MAKE 15 minutes just for you to get in your exercise. It’s there if you look for it. Go for a walk, go up and down some stairs, just move! I have friends who exercise during commercials when they watch TV. They march in place, do crunches, lift weights, etc. What will happen is that you’ll want to exercise more and you’ll make more time to do it.
Are you in school? If so, when you’re sitting in a lecture, sit up straight and suck in your abdominal muscles for a slow ten count. Release and do it again. If you work at a desk job, see if your boss will let you sit on a balance/exercise ball instead of a regular chair. This makes you core muscles do some more work during the day.
There are many websites that have support groups for people trying to lose weight. everydayhealth.com and sparkpeople.com are two that I know about. I know that the everyday health website is free, and I think sparkpeople is, too.
Take the word “diet” and use it for you instead of looking at it as a struggle. I think of my diet as simply being the food that I eat on a given day, not as a specific plan of foods that I can or can’t eat. Learn about portion control and what a serving is. (You’ll need to click on the printable portion guide link on that page.) Once a week, or every two to three days, try to cut out one food that isn’t great for you and replace it with one that is.
In summary, I’ve lost 70 pounds (so far!) by eating right-sized portions, not depriving myself entirely of treats, drinking water and coffee instead of pop, exercising and finding a support group. I did this while working and going to pastry chef school, so I understand busy. You can do this!