rxxfitness is a good resource for you . I know that Strong Curves is a popular program , and I think it ' s in the FAQ there . There are two schools of thought on diet . Some people say that you should make a big change stop eating all sugar , for example and that will give you a bigger change . Others suggest making incremental changes . I ' m more in the incremental camp I went from eating cheap poorly lots of processed food , not much good food to eating pretty well through a lot of small changes . The eat this , not that series is pretty good if you want to try that approach . For exercise , there is only one benchmark for the kind of exercise that you choose it is the exercise that you will keep doing . It might be cycling , rock climbing , hiking , softball , running , yoga , weightlifting , circuit training . or something else . Don ' t think about I should be doing X , think about that looks interesting , I wonder what that would be like ? If you are looking at achieving specific changes , then the two big drivers are aerobic exercise and resistance training ie weightlifting . Both of these can be intimidating just remember that most people started out in the same place and concentrate on getting better , not trying to be as good as others . Many of the women that I cycle with are roughly your size and weight though they carry a fair amount of muscle cycling is a sport where being smaller and lighter can be a distinct advantage . Good luck .