Mostly it's eating sensibly. I do, though, strongly recommend the Hacker's Diet, simply because it explains the principles behind losing weight in a geek-friendly and scam/fad-free way, as well as having a sensible exercise program which you can start *slowly* on.
Daily weighing is fine as long as you don't obsess on the daily changes, but the trend. THD provides a nice spreadsheet for plotting your weight trend, which I find very useful (although having said that, my weight is remarkably well-behaved from day to day, without many sudden jumps: part of the trick is weighing yourself at the same time in the same clothes every day - I do it first thing in the morning, after I've come back upstairs with two cups of tea for Anne and I and before I drink 'em). Weekly is fine if it works for you - personally I think monthly is too infrequent for you to provide any useful feedback into your consuming/burning calories system.
The scales we have are excellent: Tanita "Ultimate Scale" ULT2000/2001. Available from Argos, price about 40 quid, *very* precise and repeatable as long as you stand on them properly (as evidenced by the days I get on the scale, look at the result, go 'I don't believe that', and get on again for a best of 3 or 5 - multiple attempts rarely differ by more than 1/2 lb).
I was 14 stone (196lbs) when I graduated, and by general consensus a shade overweight, and definitely unfit. My first target is 200lbs, after which I'll see how I look.
As far as eating sensibly goes, my usual day's intake is:
Whatever Anne's cooking: usually chicken or pork with veg plus a jacket potato, or pasta.
Dessert varies but nothing overly calorific
And, the important bit: snacks. Through the course of the day, when I feel peckish, I'll probably have a total of about four snacks, two of which'll be fruit/grain bars (Jordan's Fruesli, or Kellogg's Special K bars), one'll be a handful of Hula Hoops, and one a cream or cottage cheese sandwich (two slices of bread, lowfat spread).
Anyway, it works for me: i'm not suggesting it'll work for everyone, but thIt's how I've lost 22 pounds in two months.
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Daily weighing is fine as long as you don't obsess on the daily changes, but the trend. THD provides a nice spreadsheet for plotting your weight trend, which I find very useful (although having said that, my weight is remarkably well-behaved from day to day, without many sudden jumps: part of the trick is weighing yourself at the same time in the same clothes every day - I do it first thing in the morning, after I've come back upstairs with two cups of tea for Anne and I and before I drink 'em). Weekly is fine if it works for you - personally I think monthly is too infrequent for you to provide any useful feedback into your consuming/burning calories system.
The scales we have are excellent: Tanita "Ultimate Scale" ULT2000/2001. Available from Argos, price about 40 quid, *very* precise and repeatable as long as you stand on them properly (as evidenced by the days I get on the scale, look at the result, go 'I don't believe that', and get on again for a best of 3 or 5 - multiple attempts rarely differ by more than 1/2 lb).
I was 14 stone (196lbs) when I graduated, and by general consensus a shade overweight, and definitely unfit. My first target is 200lbs, after which I'll see how I look.
As far as eating sensibly goes, my usual day's intake is:
Breakfast (8am)
A bowl of muesli, with semi skimmed milk
A mug of tea with milk and sweetener
Lunch (1pm)
Salad - cottage cheese, tomato, lettuce, mushrooms (raw), cucumber
A low fat yoghurt
Mid-afternoon (4pm)
Mug of tea as above
Supper (8pm)
Whatever Anne's cooking: usually chicken or pork with veg plus a jacket potato, or pasta.
Dessert varies but nothing overly calorific
And, the important bit: snacks. Through the course of the day, when I feel peckish, I'll probably have a total of about four snacks, two of which'll be fruit/grain bars (Jordan's Fruesli, or Kellogg's Special K bars), one'll be a handful of Hula Hoops, and one a cream or cottage cheese sandwich (two slices of bread, lowfat spread).
Anyway, it works for me: i'm not suggesting it'll work for everyone, but thIt's how I've lost 22 pounds in two months.