Erik of Chess.com creates an exercise website? Be skeptical.

What helps one person get in shape does not help everyone, since our bodies are all different.  I have failed so many times getting in shape by following some canned workout routine.  These will likely only leave you hungry, sore, discouraged and the same weight you were before.  Now that I have successfully lost 27 pounds in the past 6 months, and have finally made it out of the obese category, I will share with you what worked.

1.  Do exercise you enjoy.  I chose tennis.  Before I was spending endless hours at the gym with my weight loss not going anywhere.  I had to take a lot of days off because being heavy caused me to get sore easily.  Then I switched to tennis.  Instead of exercise being a chore, it was fun.  It was a game just like chess and I always like to find ways to make my game better and to win.  You might also enjoy hiking or cycling.

2.  Exercise with others.  I feel very competitive when I play others, so it helps me to stay motivated.

3.  Whatever you do, ease into it.  If you eat junk now, you will not be eating grapefruit tomorrow.  If you try, you will wake up at midnight and start shoving twinkies in your mouth.  When this happens, you will feel guilty and want to give up.  On the other hand, if you make one healthier choice per day, it will not be so much of a shock, and it will help you.

4.  There is an FDA approved weight loss pill called Alli.  There will be oil leaking out your ass at inconvenient times, but you will lose weight.

5.  Know about the plateau.  Your weight is a function of your lifestyle primarily, so when you make a change in your lifestyle, your weight will approach the weight which is appropriate for your lifestyle.  Because of this, you need to keep making changes to your lifestyle.  This means that you should not go back to your old lifestyle ever.  You will be right back where you started.