Starting slow.

So, the key I have found out with anything you want to accomplish is to start slow. Most people think like this:

I want to loose 30 lbs, so I must start: RUNNING EVERY day, Change my DIET COMPLETELY, go to the gym and do a LOT of WEIGHT.

Wrong.

You need to make small, but steady changes on how you adapt to this new life of exercise. First, I don't recommend diving into a diet, try this. Keep a food log of everything you eat and I mean everything. Down to the extra spoon of sugar you add to your cup of coffee. That way, after a week has gone by, you can see what is obviously effecting you the most. In addition to a food log, keep an exercise log on the adjacent page. My notebook looks like this, and this is what I really ate, don't judge me.

September 26th
B- Large bowl of special k cereal with a tablespoon of sugar
L- Zaxby's Chicken sandwich with lettuce and fries, sweet tea.
D- 3 ribs, not fully eaten due to amount of fat. Mashed Potatoes.
Snack- Bowl of special K.

Exercise:
Walked roughly 3.5 miles at an accelerated pace.

Secondly, Cardio. Cardio Cardio Cardio. That is probably one of the best things you can do for yourself when trying to tone/lose weight. Try to do 30mins to an hour of cardio a day. Don't dive straight into running either, you need to start slow, walk/jog/trot if you must. Also, music helps a TON in keeping you focused and motivated. Trust me, jogging down the street at 10PM dancing to Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" wasn't just amusing for me.

Key to being successful in this is accountability. Keep yourself accountable, keep your friends accountable. That way if you slip up one day, you don't get in the habit of it, and you bounce back.

Tip for the day: WATER You need to consume so many ounces of water to keep hydrated and keep your body burning calories. The way you figure out how, is by taking your body weight, and dividing by two. I generally subtract 5 from the total because I don't feel like drinking 95 ounces of water each day.

Weekly Motivation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SbXgQqbOoU&feature=player_embedded