Don’t let all that holiday spending discourage you from getting that Spring Break body. If you don’t have enough money to join the gym, buy the new diet fad or the latest infomercial gadget, there’s still a way you can reach that New Year’s resolution of getting in shape in three economical steps.

1. Check out The Ledger’s a Day in the Park series. Many of our county and city parks feature exercise stations and walking paths to burn calories. Chose a park from Timeoutpolk.com under the recreation section and make it a part of your weekly workout regimen.

2.  Sparkpeople.com, which has been featured in major publications, such as this month’s O Magazine, is an excellent website to manage your weight loss goal for free. The website has a nutrition, fitness and weight tracker, and there’s also a companion iPad or iPod Touch app that gives you exercise demonstrations.

3. Form an accountability group and create a fan page on Facebook. There’s nothing like a group of like-minded supporters to rally you on, share weight-loss ideas and to swap fitness DVDS.

— Merissa Green, Education Reporter