Hello there! I'm trying to get fit and keep in shape. I've never dieted for too long. About a month and a half ago I lost 10 pounds in about a week and a half but then when I started working I was too sore to do anything.

Now that I've gotten use to my work (heavy lifting) I can start to work out again. I've been dieting (with acception of my friends taking me out 2 or 3 times) for about a week now, but I'm not seeing the fast results as before... I never expected to though.

I still have the 10 pounds dropped and I think I should say a bit about how my body has been working. I have been the same weight for I don't know how long. I used to eat a bag of chips in one to two nights and gain not a pound. It seems no matter how much I eat I don't gain weight. And how much I tried (before a month and a half ago) it seemed I could not lose weight. Kind of like I was stuck in a loop. That's why I've given up in the past.

Anyway. Some things you should know. I'm about 6 to 6 1. I weight about 230. I'm 19. I look kind of average weight, people say that also, but I don't feel average. And I know that for my height that's overweight. I've been doing around 100 sit ups and 400 kicks and 400 punches and running a 4th of a mile and walking a 3rd a mile a day for a week now.

And this is where it gets weird. I actually missed 3 days because I went on a trip with some friends and when I got back the morning I did 4 times that. 1600 kicks 1600 punches and 400 sit ups. It was hard. I've never pushed myself like that. The first day I did the 100 sit ups etc. I felt like my legs and abs would die. This morning my abs hurt a little and my arms hurt a bit, and my legs don't feel like rocks at all.

It seems unrealistic that this would not make me totally hurting. So do I keep upping it till my muscles are sore or what? What is the most effective weight lost exercises. How many of them should I do before I'm at risk of hurting my joints and muscles from repetitive motions. I really don't know much about this stuff.

The main areas I want to lose weight are my legs, belly, butt, arms.

If you need any additional information please tell me and I can provide it

Also I had a question, is diet soda bad for dieting? The only thing it has in it is a little sodium right? So that's not too bad? I've always wanted to know the answer to that.

My family likes 2% milk, is fat free better?

To answer the workout question first: you have to keep overloading your muscles to see results. At the moment, you are doing this by increasing the number of sit-ups and kicks, but really, you need to join a gym, and increase the weight you are lifting. Otherwise, you'll soon be in the situation where you are doing sit-ups all day long.

Next: fat loss is 90% diet. Exercise and lifting weights will make you look good naked, but to lose the weight, you need to get your diet in order. Try to cut out all the white carbs (sugar, bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cereals) and processed foods, and eat more fresh vegetables, protein and healthy fats.

Also, increase the cardio. 1/4 of a mile is not very far to run, and walking 1/3 of a mile is joke. Try cycling, you can do this for much longer than you can run, and you get transport as well as exercise.

You can't spot reduce. You can do sit-ups all day long, and it won't give you a six pack, it will just give you really strong abs under a layer of fat. You have to reduce fat all over.

Diet soda, in theory, should be fine for dieting, as most are zero calorie or very close. In practice, people who drink diet soda seem to have a harder time losing weight than people who don't drink soda. There are theories that the sweetness spikes insulin, which makes your body deposit fat rather than burn it, but no-one knows for certain.

I would drink 2% or even full fat milk, but take account of the calories. Your body needs a certain amount of fat, and the fat in milk seems to help the body absorb the calcium which you need for strong bones.