If you're like the average American male, your body retains your excess calories as fatty tissues. Why? Eating large burgers, fries, and liters of soda is not exactly healthy. Watching NFL or NBA doesn't exactly count as exercise either. You lack physical activity and diet control. Here comes the bad news, most of these fat cells are deposited in your gut and upper body resulting in protruding stomachs and flabby arms. Not exactly Brad Pitt-like. Diets and weight loss are necessary if you want to circumvent these scary effects.
However, following programs on diets and weight loss are not enough if you want a rock-hard or at least, a well-defined physique. What you need to do is to combine a well-balanced diet (think vitamins, proteins, and carbs) with resistance training. It's not at all difficult, but commitment is necessary if you want to achieve your dream body. First, consult your doctor for a whole body check-up because resistance training can aggravate past injuries such as fractures or back injuries. The sooner you know what to avoid, the better your program would be. Second, identify what muscle groups you want to develop. It's not a pretty sight to have a muscled upper body and skinny legs. Third, enroll yourself in a gym with proper equipment and team up with a trainer/fitness instructor you feel comfortable enough to work with. It is important to talk to him about fitness goals, lifestyle, and your over-all health. He might even prescribe a procedure about your diets and weight loss that would be suitable for your lifestyle.
Diets and weight loss experts usually recommend building muscle in order to lose weight. The thing to remember always is your RMR; this measures how fast your metabolism works (read: burns calories) at rest. It is important to get your RMR past this level for you to effectively use body fuel. This is why you have to lift weights. As you lift weights, the body tends to develop more muscle or leaner mass. Muscle burns body fuel or calories even at rest; so the more muscle you have, the faster the pounds are shed. Another key factor is progression. Soon your body would start to get accustomed to the weights you lift. Hence, you use less effort and energy which staggers the whole weight loss process. The right weight for you is the weight which you can't lift for over 12 reps. It is also advised to increase the weights every one or two weeks.
An effective diet for persons doing resistance training would be high in protein, with significant amounts of carbs. However, vegetable and fruit servings shouldn't be taken out as these contribute to the body's water needs. Diets and weight loss are effective and healthy only when coupled with exercise and physical activity and vice versa. So get up and move for a fitter you.