Here's what I've been doing for the last 3 months (but mind you I like to run).
30 minutes of cardio either early in the morning or at lunch.
50-60 minutes of cardio after dinner.
every other day I do 3 sets of 5 different ab/lower back exercises (each exercise targets a different area of the core... upper abs, lower abs, obliques, transabdominal and lower back... stolen from the Abs Diet book... back of the book).
For breakfast I've been eating either a healthier type of cereal with fresh fruit added or 2 packets of flavored instant oatmeal with fresh fruit added and coffee with milk.
For lunch, i eat a turkey wrap (whole wheat wrap, turkey breast (one slice from deli), one slice of cheese (I like gouda, but whatever you like), tomatoes, spinach or romaine lettuce, half a avocado on sandwich, other half I eat during lunch), and one serving of whatever chips I have on hand. Piece of fruit afterwards (nectarine, orange, apple).
For Dinner, ONE serving of whatever my wife makes. She usually cooks somewhat healthy, but no matter what it is, ONE serving.
Fruit/nuts for snacks.
Surprisingly I've never felt like I'm depriving myself.
I'm 47 so my metabolism is slowing. I've lost 30 in the last three months... but back in 2001 I lost 40 pounds in 2.5 months doing less exercise and eating a little worse than what I've outlined above.
You need to get a good mindset to do the above. Make a plan... write it down. check it every day... motivate yourself to keep going. Seeing the results for me has kept me motivated, I'm wearing pants and shorts now that are loose on me that I could literally not pull up all the way before.
