12-15 years ago, I was on a 7,500(give or take) calorie a day diet, but was playing 5 full sport seasons over the course of a year, so I maintained 215-220 pounds. As I got older and gave up the sports, of course my caloric intake went down, but the weight went up. At my highest weight, I was around 280. I've been up and down between 230 and 260 over the past few years. I'm now at 240, with a few pounds to go, with 215 being my goal. Much smaller and I just won't look good. Here are a few helpful things...

1) Walk every day...rain, snow, sleet, or hail...whether it's 105 degreees or -5, it won't kill you. As the weight starts coming off, say at 20 pounds, throw a 20 pound weight in a back pack and walk with it. It's makes for a more active walk and serves as a reminder of the weight you were carrying along all that time. Get a dog, or a walking partner, throw on your Beats by Dre, and go. And change up the walkng routine every so often, the same walk every day tends to get boring.


2) Just cut out snacks completely, or at the very least, eat fruits at snack time.

3) Don't eat after 7:00-8:00 pm at all. That's around the time daily activity starts to lull, and the lack of activity means the food you eat is working for you less.

4) Wear wrist/ankle weights around the house.

5) Try push ups/sit ups...if you can only do 1, make 5 your goal; if you can do 100, make 500 your goal.

6) Increase your fiber intake, add yogurt to your diet...things that aid in digestion aid in processing what you eat more properly.

7) Lean proteins(Chicken breast, Eggs(more specifically, whites), some fish) will leave you feeling full the longest, as they take longer for the body to break down.

It's not easy to stay focused on all the time, but eating better and getting in some exercise literally takes only minutes out of your day. Good luck and hope you stick to it bud!