Q: Hey Mike. I'm overweight and I'm sure that one of the culprits is school cafeteria food (actually I'm pretty much positive). I don't really have enough time to prepare any lunch in the morning, and I know that pretty much all the foods in a cafeteria are bad, but can you tell me which common ones a little bit more passable? They sell chicken ceaser (salad) wraps - is that good for you? Thanks.

A: The wraps might be OK, though I'm guessing they just have a lot of bread and little actual chicken or lettuce. I would definitely recommend bringing food from home with you -- all it takes is waking up 10 minutes early and making a sandwich or a salad to take with you in a tupperware container! Check out http://www.mikesfitness.com/content/junk-food-served-at-school and other Q&A's it references to get some ideas how to eat right as a student.

The other thing is that it's VERY unlikely you are overweight just because of the cafeteria food. You should examine the stuff you eat every day, both as meals and (especially) as snacks. A bag of chips here, a soda there all pretty soon add up to extra fat. Read my Nutrition article to learn how to eat healthy for fat loss.

Finally, besides eating right, the best thing to do to shed the extra pounds is exercise. Since you're young, any physical activity will give results -- from sports, to running, to weight lifting, to even mowing lawns or shoveling snow. If you're interested in weight lifting specifically (which is probably the single best fat-burner at any age), read my Weight Training article, but in any case try to be more active.