Things that helped me:
Start a food diary, either in a notebook or use one of the many tracking softwares. I own the PC version of fitday.com and used the website for over a year before switching. The website, when I ventured back for a friend, annoyed me with some functionality issues (for me) but you might like it. There are a TON more tracking sites free and pay.
eatracker.com was just recommended to me, too. ^^ A calorie book I couldn't have lived without while in the cafe and helping me in general is The Calorie King's
calorie counting book (2007 version is up on amazon.com; I never upgraded from the 2002 version^^
wink . (also, random omg
biggrin for amazon uk telling me Harry Potter 7's release date of July 21st!).
calorieking.com also has a pay tracking software that is supposed to be awesome on the food side of things (not sure if it has an activity tracker). Eat clean most of the time, treats are okay! The tracking program/book will also show you how many of your calories are bad fats, good fats, carbs, and protein. I eat 1300-1700 calories a day and since I lift lean protein intake is even more important than it might be otherwise.
Water, Water, Water, Water. My tap water tastes horrible (and sometimes smells like sulfur) so I get most of my water from my beloved beverage of choice - green tea. I brew a gallon of the stuff and put it in the fridge and drink it through out the day. Seeing the gallon reminds me to keep drinking. I also buy the smaller water bottles but then refill them with the cheaper store brand of gallon bottled water to cut down on costs. Drinking water will flush your body and you'll also loss bloat/water weight since your body will be pleased you aren't in the middle of a deadly drought and will no longer feel the need to horde moisture.
Fiber! My high fiber cereal of choice is Fiber One (14 grams fiber, 60 calories per half cup). I agree with Moonecho and her All-Bran that it's great in yogurt. I even learned to like it in low-fat cottage cheese (muscle building protein, low cal, complex carb, calicum - yum)
Start slow! Gradually start a workout routine. Start walking more places, every step counts.
Here's my post on my favorite workout tapes for beginner's (including the free version). You don't have to drop dead from a good workout, to loss weight my doctor and my mom's doctor-boss says 45 minutes of moderately intense exercise most days of the week. Work up to that, too much too soon and you're more likely to get discouraged.
sad Soon you'll want to work harder. : )
Lift weights. Seriously. We females don't have the higher levels of testosterone they have to get massive hulk muscles without some chemical help, so don't worry about that. We can get as ripped as we like, though.
3nodding Again, start slow! Eventually, with proper form you want to reach temporary muscle fatigue in the muscle you're working in 8-10 reps. Light weights at low reps for women and "toning" is a myth.
Exercise RX is a great site for information and exercises by muscle group.
stumptuous is a great site aimed at women and weights but good for anyone wanting to learn.
Muscle likes to eat fat (as long as you eat less than your body needs) because powerhouse muscle needs more food to maintain itself than lazy-a** fat. My fit university football/soccer playing brother burns way more calories than me when we're sitting on the couch because his Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is higher than mine. Your RMR is the amount of calories you burn just sitting on your a**. Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the rate you burn calories to maintain your existance and more muscle means that's higher too. The good news is that people with excess fat burn more calories exerting themselves than our fit and trim brethren, our out of shape bodies suck at knowing how many calories to burn so they sort of throw them out there. Sort of like our bodies want to shed extra fat while their (fit people) bodies don't want them to get too thin and starve during the hard winter. ^^
Remember "weight" isn't as important as fat. Here's a pic showing
muscle compared to fat, the muscle tight and compact (more dense than one pound of fat) and the fat blobby (less dense than one pound fat). Or 2.27 kilos aka the only metric conversion I know off the top of my head next to 2.54 centimeters.
xd Pardon my inability to write short posts.
sweatdrop I just get reaaaally into anything I'm interested in and want to learn. Remember it's best to talk to your doctor about your program and goals.
Good luck! (Start Slow!, Go Hard!)
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