Here's my contribution to this thread: This is gonna be a long post so I'm gonna try and be as organized as possible.
Just to function as a human being we are burning calories. We burn calories in our sleep. Yes we even burn calories sitting on our asses. Two reasons why some people are overweight is because they consume more calories than they burn. No brainer right. Some people dont lose weight because they dont eat enough, they skip the most important meal which is breakfast and they go for extended periods of time without a meal. This makes your body go into what they call "conserve mode" which means you can forget about shedding any weight because now your body is holding on to what you already have on for dear life.
So rule #1: EAT! Dont skip meals!
The best place to start is what you eat for breakfast. Most people make the mistake of skipping out. Visit any health website and they will all tell you this is a HUGE no.
Breakfast should consist of protein, complex carbs, fruit and a multivitamin.
Here's my breakfast:
Right when I wake up, before I brush my teeth, a whey protein shake. This gives your body a little jump start. After all, your body is waking up after 7- 8 hours with NO FOOD. (SIDE NOTE- YOU need at least 7-8 hours of sleep. Very important).
After taking the shake wait twenty minutes before you start consuming any complex carbs because Whey is digesting very fast while the complex carbs digest slow. You want to get all that you can from the shake. So wait 20 minutes.
Next: Breakfast time- Oatmeal which is considered complex. Have some oatmeal, 1 fruit or 2 of your choice. (I have yet to try this but I'm gonna start tomorrow is throw in a Fiber supplement. A pill would be easier than powder. Ill let you know how it goes) And some sort of multivitamin.
Alot of information I know. But if you really want to be healthy I suggest you educate yourself first before going and thrashing yourself mindlessly at the gym. I dont really work out because I know that if I dont make changes to my diet first, my workouts will be in vain.
Hope this helps a bit. I'm still experimenting with all this healthy stuff a bit. As I try new ideas out I'll definately share my progress.