I'm No Expert, but ...

I've been asked different kinds of questions regarding workouts or dieting. I thought I would write out my general thoughts and you can choose your take-away or what is realistic to your current situation and expectations.

Disclaimer: I'm not a certified trainer or nutritionist. My comments are from my past/present personal experience and what worked for me. Actually, it's all common sense in the end.

The short answer: Once I cleaned up my eating habits and "reset" my insides, my body, to function with the right foods, then it was easy to follow it as a lifestyle. I don't like using the word "diet" because it denotes something that is temporary or something out of your norm.  Make healthy eating part of your norm and your body will feel it from the inside out. You'll start seeing results from your workouts. Trust me.

To make changes in your health/fitness, start with small commitments. Change comes when you remain committed to something. Eventually, the small changes add up to big results.  If you try to take on so many life-altering changes at once, the temptation to quit might be that much stronger. So what is considered a "small commitment"?  Glad you asked...

But first, let's get some General Stuff out of the way:

1. On being fit: It's not about the numbers on the scale or the size of your clothes. It's about being healthy from the inside; understanding there are a lot of people in your life who want you around much longer to enjoy things; knowing you have the energy to play with your kid(s) while they still want you around; doing everyday things like walking up stairs, carrying groceries without feeling out of breath; doing the hopefully not-so-everyday things like running away from a situation or person who may compromise your safety/life; traveling and walking everywhere to see, smell, taste, feel, and ultimately appreciate another culture.
2. Everyone is different. I workout like a beast but every single time there's always something that wants to break me and I want to just stop. But I don't. Because I remind myself why I do this in the first place and what my goals are. Everyone's fitness goals are different and personal so only you own yours and you have no one to compete with except yourself. Keep being active and you will be surprised what comes into your life.
3. Set a goal:  5K, half marathon, full marathon, losing 5 lbs., fitting into those jeans that were just a tad too tight last time you tried, doing a single unassisted pull-up, squatting with heavier weight, etc.  Whatever it is, set a goal and try to meet it. You will feel like one bad ass muthaf-- once you reach it.  Then, make another goal.
4. Be patient with yourself. I'm still trying to follow this - I have my good days and bad days. I will have an amazing workout one day and then stare at myself in the mirror the day after to see changes. Sometimes, it will take awhile. It will only happen if you are consistent. 
5. Forgive yourself. So you skipped a workout or indulged on cake/chips/doughnuts when you shouldn't have. OK, well, how do you feel? Like crap? Like a ton of bricks are in your stomach and you feel like you have to waddle everywhere?  I listen to your body so that the possibility of a repeat is less likely. When I ate enough ice cream for 3 people, I immediately felt horrible. Although I still WANT to eat enough ice cream for 3 people and I can physically FIT all that ice cream in my belly, I won't do it because I remembered the feeling I had of pure pain and grief. My body was so used to eating clean that it was as if it rejected large quantities of bad foods.  Hey, that's not a bad problem to have if you think about it. I'm sure if I ate a scoop of ice cream, I would've been OK. The added guilt and stress you hold on to by not forgiving yourself and starting again will just add to the love handles. 
6. Personally, I don't do fad diets, i.e. All fruits, no carbs, only protein, etc. Fad diets aren't meant for long-term and this isn't what my body is used to because I don't function that way. Find what is healthy and right for you. 
7. I try to do my research. If I can spend hours a day scrolling aimlessly through social media, then I can invest some time learning about why people do things like HIIT, or fasted cardio, or why bother with compound exercises. 
8. If I want to mix it up, I throw in some yoga here and there for flexibility. Weight training can cause muscles to tighten so I try to stretch and loosen them up to perform better the next time.

Food

1. Start in your kitchen: inside your fridge, pantry, cup boards, etc. How much junk/processed food do you have? If you don't understand the ingredients or the ingredient list is too long, then try not to have it in your house. I once heard, if you need to open it then you shouldn't have it, i.e. packaged foods that have preservatives for a long shelf life. Even "low fat" yogurt is horrible - ever read the ingredients? Go for Greek yogurt instead. The ingredient list has like one item: yogurt. I stock my kitchen with food that makes me feel good. That's the only way I perform well in my workouts.
2. I stay away from fried foods, like, 99% of the time. They just aren't good for you. For that 1%, see #8.
3. Processed foods, i.e. anything with white sugar or flour, will add up if you throw moderation out the window. My boyfriend replaced white sugar in his coffee (he used A LOT of sugar) with stevia. Let's just say this small change combined with a few tweaks to his strength training has him wearing pants size 34 from a 36. Told you - small commitments = big results.
4. Eating health is NOT boring. I use the spices you love: garlic, onion, cumin, paprika, oregano, dried spices or fresh herbs, homemade marinades (low sodium soy sauce + balsamic vinegar + onion and garlic powder = the bomb.com on a flank steak), etc. 
5. I am not afraid of salt (supports #4), provided I am healthy enough to do so. I stay away from table salt and use either sea salt or kosher salt, which are less processed (see #3), which means more nutrients. There is some connection between sodium and weight training. Google it if you're interested.
6. Aren't Top Chef at home and find yourself eating out a lot?  No worries, order lean cuts of red meat, try to stay away from fried foods, creamy sauces, order the grilled chicken/fish/steak over the breaded chicken cutlet. You get the idea. Share a dessert if you must get one (but try to leave the dessert as part of #8). 
7. Gotta love cravings.  Craving a pastry/baked good? Go to your local bakery where it will be fresh and the ingredients are less likely to be chemicals to make it last for months. Craving fried stuff? Experiment with baking the same thing you would fry and see how that fares - you might end up really liking it. Baked sweet potato fries, baked empanada (mini meat pies), baked chicken (crisp up the skin with either panko bread crumbs or crushed plain corn flakes), etc. 
8. I treat myself once a week. Let's face it, life is meant to be lived. We are social creatures and we enjoy going out with family/friends to catch up, celebrate, or just because. Once a week, I will eat the foods I crave that may not be the best for me. But I will do my best to fit in a good sweat session the next day. Use the food to fuel your workouts. Food is energy, so don't store it because it becomes fat. Besides, depriving yourself 24/7 is not normal and not healthy. You will end up binging and that puts you in a tougher position.
9. Alcohol: how much is too much?  Well, I don't need to answer that one - you know yourself. I will just point out: "When the body is focused on processing alcohol, it is not able to properly break down foods containing carbohydrates and fat. Therefore, these calories are converted into body fat and are carried away for permanent storage on your body"(reference). So like everything in life, moderation. Personally, I might drink an alcoholic beverage 3 times a year. I don't like or crave it to want it.
10. Portion control is very hard for me. Very. Hard. Sometimes, I will try to drink a glass of water right before and after my meal to see if that satiates me. Most likely I can still eat more, but at least I may be too bloated to want to try.

Fitness

1. Here's a fundamental thing I believe in: Anything that makes you sweat, increases your heart rate for an extended period of time, is GOOD.  Do it at a minimum of 30 mins a day. Or try for 3-4 times a week if you have a crazy schedule. Whatever it is, keep it up.
2. I incorporated weight training and saw crazy good results. I cannot stress how much my body transformed - fat melted away and slight muscle definition started showing. You don't need access to a fancy gym or all these free weights cluttering your living room. Use your body weight for starters. There are people who can lift heavy weight but can barely lift themselves. I was guilty of this once. So, I created a new goal for myself (see #5) and it was to do unassisted pull-ups, which I completed in a few months time by strengthening my back muscles and being lighter helps. 
3. My strength training workouts vary because I don't want to get bored with the same thing month after month. Also, you want to shock your muscles because there is such as thing as reaching a plateau. I use body weight, TRX, barbells, dumbbells, those machines littered around gyms. My favorite are dumbbells and barbells because, depending on the workout, you will use different muscle groups, i.e. core, to balance yourself and the weight. It's good stuff.
4. For the ladies, don't be scared of "bulk". It's hard enough for men to bulk on purpose. Besides, bulking requires a certain kind of diet that I doubt a majority of women do in their daily life. Still not convinced that weight training won't bulk you up? Read this one of many great articles - I do not need to re-write something that already drives the point home.
5. How heavy do I go?  (again, this is me - you should really work with a professional to see what is safe for you - form and knowing your own limits)  Let's say I have to do 12 repetitions. The weight I use will have me feeling the struggle/burn between the 8th and 10th rep.  It's enough struggle that I know I can make the 12 rep and feel my muscle burning. If I'm already struggling on the 5th or 6th rep, then I know the weight is too heavy.  If I feel like I'm barely breathing hard by the time the 12th rep happens, then my weight is too light. 
6. I usually pick a muscle group(s) for that day - legs and glutes? Chest and back? Biceps and triceps? Superset! I always superset so that my gym time is more efficient. More time at gym doesn't necessarily mean good workouts.
7. Notice I don't focus too much on abs. Any definition in my abs today are from the compound exercises - those exercises that work more than one muscle group. My favorite is the straight leg dead lift. You need proper form for this so ask a professional to show you. 
8. Cardio is important, but shouldn't be the only thing you do. Cardio burns calories but weight training burns fat up to 48 hours after your training session! Crazy right? I like to subscribe to different workout/fitness pages on social media to give me new workout (and even recipe) ideas. I have a tendency to get bored with cardio if it's not outdoors. So I do high intensity interval training (HIIT), and not only does it burn more fat than steady state cardio, but it also keeps my cardio interesting and short. Hallelujah! An example: rotate between 30 seconds full sprint and 60 seconds fast walk, for 25 mins.   

So everything I just wrote - if you were able to get through it - sounds simple, right? I didn't talk about how meals are structured or the ideal protein/carb/fat (macros) intake because like I said, everyone's fitness goals are different and personal. But if you start with some small, fundamental, common sense approaches, then you can always use that as a foundation to any fitness goal.

I should note that my current meal plan and workout routine became a little different once I decided to enter a body building show. Competing is not everyone's cup of tea (totally fine) so that's why I decided to write about basic and simple points that anyone can start, regardless of their current fitness situation or goal. Hopefully, this helps and I probably have missed a few points. I'll add them on once I remember.

Now... your challenge:  what small change(s) will you start incorporating?

I'm here, rooting for you. More importantly don't give up. Results come when you're consistent. In my opinion, fitness is 80% mental. Working out is the easy part, especially if the discomfort is temporary :)  Good luck!