Okay, here's what you do, and this works because I've lost almost 30 pounds over about 3 months. First, eat normally and keep track of everything you eat for three days. You'll be amazed. In that 3 days keep track of all your moderate to heavy activity (when and how long). Second, revise your eating and activitly levels. You should be eating around 2000-2500 calories a day (that's with exercise). You can look in any diet or cook book in a library to find out what has how many calories. Oh, and try to stay away from any resturants, they can fool you on your calorie intake. Second is exercise. The best I can tell you on this one is to take it at your own pace. You might want to start lifting weights, going for walks, anything that can help you burn at least 300 extra calories a day will help. If this doesn't seem to be working that well, increase your activity level, and decrease your caloric intake. But, don't EVER go below 1200 calories for more than a week. Oh, and drink plenty of water. Good luck.