Getting in better shape

The first thing you need to know is that losing weight and building muscle are almost always opposing goals.

To lose weight, you need to eat less calories than your body uses in the day. To build muscle, you need to eat more calories than your body uses in the day. So they can't work together, no matter what diet website or miracle exercise plan you come across.

To lose weight, there are no great exercises. If you're losing weight, as I said above, you need to eat less calories than your body uses in the day, so your body needs to be using more calories. And the way to do this is through cardio exercise. Cardio is any type of activity that increases your heart rate, such as walking or jogging. There's no miracle exercise... you just need to get your heart rate up for a period of time. Use a treadmill, go for a walk, or go for a run.

But it's important to note that reducing your calorific intake by eating less and healthier is almost always going to give you better gains than exercising alone. In comparison, exercising seems pathetic next to the drop in calories you can get from eating less. For instance, if you go jogging for thirty minutes, you'll likely burn no more than 300 calories; which is the same amount of calories in a Mars bar!

So the best thing for losing weight is eating things that make you feel full and not wanting to snack throughout the rest of the day. They don't have to be low in calories, but so much that they don't make you want to eat a load of other high calorie things! And then combining it with a bit of cardio exercise... which will make you feel better and encourage you to think about what you're eating, etc.

Then again, if you're not that overweight, you may be better focused with actually building muscle and losing the weight later. For that there are a lot of resources on the internet. But just take note, you can't lose weight and gain muscle at the same time!