Q: Mike, I cant remember the last time I posted. I was the 6 foot 200 lb male. I am now the 6'1 230 pound male. My weight shot up. I need to do something and fast. It is getting hard to breath and I am really out of shape.I seem to have a tight schedule and need a routine in which I can stick to. I will try (not sure if I WILL) to eat only 3 spaced out meals like normal people. I will also TRY to play basketball or something to help myself get in shape. I need more things to do though but Im not sure what?

A: It sounds like the most important thing to do is get a good hold on your diet. Eating three healthy medium-size meals per day is a good start. Later on, you can hopefully find a way to fit four or five small meals into your schedule, instead of three regular ones, but this is a good start.

Make sure you do NOT skip any of those three meals and at the same time don't snack on some junk in between. For all three meals, you should try to get a source of protein, healthy carbs, and good fats -- read 'Create Your Own Healthy Meals!' section in my nutrition article. For example, the following might be a good starting diet for you:

Breakfast (~600 calories)

1/2 cup (dry, before cooking) of plain old-fashioned oatmeal

1 banana

1/2 cup fresh strawberries

2 egg omelette or scrambled (use very very little oil)

some sliced peppers and onions for the omelette

Lunch (~600 calories)

(Tuna sandwich -- convenient to bring from home and eat quickly if low on time)

2 slices whole-grain bread

1 can of tuna, drained

1 tbsp mayo

1 apple

some baby carrots

Mid-Day Snack (~200 calories)

1-2 oz raw or dry-roasted nuts (almonds, pistachios, etc.)

Dinner (~600 calories)

1 grilled chicken breast

1/3 cup (dry, before cooking) brown rice

1 cup green beans

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

The above would be a perfectly healthy 2000-calorie/day diet, which is actually quite little for somebody like you, but you can start slowly and then add calories later if you start losing weight too fast (remember, optimally you want to lose about 1 pound per week -- faster is NOT better).

As far as exercise, playing basketball or going running or jogging would be a good step forward. You would also do well to start on a formal weight training program. I have a couple good beginner programs that require very little equipment: this and this. You can do either of them several times per week and the whole workout shouldn't take more than 30-45 minutes.

It sounds like you realized you have to take charge of the situation before it really gets out of hand. Now you just have to find discipline and committment within yourself to follow through. If you stick with it, I guarantee you that with time you can bring yourself in as good a shape as you want. Good luck!