volatile

And, while I don't really practice it (I should), cut soda, fast food, and beer out of your diet. They're all really fattening, and have no real nutritional value. Subway would be the only one I would still eat. Make the rest of your changes as gradual as possible - eat popcorn instead of other salty snacks, or eat peanut butter. Read ingredient labels and avoid anything that is partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated (this means getting the natural peanut butter and limiting snacky foods.) Trans fat is BAD. Your body doesn't know how to burn it efficiently, so it will burn calories, regular fat and THEN try to burn the transfat. So if you are eating a lot of it, it kinda sticks with you. Gross, huh?

I hate trend diets, I really do. Adjust your normal diet - eat foods you like, but try to only eat things that are good for you. Look at something and ask yourself, "does this have something in it that I need? Does it have stuff in it that's bad for me?" Weigh the two before you eat something. Increase the amt of veggies and fruits, decrease the amt of meat. I'm not saying this because I'm a vegetarian, but because humans don't need to eat meat at every meal, and it really isn't good for us to do that. It does have very important stuff in it, though.

Sadly, while that alone will help - you won't really see any major difference unless you exercise. Limiting fat and calories is awesome, but if you're not burning more calories than you're eating, you won't lose weight. You don't have to go to the gym - walk when you would normally drive/take the bus (if possible), take your puppy for long walks/jogs at least once a day (dogs are awesome for the exercise routine, since they need it, too, and will remind you when you need to take them). Get a buddy - somebody else with a dog. I used to take my dog to the local nature trails at least once a week, and long walks every day.

Eating junk and not exercising is easier, it takes less time, and (sometimes) it's cheaper. Cutting soda/beer/etc out of your diet actually saves some money, though, leaving you with a little extra for healthier stuff. Wow, this was long, but that's what I've done. It works better than fad diets or trying to schedule gym time into my already fucked up schedule. Also, when I started, I didn't set a weight goal for myself. Losing weight should be a secondary goal - your first goal should be to get in shape, to be healthier. Wow, I really should get back into this. *stares at the 20oz Pepsi in front of her*

Small changes, no crazy guilt, and long-term goals (with little goals here and there - it's safe to lose 2lbs a week, I think... any more than that and you're probably pushing yourself too hard).