i need some advice

At the beginning of this year I cut out fried foods, red meat, and cheese, and limited myself to enough sweets that could fit in a shot glass. And I've tried to eat more at lunch and less at dinner. So far it's been pretty easy to stick to.

 

Exercise advice
You need to do it frequently. 3-4 times a week.
I recommend that you run at least 2 miles every time. Running is, in my opinion, the best cardio training. Cycling (intensely) is too.

Don't be sporadic with your training. Stick to your routine. Two miles will probably take you less than thirty minutes to jog. If you can bump it up to three every time you run, awesome. Very little time commitment every day for such health benefits.


Eating
I'm not a huge dieter. I don't have experience with it, and I won't pretend to know everything that's going on.

I can never eliminate something from my diet. I, like most teenage boys, have cravings, and I usually just give in.
My advice is to not over-eat something.
If you know you're drinking too much soda or eating too much candy, just cut down on how much you eat. Don't cut it out completely.

You're not trying to be a supermodel. You don't need to calorie count and all that jazz, just eat fruits and vegetables when you can. Carrots, potatoes, squash, etc. and eat less crap.

 

I started off 2012 60lbs heavier, out of shape and a pretty unhealthy eater.

I found triathlons - while that may not be for you, my point is find something active you like and do it. Going to the gym and working out on a elliptical or other cardio equipment usually does not work for most people. They may have some short term successes but it's not sustainable for most people.

Start by going for a 1/2 walk each day. This is a great way to get some more activity in your life. There are also little ways you can incorporate more exercise into your daily life, such as; parking at the back of the parking lot, taking the stairs, taking the occasional lap around your office building (school, whatever).

I recommend running - set a goal for a 5K race and train for it. Running is the best way to drop the pounds in my opinion. I am hoping to lose that last 10lbs while training for my marathon in May.

For food eat your breakfast, eat more veggies. Pack your lunch every day, try not to eat out. Cut out fried foods, and processed foods. There's a good rule of thumb, shop on the outside of the store.

Stick with it, loosing weight and getting into shape take time. I am just about at the two year mark and still have 10 lbs I would like to lose. There will be plateaus it's all part of the process.

I also used a calorie tracking app to track what I ate. It was a pain at first, but once I got most of my recipes in there, it became much easier.

I have also cut out things like ice cream, cookies, and other deserts except in rare occasions. You don't need them. Sure they can be a nice treat, but so is losing that extra pound.

 

Personally I found cutting out any form of fizzy drink to help a lot, I basically just drink water now...

Changing little things every so often. It won't lose a lot very quickly but it's a hell of a lot easier than dieting and than maintaining that commitment forever...

 

Best thing you can do is increase your water intake. Drinking water makes you feel full so you will eat less, it keeps you away from sugar drinks, and it also helps flush all the nastiness out of your system.

Find a balanced approach to nutrition. There are a lot of different "diets" out there but the thing I have found that has worked best for me (lost over 30 pounds on it last year and about five so far this year) is one where I am tracking servings of different food groups. There is plenty of room for eating veggies, limited fruit, meat, dairy, and breads. So it really encourages filling up on the healthy stuff. Really find out what a "serving" of any food is. It is amazing how much a difference it makes when we eat the right amounts of something. After a bit you feel full on far far less food.
Good luck.

 

Congrats on deciding to be healthier! A few things:
1.) Start out slowly so you don't burn out.
2.) Don't be discouraged by plateaus in weight loss. Initially you may gain muscle while losing fat, or your body may be craving more calories, so you won't be constantly losing weight at the same rate.
3.) Find an exercise you enjoy. Even better: find activities to do with friends. Take a yoga class or a zumba class with a buddy, or start going on brisk walks together.
4.) For the love of god, don't do any fad diets! I've tried paleo and other low-carb variants, and the only diet that works for me is a low-meat, low-sugar one. The same thing may not work for you, but anyways fad dieting blows.

 

I am an avid runner with a crappy diet, but I'll offer my best fitness advice.

1. Start off small and slowly increase. So maybe start walking 20 minutes everyday, and then overtime change to walking 10 minutes followed by 10 minutes of jogging.
2. Find a form of exercise which you enjoy. I am heavily biased towards running, so I suggest it, but go with your gut. If you like dancing, join a Zumba class. If you like biking, take a spin class. If you like swimming, find a local YMCA. It also helps to alternate forms of exercise (run one day, bike the next, and so on...).
3. It's going to suck at first. When I first started running full time it SUCKED like hell. I wasn't able to enjoy running until recently (2 years after running about 40 minutes or more a day). It takes dedication.
4. Be strict on yourself. Overtime you will learn when a few days off is OK or when you can pig out, but at first, put yourself on a schedual. I am known for running in snowy 10 F weather by choice because I know that if I don't run 1 day, then I will give up on myself.
5. Eating wise, it doesn't matter how much you eat as long as it is healthy. Instead of eating pizza for dinner, eat 3 bowls of salad. Instead of chocolate chip cookies, try a few bananas. Don't become obsessive with your diet though, as this can lead to ED.
6. Don't give up. Don't be too hard on yourself. Find friends to exercise with. Have fun!!!