Another guy here who struggles with weight.
I'm not what the medicos would term morbidly obese, but I'm certainly well overweight. I'm 170cm on the dot (sorry, don't know my feet and inches... maybe 5 foot 7 or 8?). My BP is on the high side, and I'm probably borderline diabetic.
My biggest problem is that I'm a sucker for carbs. Pasta, mostly. I've managed to cut down on fries and potato chips wherever possible, even limiting my fast food intake to once a week. That means ANY fast food.
Problem with this job I have now is I'm on the road a lot and while I don't find myself gravitating to the well known fast food joints, I'm tending to eat a lot more rich food (in hotels and things like that) than when I was back at home with the folks.
I went through a good period where I had to force myself to the gym because I made a promise with a friend to go climb up something we have here, called "thousand steps", after he had knee surgery to repair his ACL, and it was a thing to do before we went on a 6 week trip to Japan together. I probably lost 5kg in a few months, while eating relatively okay (Only 5kg because I was doing both cardio and weights, so I put on a little muscle). Someone once told me cardio alone is not enough if you're looking to trim up. (Knox, your professional opinion is needed on this one)
Part of the reason why I joined the local saber group is so that I get out more and at least I'm moving, albeit my arms more so than my entire body but at least I'm moving, and not stuck in front of the computer....
Not an expert, but any kind of movement is way better than being sedentary. Bonus if it's something you enjoy as you'll be more apt to do it. Summer's coming, so outdoor activities are are bound to be more plentiful in the coming months. I'm looking into joining a deck(floor) hockey league possibly, so I'll be cutting back on my in gym cardio if that happens. I don't think you can really do TOO much cardio, it all depends on you and your goals.
There seems to be three schools of thought for getting lean, if you're overweight:
1) Go heavy on the cardio to cut fat down, while doing a more modest amount of weight training. Once you've gotten your body weight down, go more intensive on the weights.
2) Go as intense as your conditioning will allow, on the weight training, and mix a more modest amount of cardio in, and you'll get there.
3) Go as intense as you can on both, and watch the weight "melt" off as your body mass turns to lean muscle.
I opted for option 3, but you might find option 1 or 2 suits you better.
Update on myself:
I've finished the first run through on the program I'm on! I've taken a couple lazy days now, both to allow my body to recover and to reward myself for my perseverance. I'm not seeing too many physical changes, though I do feel more muscle under the fat. I also KNOW what I've been doing is working, as my clothes fit MUCH better. My t-shirts fit more loosely, and I have dropped a jean size, as I now have to pull my belt way down to keep them up!(I wear a web belt, so no notches to go by).
