I have a confession to make – I love ice cream. Maybe a little too much. I’ve been enjoying ice cream and popsicles almost every day this summer to beat the heat, and now my jeans are a little too tight. There’s only so much you can blame on the dryer, so I’m taking responsibility. I need to drop the ice cream pudge and get in shape. But I think joining Weight Watchers and other weight loss programs is a waste of money, so my partner and I have put together our own program to lose the weight and stretch our food dollar at the same time. Here’s our weight loss program, which is all totally free except for the cost of the food we already eat.

1. Calorie Planner
I was doing an online food journal earlier this year, but that ultimately stopped because of the lack of convenience. If I was traveling, I couldn’t take it with me. Well, Apple has a free application for the iPod and iPhone that you can download on iTunes called FitNow. You can enter the food you eat as well as how much exercise you’re doing and it will tell you how many calories you’ve consumed and burned.

In iTunes, go to App Store. Under categories, click on Healthcare & Fitness. In the right hand column it will list the top application downloads. FitNow should be the #1 application listed.

2. Points
My partner and I are both very competitive, so we’ve turned our exercise routine into a game. We get 1 point for every 15 minutes of exercise we do. That can be walking the dog, playing the Wii Fit, biking to school, etc. We’re also weighing in each Friday on the Wii Fit (because it will keep track of our weight for us over the long haul). We get one point per pound lost. Each week the person with the most points wins a date and the “loser” has to pay for date night.

3. Suped Up Salads
We’ve been getting really serious about our salads. Instead of a side dish, this has become the main event. On Sunday I chopped up two heads of lettuce and put them in a bowl with a paper towel. I also chopped up celery, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, and a cucumber, then put everything in individuals containers. Now it’s really easy to make a big salad for lunch, because all I have to do is grab a handful of each vegetable and I’m ready to go.

But where’s the protein? Trader Joe’s has containers of pre-cooked strips of chicken for $5. You could do this for yourself a lot cheaper, but I caved on the convenience level and bought 2 of these. A handful of strips on the salad, along with a hard boiled egg that we split between the two of us, and the protein is covered. (For those who know me as a vegetarian, I recently found out that I have a soy allergy, so I am having to completely revamp my diet.) You could also put nuts on the salad for protein and a little crunch.

4. Fruity Snacks
Instead of reaching for a popsicle in the afternoon, we’ve been reaching for chopped up melon or peaches. It’s all pre-cut and nice and cold in the fridge. I chopped all this up on Sunday when I was prepping my veggies for the week.

I’ve already lost 5 pounds this week, and I’m really excited for our first “official weigh in” on Friday. I’ll keep you posted on my progress. And if anyone wants to join in our little competition, the more the merrier. I won’t promise to pay for your weekly date nights. But maybe we could figure out a prize for the Queercents reader/writer who has the most points at the end of the year. You don’t have to tell us your starting weight, or how many pounds you lose each week, but you could say “I got 15 points this week.”

What do you think? Can you lose weight and save money at the same time? I’d love to hear your tips and tricks in the comments.