

A superset means I'll do 4 exercises in a row, then rest for 1.5 minutes, then do those exercises again. A total of 3 supersets, and for each exercise I'll do as many as I can, and as heavy as I can without losing form or hurting myself.

A whole routine can take as little as 10 minutes, and make a world of difference.

Now, you realize weight lifting does not burn a lot of calories, even if you do it like a circuit, like I do. If you want to burn a lot of cals, you've got to do cardio. Fast walking is great!

Good luck! If you want meal ideas, I'm really enjoying the "No S Diet" - google it!

Hey Jennifer,

It's great that your considering a healthy way of losing the extra body fat

Nutrition wise, the best rules to live by (which are hardly rules!) are:

1) Whenever possible eat unprocessed foods e.g. brown rice not white, chicken breast not chicken nuggets, dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate...

2) No food is banned! If you are craving a certain food then have it in a portion size that fits in with your total calorie allowance (I assume you are calorie counting as you are on here).

3) Aim for a 40:30:30 (carb:protein:fat) approach- you can change this by customising your goals on here. The reason for this is that protein fills you up more than carbs and also helps you maintain your muscle mass whilst losing weight- so you are losing mostly fat instead of fat AND muscle. Maintaining (and building) muscle mass is important for your metabolism as muscle is much more metabolically active than fat- so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest.

You said 'I know strength training does not shed pounds/burn calories' but this is technically not true. Weight training does burn some calories- any extra effort you put in to moving your body costs energy- and it is important to include resistance training in healthy weight loss for the same reasons as I explained above- maintaining muscle/metabolism.

The best tips for exercise are:

1) Get active on most days- doesn't matter what just do something! Keeping it mixed up keeps you interested.

2) Don't be afraid of heavy weights (providing you have good technique)- they will not 'bulk you up' as you do not have enough testosterone (like men) nor a high enough volume of training to 'bulk up'.

3) Find a workout/sport/exercise class you love- if you hate exercise you'll never stick with it!

As a beginner Kettlebell weight I would recommend 6kg. Also the Kettlercise for Women DVD is a great home workout and slashes through calories in no time as well as spending time showing you correct technique. Also if you have Sky or I think it's on freeview too- Fitness TV and The Active Channel are great for recording fun new workouts for when you don't want to leave the house.

Hope this helps!

Justine
xxx