Hi, and welcome
You're right, there are a lot of approaches out there, and it can all be a bit confusing. That being said, the most credible information (that I can gather) all boils down to one thing- weight loss is about burning more calories than we eat. (It's also been the first thing to ever work for me- apart from getting catastrophically ill, and you don't want that)
I calorie count. What that means is that I track all my food- I use a calorie counting program (mine's called cron-o-meter, another is fitday- both are free), and work out how many calories are in things (by labels on packets, information in my calorie counting program, etc), and add them up to see if I reach my target (and change my habits if I find things dno't reach my target). I weigh my food (it's the most accurate way of doing things) but other forms of measurement are also an ok approximation. It sounds like a lot of work but actually for me it's not that bad (although if you don't want to/ can't calorie count, I'd at least recommend knowing your daily allowance and having an awareness of how many calories are in things so you can make a better choice. e.g, if your allowance is 2000 calories a day, and the yummiest looking sandwich in the canteen for lunch is 1000- sadly that's not unrealistic- ask yourself "is that really worth half of my food for the day?" and if not, make a lower calorie choice).
In order to work out the number for you, I'd recommend finding a BMR calculator (easy on any search engine), punching in your details, and using a formula (such as the Harris Benedict formula) to incorporate your activity level. The number you'll be given is how much you need to eat to maintain your weight. Reduce that number by between 500 and 1000 (as long as that number doesn't get below 1800) in order to lose between 1lb and 2lb a week. This is an estimation, but it's a good place to start without fancy equipment and specialist appointments.
The great thing about calorie counting is that you can eat what you want. Technically, you could lose weight by having maintenance -500 of nothing but chocolate or Pringles every day. There's a study out there of a guy who had a diet largely consisting of Twinkies and other such garbage who lost weight because he was under his maintenance. Given this sort of food is quite calorie dense, you'll go hungry, but you could do it. Of course, that's not a good idea for all sorts of other reasons, and I recommend meeting your nutritional requirements before eating what you like. (To find out what these are, look to the nutritional guidelines in your country. If you don't know what they are, this PDF document is a simple guide to the nutritional guidelines in the UK-
http://www2.sainsburys.co.uk/NR/rdo...A14-A14D-30043AEA5A81/0/Healthyweight2010.pdf Apologies for the commercial crap, I'm not trying to sell Sainsbury's anything, it's just the best simple layout of the information I can find. I actually picked up a copy in my local Sainsbury's last year)
In terms of exercising, any movement is good. Before your bike gets out of the shop, can you go walking or jogging (or swimming)? Have you considered aerobics or similar at home? Aerobics DVDs are really good, or you could look at this free website that I know some people here have used with success-
BODYROCK.tv | Fitness Advice, Workout Videos, Health & Fitness | Bodyrock.tv Also consider checking out your form to make sure you're doing it correctly with exercises- you'll find a good guide here:
Exercise & Muscle Directory
Hope this is of some use. I highly recommend having a look around the forum, particularly the stickied posts (for some very valuable information) and the food diaries (for ideas/ inspiration).
