Do not despair and do not get confused by all the different diet plans that are out there. Adopt a lifestyle change that incorporates clean eating and fitness and care for yourself. Here are some ideas that will help you - I believe in this as it helped me get into the best shape of my life.

Eat 6 small, nutrient dense meals a day spaced about 2.5 hours apart. There should be a portion of lean protein in every meal.

Eat fresh, whole foods - if it comes in a box, can or packet do not eat it.

Good proteins include: lean beef and steak, lean pork (chops), chicken and turkey breast, salmon, tuna and other cold water fish, eggs and egg whites.

Good carbohydrate foods include fibrous vegetables such as: broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, zucchini, tomotaoes, asparagus, green beans, squash cucumber, spinach.

Good carbohydrate foods include starchy vegetables/grains such as: oatmeal, yams, brown rice, all-bran, beans.

Fresh fruit (but in moderation) is OK.

Good fats include: flax oil, Udo's oil, fish or salmon oil caps (all for essential fatty acids), olive oil (esp. extra virgin olive oil), extra virgin coconut oil, natural peanut butter, butter. Nuts such as almonds, macadamias, brazil nuts (in moderation).

Do not eat ice cream, pizza, bacon, sausage, other processed deli meats, cookies, chips, soda drinks, diet soda drinks, cakes and desserts, donuts, pastries, diet soda, artificial sweeteners, table sugar, other simple sugars, honey, chocolate, candies, fruit juices, processed sugar-added cereals, corn, potatoes, white rice, bread, gravies, sauces, flour products (especially white flour), pasta. Do not eat fried foods. Avoid trans-fats, e.g., no margarine, vegetable shortening, etc. Do not eat junk food like McD's, BK, KFC, etc.

Never skip one of your 6 meals, and never skip breakfast.

Drink 100 oz. or mor of fresh water a day - let water be the only thing you drink. Get 8 hours of good sleep a day. Take a multivitamin.

Work out your necessary caloric intake to maintain weight known as your 'total daily expenditure'. Eat 10% less than this to create a small caloric deficit - this insures you are eating enough and not starving yourself (leading to metabolic supression and triggering of the 'starvation response' - note: this is one of the main reasons that ALL diets which aim to restrict foods eventually fail).

Make a lifelong commitment to fitness - work out every day for at least 30 minutes (work up to this level if you are a beginner at such activities) - you should use a combination of strength training (lift weights) and aerobic training (walking, jogging, cycling, etc.). The strength training will preserve/enhance your lean muscle mass (and thus increase your metabolism through desired changes in your body's chemistry), while the aerobic training will effectively burn up calories creating the necessary caloric deficit for fat loss.

Try not to be self-concious and if you can afford it join a real gym and keep going back. There will be other people with the same goals as yourself and who knows you might make some friends and you can motivate each other. Don't worry about the ones who look fit and lean in the gym (they won't bother you and some of the kinder ones may actually help you and motivate you - remember the only reason they got where they are is they kept going back to the gym themselves!).

HTH.