Every time I walk past a magazine rack or listen to people talk, I hear questions like, "How do I get this fat off?" or "How can I lose ten pounds by...?" and the only answer is eat right and exercise. Sure there are pills and surgeries but how much are you willing to pay for what is (in)effectively a temporary solution. Forever, or at least until we become cyborgs, eating right and exercising will be the solution. There isn't some special weight or outfit that will loose the weight for you.

Quick and simple solutions are never the answer (and in this day and age are usually marketing techniques to get you to buy things).

Now if you're truly interested in being trim and healthy then you should put some time into educating yourself in exercise techniques, muscles and how the body processes certain foods.

But because I know that not everyone wants a degree in biology here are the straight simple facts that will never change now matter what pop exercise comes up.

[1]    Running and high repetition exercises that get your heart rate up will burn calories.
[2]    Low repetition exercises with a lot of strain (ie heavy weights) will build muscle.
[3]    The best way figure out how to target and area/muscle is to get into a position the flexes that muscle. For example say you want to exercise your sides (love handle area). Stand up straight then lean to one side. Use your hand to feel the muscle and see how it tenses. Now imagine the different types of movements that would make that muscle flex. If need be you can hold weights yo make the exercise more difficult.
[4]    Try every form of exercise because everyone's body reacts differently.
[5]    To lose weight burn calories.

[6]    To tone your body you need a mix of repetitious exercise and weight/resistance.
[7]    To gain weight you need high resistance and a intake of protein/calories. Be careful not to build muscle over fat which is what happens to a lot of people who do sports in high school. If you want a muscled body you'll have to shed the fat first.
[8]    Sugar, carbs and fatty food are bad (in varying degrees). You have to approach exercise like a science experiment removing the uncontrolled elements and applying only the ones you're aware of. If you're trying to lose weight you won't need the sugar but carbs may help you maintain endurance. If your trying to gain weight fatty and high calorie foods can help but pure protein is best.
[9]    If you have specific area you want to reduce like your stomach or your thighs and no amount of exercise is helping this can be because that area is your where your body first deposits fat. In men its usually the stomach and love handles and in women it's the hips and thighs. These areas will be the last to show results because your body is shoving fat into them. You'll have to work at a balance exercised regiment for a while before these areas show results.
[10]   Last and most important, keeping healthy and trim is never easy. It can be painful, depressing, frustrating and tiresome. Then, even once you get to your best physical shape you'll have to work to constantly maintain it. I'm tired of listening to girls talk about losing weight to fit into a bikini then dropping their exercise and nutrition only to feel fat again in the winter.

I'm not a world-class weight-lifter or athlete and I don't teach class nor have any degree in fitness. I'm just the average joe like you. I've never had a gym membership and the only equipment I own are 2 dumbells, a chin up bar and a yoga ball. Currently I'm 5'10 165 lbs with 17% body fat. It's good enough.