i agree with above comments about walking. don't commit yourself to
working out at the gym with weights or cardio 2-5 days a week for two
hours. if you haven't done it yet you're not going to, or if it's not
your thing you'll lose interest fast.
think about your day to day living instead, and working activity into
it.
buy some cloth grocery bags and start walking to the store or small
markets, or for regular errands. start biking to work. get a rack and
small trunk bag (google it), for your bike and use it for small errands
around town. you'd be surprised at how much quicker you can actually
get things done than driving from parking lot to parking lot.
(there's lots of logistics on how to use bikes for regular commuting
and errands on bikeforums.net)
if you do want to do cardio or weights at a gym don't join bally's or
24 hr fitness. generally large gyms want lots of money up front, and
their so big it's a pain to do what you want quickly and efficiently,
plus you probably don't need day care and smoothie bars.
instead find a small gym CLOSE to your house. even if it's a small gym
as long as it has some free weights and cardio machines your all set.
the closer it is to your house the more you'll go to it. the gym i go
to is $30 a month, and has all different kinds (and shapes) of people.
don't worry about what people think. most gym people respect anyone
there trying to better their physical health.
for HOME setup you can buy a set of 15, 20 and 25 pound weights and an
incline/decline bench for under $100. you can do all upper body
exercises with this equip, and won't take up much space.
check out the web site
www.bodyforlife.com -- it's a good way to get
started, and pretty straightforward, with little videos of the correct
way to do exercises, and plenty of good recipes too.
also eat the obvious good stuff, and not junk. eat small meals
throughout the day (every 3-4 hours) rather than big meals. this keeps
your hunger down and your metabolism up.
just my personal experience -- i hope this helps! all the best