So here's my story. I was sleeved on 12/31/12 - started at 302, dropped to 182... now knocking on four years out I bounce between 195 and 202 after that initial rebound. I wanted to hit 175, but that didn't happen.

I'm now 36. I've never worked out in my life. Never lifted weights, no sports... nothing. I want to improve the way I look by the time I turn 40 - I've got 3.5 years to do it. I want to knock the weight down to 175, and add muscle in the process to just have a nice build by my deadline.

I'm clueless where to start - the gym is intimidating and when I browse the net I get overloaded with so many different articles, and most of them are aimed at people who have at least some experience with weight training.

I was thinking starting with running to burn the fat and get it down before starting to lift. Thoughts? Should I start lifting/weight training at the same time? What are good exercises for literally a beginner - I have no strength at all and would have to start with ridiculously low weights.

Thanks for any help.

After my surgery I took an 8 week medical fitness program offered by my local hospital. They performed an initial evaluation, set up a weight program, offered guidance and answered all of my questions during the 8 weeks, and then performed a final evaluation. I found it to be very helpful and avoided injury.

After completing this program I joined another gym that offered small group fitness training. This is less expensive than using a personal trainer, but does offer some ongoing guidance. Now I am managing pretty well on my own.