After 2 years doing nothing and before that i lost 25 kg's in 6 months. Here are the most effective tips i know of. You don't have to follow them all, but if they can help you, i'm glad :). My tips are "collected/memorized" for losing weight and improving health.. ( both go hand in hand)

Just been hitting the gym since one month, have seen a awesome progress in a short amount of time. So in terms of sports, i'm currently highly motivated. So excuse me if i'm being rude as "pushing your limits". I set up my goals for now ( 1/4th marathon, ...) to know what i want to accomplish )

Fyi, i quitted "sporting" after 6 months because i had an accident with my car. I couldn't train for 2 months and my motivation ( including having pain when doing sports), was gone for a while.. Been regretting it i didn't start sooner :(

- Run in the morning after a protein shake ( most effective, so it won't break down any muscle). You could also do rope skipping. To lose weight, you need a minimum of 25 minutes of cardio ( regular speed) or a HITT workout ( when you're experienced in the sport you are doing, it requires less time)

- Sleep enough ( i only sleep 3-4 hours per day :s, that's not enough) - Sleep is really important :s

- No alcohol ( it slows down your metabolism). I like green thea ( real one, not lipton), it has multiple health benefits and improves your metabolism

- If you use the weight scale, use it on a weekly basis. Not daily. A mirror is better then a weight scale in a lot of cases. Sometimes you are building muscle => more weight on the scale

- Measuring your fat percentage gives a better accuracy about your body then bodymass index. The easiest way is electrolyse, but not always very accurate (eg. when you drink a lot of water => ah well, life ain't perfect. But this is the easiest method )

- Strength training ( more muscles = higher metabolism = more burning fat while eating the same) in the evening.

- Women don't acquire muscle that easy, it's more efficient to do more cardio when you are female..

- Some people just don't get fat. Get over it, they aren't you. If you want to build muscle, they'll be jealous though ;-) .

- Strength training with a high heart beat burns more fat (eg. 1 minute rope skipping, 2 minutes dumbells push)

- Limit your sugar intake

- "Healthy" products that are popular are probably not very healthy. ( eg. Kellog's K => way too much sugar). I have always found "something off" with it. Healthy is also a marketing term :)

- Sugar =/= sugar. You have allowable sugars ( Dextrose => found at pharmacy and fructose ( in fruit)). Those are the ones you want, if you need them

- Eat regular, but don't eat to much ( never be fullfilled and never be hungry is how i call it). I don't count kcal, because i hate that.

- The sooner the day, the more time you have to burn your carbs. The closer to the night, the more protein your food should contain ( while you sleep, you store carbs in your body)

- Have good food choices, less carbohydrates when you are nearing bedtime. Last meal approx 2 hours before going to sleep.

- If you want results, do it a minimal of 3 x / week ( cardio, strength training)

- Never be hungry!

- Read about what you do or why you do it ( eg. Tom Venuto - Burn the fat, feed the muscle)

- Workout according your capabilities, sport is 40% of losing weight. 60% is having better food choices.

- Don't start alone, but be prepared to continue it alone though ( eg. partner is not going to the gym, just go alone )

- You don't need to constantly to give it a 110%. You can have a cheat meal every 4 days as a reward ( Because of a hormone called Leptine in your body) - have a rest day ( Sunday)..

- A human can live for a month without food, it's because the body limits the energy wasting to crucial organs.. You don't want that, you want your metabolisme to be as high as possible. So don't eat to little! Food is important

- Know your bad habbits

- Do, what you can continue to do, on a regular basis.

- Have goals ( what do you want in 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years) - it's for your motivation. Write them down

- You need at least one supplement ( protein shake). I use multiple ( fish oil and high vitamines ( A + B ) ) and protein bars with a minimum of sugar as a snack

- Listen to your body, if you are hitting it to hard on eg. running... Then just run less, walk or don't run for a while.. Run again when you can

I'm writing this as a 27 male. I always go extremely fast, extremely hard... If you can't handle it, no problem. Build up untill you can. Eg. for running, stretch REGULAR ( like every 2 minutes) so you won't get cramps. Find out what your recovery speed is ( eg. 8.5 km/u.) and do HITT to improve your recovery speed. HITT is hard and you should only do it when you can handle it though...

If you hit the gym for one hour, make it difficult for yourselve. It's the same amount of time as doing nothing and you'll feel a lot better. If you can read a magazine while doing "sports", you're not doing it right and i wouldn't call it sports, it's called reading.

My body type is Endomorph, so i gain weight really fast ( but also muscle). Know what your body type is :)