I am 5'5.5 and currently 9 stone 7 which is the heaviest I have ever been. I am not happy with this. Ideally, I'd like to tone up and get back to the 8 stone 7 to 9 stone 2 which I was for ages. If not, then the maximum weight I'd like to be is 9 stone 2.

So, this thread will hopefully keep me to my exercise regime. I am going to swim at least once a week, do badminton once a week and circuits when uni starts up again.

I'm a little shorter than you, definitely shorter than 5'7 as my dad is that and I'm not as tall as him!

How would you exercise your neck with plates?

I have funny mental images of you tying dinnerware to your neck and swinging it, though I know that's not what you mean.

At gymnastics, we could do things like necksprings- well, they were on the syllabus and you'd need a strong neck for that, but they got banned by our teacher as they were too dangerous.

Shade under 6ft and although I don't look bad for it, currently weighing in at 15st exactly. I'm built more like a rugby player, than looking like a fat c*nt - the only problem is I don't have their endurance. The heaviest I've ever been is 17stone 4, a few months back and I must admit, it was starting to really notice then.

So I've shaved of 32 pounds already in the last couple months, with hardly any effort, but it's not enough. I calculate I'm anywhere between 15-35 pounds overweight still, because I don't actually know how much of me is muscle and how much is crap. The target weight is between 12-13 stone but I'm not arsed that much about what the scales say and will be going solely on my fitness levels and what I see when I look in the mirror.

With weighing yourself, sometimes your weight will level off for a while, or you might gain a pound or two of muscle and think your gaining weight, get disheartened and quit. Non of that sh*t for me, it's a simple lifestyle change and I'm sure I'll be able to notice the difference anyway. Might weigh once a week or fortnight, just to keep tabs, but aye. The target for getting the weight off is Christmas at a round 2 pounds a week, but once I'm happy with my weight it won't make much difference exactly what the scales tell me.

Make an effort to stand upright, and not looking at the floor, but looking at eye level? It might work.
In the olden days, they used to do that walking thing balancing books on your head, which I suppose would work as it's keeping your head and back upright and would train you into doing so, but personally I'd feel a right tw*t doing that.

Would a corset help, or a corsetted top? They stop you slouching.

In singing, we're taught to stand as if someone is pulling a string at the top-back of your head, so you're stood upright. This also helps breathing too, not that that's relevant, but it's useful.