Dear Donovan,

I'm seeking your help to lose weight. I'm a 28-year-old male, five feet eight inches, and my weight is 190 pounds. My skin is really soft, it's like I have no muscles at all. I have been trying but nothing is working and I don't know what to do. Could you give me a diet plan or any other advice?

Your situation is a rather interesting one. I see where you want to lose weight and possibly build some muscles. It would have been nice to know how many pounds you are thinking of losing.

In general, when you lose weight, you normally lose fat, and your skin texture usually becomes softer. I see where your problem is compounded by the fact that your skin texture is already soft. Also, if you replace the fat with muscles, muscles normally weigh more than fat.

In this case, you could see a dramatic change in nutrients, but not in weight. All factors considered, I suggest you take a two-pronged approach to achieving your goal. First, you will have to do a weight loss programme (never mind your soft skin) and secondly, you will need to tone up and build muscles.

In order to achieve weight loss, you will have to make sure that you burn more calories than you eat each day. In simple terms, you should eat less and do more activities/exercise. A good thing in your favour is that males tend to lose weight faster than females. So with a fair amount of effort, you should be able to lose your desired weight in short order.

First thing is that you will need to take a look at what you are eating and the portions now. Going forward, reduce your usual food intake by a third or a half for breakfast, lunch etc. In the case of lunch, the usual size could be portioned into two, eating half for lunch and the other half for dinner.

For your health's sake, incorporate a fair amount of fruits, vegetables and vegetable juices in your diet. In addition, you need to rev up your exercise programme. Walking, running, jumping and aerobics should help. Your eating and exercise programme would need to be tweaked over time, so that you can continue to lose weight.

Once you have reached your goal in terms of weight loss, it will be time to replace the lost fat with muscles. Why not speak with a gym instructor or a personal trainer about how much weight and what programme to use in your muscle building programme?

In order to build and repair muscles, you may need to increase your protein levels. Some experts suggest taking between 40 to 60 grams of protein daily. However, fats should be as low as possible and you should always endeavour to get it from healthy sources, for example, olive oil and nuts.

Your portion intake at this time must be considered in such a way or controlled in such a way that the fat storing process does not take place. Good luck with your programme, you should see some results.