Yes! Portion control can be so productive in achieving fitness goals that some people achieve the weight loss they envisioned without cutting anything from their usual foods – just by paying more attention to the portions and skipping the “seconds” – as they move through the rest of their exercise program.

1. Exercise Portion Control

We’d be willing to call this exercise because it involves exercising your own powers of focus. Like any other strength, focus can atrophy from underuse. Aren’t we focusing on something or other all the time? In a word, no. So much of what grabs our attention nowadays is just distraction. Subjects and urges and issues that we had nothing to do with choosing, take up far too much attention, and attention is energy. When we exercise focus on what we are eating, how much, and how we are feeling as we eat it, we call that mindful eating. And mindful eating can slim you down, decreasing the demand on all your body’s support systems and clearing the decks for active, kinetic exercise.

2. Burpees

We like everything about burpees – except the name. Sounds like tiny gastric disturbances. What burpees are, in fact, are a chance to rapidly build your cardiovascular efficiency, while getting some significant core strength benefits, too. Just stand with your feet at shoulder-width. Now squat and place your palms directly in front of your feet. Thrust your feet out behind to reach a plank position – like when you start a push-up. Hop smoothly back to the squat position and, from there, make a little jump. Not a dunk, just enough to get your feet off the ground. Repeat and you’ll know this is serious exercise pretty soon. Practice three to five sets of eight to 15 repetitions, and you won’t be looking down on burpees, just because they require zero equipment.

3. High Knees

High knees is an exercise that’s simplicity itself, but effective nevertheless. Stand straight, with feet at shoulder width. Raise knees one at a time to waist-high. It’s like running in place, but with higher standards. We don’t do this by reps, but rather by the clock. Start with separate sets of 30 seconds, taking 15 seconds off in between. Increase time and speed, and reduce the break time. Now your burning noticeable calories and dialing up your metabolism at the same time. And you’ve got two aerobic friends you can spend time with at home, take with you anywhere, and get big benefits without even covering ground.

4. The Superman Punch

On a day when your workout is at home, it might be an especially good idea to strengthen areas that don’t often get attention. Filling that bill admirably is an exercise we might call the “Superman punch.” It’s what Superman might look like if he tried throwing lefts and rights while he’s flying through the air. Just lie on your stomach with arms extended alongside your ears. Lift chest, arms, and legs off the ground and squeeze those glutes. Now hold this position and pull your elbows down by your sides, punching overhead one at a time. The back, shoulders, and butt get strength training from this in ways that aren’t reached by many other exercises.

5. Pushups

Now at last, the pushup. I know, it would be cooler if we proposed something you never heard of, but there’s no getting around it. The pushup has been around forever because it is such an efficient way to work shoulders, chest, triceps, and even the core abdominals. If it’s not cool enough, then try wide feet, one-handed, clapping your hands in between, and all the other variations that Rocky would want you to do.

There’s a guy who went a long way from just the exercise he started at home, Rocky. How many sequels? Imagine what you can accomplish if you put your mind to it.