[Moyer]

I've been researching nutrition and exercise for a year or so now. This is my simplified outline to losing weight.

--Nutrition--

Nutrition is a much more important part to losing weight than exercise is. It's a lot easier to just not eat 300 calories than it is to actually burn 300 extra calories.

Stay away from pretty much all beverages that contain calories. This includes soda, beer, koolaid, gatorade, fruit juice, etc. You're much better off drinking plain water. If you go long enough w/out soda, and then you have one, it will taste like thick syrup. You will get used to not having so much sugar. Also, drinking at least 8 glassed of water a day(or hopefully more) will help you feel full throughout the day. If you need an alternative to water, try green tea, vegetable juice, Diet V8 Splash, Propel brand fitness water, or possibly even diet soda.

Try to stay away from anything with hydrogenated oil in the ingredients list. This is trans fat, the worst kind of fat you can eat. Terrible for you heart.

Large amounts of sugar or white bread will spike your insulin levels and actually give you serious food cravings. They are also not very filling and are easily converted to fat.

This means no margarine, cookies, chips, crackers, pretzels, waffles, bagels, candy, white bread, deep fried food, ice cream, or pizza.

A good substitute for sugar is Splenda. A good substitute for white bread is wheat bread. A good substitute for margarine is olive oil. A good substitute for sweets is fresh fruit. A good substitute for fried foods is grilled foods. The spice rack is your friend.

Think natural foods, not processed.

Oatmeal, cottage cheese, any and all vegetables, brown rice, lean red meat, fish, chicken & turkey, eggs, peanut butter, nuts, and fruit should make up most of your diet. They are all very healthy and will keep you feeling full much longer than other foods.

Try to have a good amount of protein with every meal.

6 small meals a day is a great thing for a number of reasons.

Also, if you're finding it really hard to stick with a healthy diet, you could add one cheat meal a week. Make one of your favorite foods. Just don't go to an all you can eat buffet.

Lastly, don't suddenly start your diet and drop 1000 calories a day. It is much better for you, in a number of ways, if you gradually lower your daily calories.

--Exercise--

I suggest you weight train 1 day a week. If you enjoy weight lifting, you could do it as often as 4 days a week. You'll look a lot better after losing 80lbs if you've been lifting. Also, if you're losing more than a pound a week, a good portion of it will be muscle, not just fat. This contributes to the whole loose skin thing that happens after a lot of weight loss. If you want your weight training to help in fat loss, all you have to do is take about thirty seconds between sets instead of a couple minutes. You should definately buy the Stuart McRobert book already mentioned in this thread. It's titled "Brawn" there are also sequals "Beyond Brawn" and "Further Brawn". It's a great weight training book for someone without Arnold's genetics. Keep all weight training workouts under one hour each. Anything more is a waste of time.

As far as cardio goes, you either need high intensity for a short time or low intensity for long periods of time. A brisk walk for 10 minutes is good for your overall cardiovascular health, but it's not gonna burn much fat. Either take an hour brisk walk, or run your ass off for twenty minutes. It's your choice. If you don't like running, swimming is one of the best cardio activities out there. Could also try a treadmill or stationary bike. If you find these boring, buy a heavy bag (like the ones boxers use). Just beat the [censored] out of it for about half an hour. You'll be panting like a dog and sweating like a pig.

That's all I can think of right now.

I wish you the best. I know healthy food might take a while to get used to, but you'll be glad you made the switch. You may also be surprised how much healthy food you can actually eat without taking in too many calories.

If you find yourself struggling with your diet, just make another post. I'm sure you'll find support.