*Well, for just wieght-loss, calorie intake vs output is the biggest factor. Now it helps if you're active as well, but even if you arn't, you should lose wieght if you cut your calorie intake to around 1500 calories or less a day.
There are a few ways you can do this without going hungry. First and foremost, drink a LOT of ice-water, I'm talking 2 to 4 QOURTS a day. Not only does it keep you from getting hungry, but it speeds up your metabolism, as your body has to work harder to keep your body 98.6 degrees with all that cold liquid bombarding your system.
Second, oatmeal. Yes I know that Oatmeal really is only about as low calorie as cereal is, *cup to cup,* but oatmeal is a lot denser, expands when cooked, and contains a fairly decent amount of fiber, which keeps it from digesting quickly, which it turn keeps you from feeling hungry longer. My personal faverite combination for outmeal, is 1/2 cup oatmeal, a teaspoon of splenda, and 12 blueberries. Just add water, put the Microwave of medium and throw it in for about 5 minutes, and you end up with something fairly sweet, somewhat tart, and very low calorie. *at about 170 calories.*
Eggs are also another good food for diets, as they're reletivly low calorie, and contain a fair amount of high quality protein which keeps them from digesting quickly. I suggest hardboiled eggs as they don't require any added oils which would up the calorie count, but other preperation methods should work fine too.
The big things to avoid are straight sugar, and deep fried food. Meaning that stuff like Cocacola and French-fries cannot be apart of your regular diet. However it should be noted that from time to time you do need to snitch a bit in order to maintain your sanity.
Finally, on the excercise front, my preffered method of heartpumping excercise is biking. Not necceserilly fast or hard biking, just being out there and working your legs burns a lot of calories over time. For the record I useually bike 30 or more miles a week, but it's okay to start out with just a fraction of that.
Pushups are a fairly effective quick excercise as well. My current goal is to do about 100 a day, which I do in sets of 33. It's not that difficult if you've been doing it awhile, but if you're just starting out, you may want to go for a smaller number and do it on your knees instead of your toes.
If you have a wieght set and somebody to spot you, bench-pressing is also an effective way to build muscle without spending too much time. However it is very important that you ALWAYS have somebody spot you, as it's very easy to get into trouble when you're holding that much wieght over your chest without a failsafe.
If you're of a smaller build, I highly reccomend chin-ups, as the excercise several muscle groups. However this can be very, VERY difficult for larger people.
Finally, whenever you have the free time, I reccomend doing curls and crunches to work your biceps and abs. You'll need some freewieghts for the curls, but crunches can be done without any equipment as all and are a good way of strengthening those stomach muscles. *which reduces backpain.*
Anyhow, I hope all that was of help to you. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions, bye.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/smile.gif)
*