3 rules :

- Drink water each hour to rehydrate yourself.
- Don't start those scam diets like Weight Watcher. You will lose weight at the beginning but you will be oblige to continue the rest of your life to avoid to gain them again and more.
Just eat everything you like in a balanced way. No excess !
- Do physical exercises. I don't mean "sport" but move your body. Don't remain in a sitting position all the day. You have to walk around 30 mn/day or 10000 steps /day.

Extra tip : listen this song to motivate yourself ; )

Just when you think you've seen all types of giveaways, something like this happens. xD

As someone who has been fit like Bruce Lee (but don't have the muscles though xD) for the past 10 years (maybe even more) I can give you the following tips:

1. Exercise when you wake up, on empty belly. No need to push yourself extra hard, start small and little by little bring up those numbers up and also no need to do like 100 push up or whatever. The point is to have some shake up exercise every morning (or whenever you get up). Gyms are a waste of money, your body and your will is all you need.

2. Eat whatever you want, in amounts your stomach demands, not less or more. Chocolate is good for you, but you don't need to eat a ton of it. Try to have meals at almost the same time every day. Never eat anything past 11PM. NEVER! You hungry? GO TO SLEEP! That's a good recruit.

3. Whenever there is a chance to walk, YOU DO! If you have a bicycle, that's a good substitute. If you don't, buy one.

4. Water is your friend. When you're thirty drink it instead of anything else. Occasional alcohol (like beer) with friends is welcome. It won't bring your weight down, but it will relax you just enough to keep you going with all these rules. Sodas/juices are for pussies (This is your new mantra!).

As you can see it's all pretty simple. Just start walking and you'll be there before you know it. All of you who have the same problem as the OP and you're not giving a game, matters not, you should heed these words. If you make it, it will be the "thank you" closest to my heart.

P.S. If anyone is wondering, no I'm not doing this for a living and yes I came up with (almost) all of this by myself and it works.

Not in.

When you're exercising, always keep fast carbs (candy, fluff, non-diet soda, a sports drink*) within reach. Low blood sugar can kill you, especially when you're out running / cycling / using other sports equipment. If you're feeling dizzy, stop and eat/drink sth sugary asap. Don't drink diet soda.

*Salt isn't important for us amateurs, unless you're exercising in extreme heat, which you shouldn't do in the first place.

I'm in, +1

Cut down on coffee, tea, beer, flavoured beverages, etc... Stick with just plain water, you don't want those extra calories. If you drink juices, eat the fruits instead, you'll feel fuller and the fiber helps.

I would recommenr to star with cycling, it will fotify your legs muscles to do other kind to sport, like running or hiking ( you don't need to pay a gim), as well will prevent avoid a bit of pain in knees.

be focused in your objectives, but don't try to run a marathon the first day, every day a little more, you will get better motivation and and confidence and that will improve your results.

I, too, have reached unacceptable weight. I have spent the last two years with many sizes of pants in my closet, and often I play the game, [I] which pants will fit today? [/I]. It is a venerable game, with many distinguished players through the years.

I've always been skinny, but my body needs it. So if I start gaining weight, my health goes to crap. It was never a real problem until a few years ago. Now, I'm under strict orders by my doctor to lose some weight (I'm only a bit over weight, need to lose 15 lbs (7kg)).

The first thing I did was stop full sugar sodas and stop sodas with caffeine. I crave sodas for the caffeine. That dropped a few pounds quickly, but then I plateaued. Then I dropped most of the diet sodas (they are now a treat, not a water replacement). That didn't do much but I don't crave sweets as much.

Then I cut out candy. That lasted a few weeks. My desk at work is right beside the candy drawer. I struggle with staying away from the chocolate. So now I permit one periodically. I need to assign days, really. Like on Wednesday and Friday, I can have one. Assigning days like that helps me avoid them bc then I know it's not something I can't have. It's something I can wait for. That makes it easier to manage.

I have had a few weeks of a 1200 calorie diet. It's hard, but that's 2lbs (1kg) per week. When I stick to it, I lose the weight.

To do it, I have shredded wheat (which I actually like). 1 brick in the morning with soy Milk (I get silk soy milk, most of the other stuff are reconstituted crap).thats about 150 calories. Then my lunch and dinner are 300-400 calories. And then I poke a few snacks in there of an apple, pear, banana or even a piece of chocolate to make up the rest.

I don't get militant on counting the calories but what it really does is it gets me counting calories and noticing how many calories each food had. Fast food - everyone knows its bad. But holy cow! It's really high in calories for some dishes. French fries are more calories than I can have in a a meal. And I don't even like them that much.

Right now I'm on a few week leave for some family medical stuff. When I get back, I'm running or walking a few miles a day.

1200 calories a day or 1500 calories a day with 300 calories of waking is 100 pounds in a year. That's massive.

Ive dropped 8 pounds so far. My main reason is for blood pressure control. It's helped some. Hopefully enough.

Thanks for that. I just bought a stationary bike. I think that will help me tremendously.

I agree with several posters here. Aerobic excercise (walk, run, cycle, step) is definitely what everyone needs, not only to lose weight but also to open the way for a "global" fortification; you increase your endurance, start burning calories and prepare fro more targeted efforts. It is the basic step for every physical improvement and the gateway to fortification.

Here's an interesting article about our daily sugar intake: How Much Sugar Can You Avoid Today?

I hope that you may win against the fat.

A lot of posters has already provided some really helpful suggestions.
Being more active, whenever possible, I believe helps a lot. Like taking the stairs, walking short distances if possible (I even walk long distances sometimes if time permits).
Riding a bicycle is both healthy and a lot of fun if that is possible.
Changing your diet for a healthier one is good, but starving is counter-productive and would increase weight (at least that's what I've heard).

Kudos for deciding to improve your life and for the out-ot-the-box contest.

In my experience, just going from absolute zero exercise (office jobs are a public health hazard!) to a moderate walk (30 min - 1 hour) a day works wonders. Although some days finding motivation/time/strength is a challenge on itself.

Not in, but I know the feeling. I drew the line about 3-4 weeks ago and managed to loose so far 2 kg. Now only 30 more to go :/

*sigh* I'm getting up there as well. I was walking about 4.5 miles to the library branch I used to go to and then back 4 times a week. That helped a lot.

The library branch I'm now going to, it passes thru a rather bad area and it;s been an issue.

I have a thin frame and I don;t wear any weight well.