What you need to know

1. Eat less calories than your body needs
Ensure that you don't get pulled in to the inane specifics fed to you by fitness magazines! E.g. "No carbs after 5pm," "higher protein," "rank up your metabolism". Just stick to the basics. If you burn more calories than you consume, you WILL lose weight. You need to establish the basic routine of calories in / calories out.


2. Get up and on the treadmill
Go back to something tried and true. Doing enough cardio to help with overall calorie expenditure WITHOUT overdoing it, which will cause you to burn out. 20 minutes a day is fine really, but get up and do it.


3. Be realistic and honest with yourself
This is the most common error you will have have. You run head first into a plan, without stopping to assess the reality of where you're starting from, and how long it is going to take you to get where you want to be....


4. Equip yourself with the appropriate tools
That means LEARN about what you do! Don't just believe everything you see / hear in fitness magazines. Make yourself accountable. Be specific and vocal in your goals, and make sure others are aware of them. Writing them out and making them tangible will keep you accountable and consistent.