First of all, weight control is much more about eating right than it is about exercising right. You can swim laps for an full hour and only burn off about the number of calories in a couple of cans of Mountain Dew.

If you're fat and you want to not be fat, you have to eat fewer calories than you burn. And the ONLY way to successfully do that is to count calories. So many people try and fail to diet because they don't keep track of their calorie intake. It isn't that they lack the willpower to stay on a diet; it's that without any concrete idea of how they're doing on a day-by-day basis, there's no real incentive for them to get the broccoli instead of the mac&cheese. Decide how many calories you want to consume per day, then OBSESSIVELY stick to that number. That means reading a lot of food labels, and not eating at restaurants where you don't know how many calories are in food. It also means building up a library of foods which you won't get bored of too quickly, which are healthy, and which you can memorize the calorie count for.

In terms of exercise, consider weight training. You can do weight training while you're still tubby and not be held back too much by your tubbiness. It also doesn't take very long... 90 minutes three times a week is more than enough to start seeing some real progress (though more will give you better results). BTW, weight training is another area where you will accomplish nothing if you don't set a goal for yourself and make a specific plan to achieve it. It's surprisingly easy to lift weights for two hours a day every day and receive absolutely no benefit from it. So do your homework first.

Get a hobby, I train in martial arts (it's lots of fun, if you want to try it out, I wrote the beginner's guide so PM me). [grin] If you're healthy, you'll probably code better (be less lethargic, have more focus etc) it's worth the time and effort to keep fit.

Drink water, cut out sodas/juices etc. That alone will drop your calorie intake substantially. You might get caffeine headaches for a while while your body adjusts. Sodas just rot your teeth and pack on hundreds to thousands extra calories a day depending on your intake. Going for walks or riding a bike helps too. Just find something to get you moving for a bit each day, something outside preferably...sun is good for you just dont get sunburn :P. Just try to eat well balanced meals and not too much junk. There are many sites that can help you develop an eating plan. Another thing is to remember that weight loss is a slow process. You may not see results for months so don't get discouraged and stick with any program you start with. Follow through is important. Hope that helps, Goodluck :)

Quote:Original post by Sneftel
First of all, weight control is much more about eating right than it is about exercising right. You can swim laps for an full hour and only burn off about the number of calories in a couple of cans of Mountain Dew.

If you're fat and you want to not be fat, you have to eat fewer calories than you burn. And the ONLY way to successfully do that is to count calories.

Totally agree. I'm loosing at least pound a week counting calories. My typical diet now consists of:

Morning)
sugar free slim fast (180 cals)
~4 cups of coffee with 4 creamers (35x4=140 cals). Sometimes I use fat free creamer which cuts back a lot on this.

Lunch)
Jr. Hamburger w/ lettuce, tomato, onion, pickels from Wendy's (280 cals)
Diet Coke (0 cals)

Dinner)
Healthy Choice or Lean Cuisine; something under 350 cals)
small dessert (250 cals)

Total: 1200 calories.

I probably get an extra 200 a day on a variety of other things.

Quote:
In terms of exercise, consider weight training

I second that(unless you are <18 yearls old).