In a recent discussion with someone who was in the obese category of overweight, I discovered that she had just about given up on exercise. "Too hard, not enough time, it doesn't work for me" and so on.

One thing that's obvious working with overweight people is that you have to find a way to get them to move more -- even if it's just a little. Incidental activity is a starting point with things like doing more housework and gardening; walking to places that one would normally use a car for; playing with kids and walking the dog. This day-to-day activity is important because it seems to send signals to the body to increase metabolism, which will burn more fat. You don't necessarily have to do an hour of hard weight training or cardio to increase your metabolism, although these things no doubt offer additional benefits.

I also like the idea of having dumbbells conveniently placed in the house so that it's easy to pump out a few dozen repetitions in between other activities or even while watching TV, videos or listening to music. Every bit helps. Walking and weights is a great combo for people who are not used to being physically active. Both can be organized around home life and need not cost more than the price of a few sets of dumbbells.

Do 30 minutes of walking on most days of the week, and 20 sets with 10 repetitions of dumbbell exercises spread over the week.