OK, could I ask RAWK for a little bit of help? I've been to the doctors today and what I thought would be the same old rubbish routine of 'slightly high cholesterol and blood pressure etc' was said in an all too serious tone, for my liking.
I am overweight, I never exercise, I eat too much and I smoke (although not as much as I used to). I'm working on the smoking and feel I have enough will-power to give up completely. As far as excercise goes, well, I don't know. It's not really me, but I can see what I can do.
Eating is the problem: how do I seriously cut down? And replies of, stop shoving food into your gob aren't helpful, especially when I'm giving up smoking. Anyone got any tips?
Speaking as someone who faces a similar battle with over-eating, my first tip would be to take things in small steps. Don't put too much pressure on yourself to do too much too soon.
For over-eating, I find simply drinking lots of water can help. Often thirst is mistaken for hunger, so guzzling down two litres or so of water every day is a good routine to get in to (if you don't do it already).
Also, drinking a large glass of water before a meal will fill your stomach up so you eat less.
Eating slowly also helps. It takes a while for your stomach to let your brain know you are full, so if you gulp everything down, you overeat. Take your time and enjoy the food you have so that you allow time for your body to let you know you are full.
As for foods, ignore fad diets. Instead increase your fruit and veg intake, eat less red meat and more lean white meat, but don't pile in food in the evenings. If you can, make breakfast and lunch your main meals. Never skip breakfast as it kick-starts your metabolism for the day.
As for exercise, if you are not used to doing it, again, start slowly. Even walking is a good habit. If you can walk more than you currently do. Cycling and swimming are good, low-impact exercises that don't put too much stress on the body should you be able to do either.
Another thing that helped me was finding someone else in a similar position, and using each other as motivation. You can feedback to each other for progress, what is working well and not so well.
I'm sure others will have some useful info. Good luck with it, especially stopping smoking.