Guys - thank you all so much. There's some really good advice here. Some of it slightly conflicting but all of it well put.
This is what I'm going to do:

Concentrate on walking more wherever possible
Still go to the gym but to play squash when possible (because I love it). I'll do some cardio exercising too.
Try the 5 / 2 diet. Will do this on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Try to eat better generally and eat less. I may use MyFitness app - used it before and it was good but i lost interest. More motivated now though.

Will keep you posted intermittently on my march towards 13 stone (ish!)
Thanks again,


Yeasty

First a disclaimer. Whilst I'm a former nurse who was in almost exactly this position just after the age you say, have done what you're trying to do with the weight and am now a regular triathlete I can't guarantee I'm not full of shiit:

However:

Knowledge is power. Unless you're a southern shandy queen then let's start with the good session twice a week. You describe it as a binge so let's say 10 pints per session. For arguments sake let's say a pint contains about 200 calories (it's a bit less but rounding up puts us in the ballpark). So you're taking in just shy of 4000 calories a week in alcohol. The average male requires around 2000-2500 calories a day to maintain normal functionality so in essence you're not far off taking in two days worth of your energy requirements just through drink per week. Sounds bad? It gets worse. What is alcohol? In essence your body treats it as a poison and seeks to flush it out. What happens is our kidneys seek to get rid as quick as they can therefore we pi55 a lot when drinking, we become dehydrated leading us to feel rough the next day and we often eat high calorie food like an Indian to compensate. Add that. Then we get up the next day and assuming we aren't puking our ring up the first thing we reach for isn't health conscious food. It's the big fry up or something else which again helps make us feel better. Add that and also add the time it takes to rehydrate yourself.

Now before you start your exercise regime you are already about 6000 calories in deficit. Enjoy.

Beyond that. Diets? I shiit em. They are all a gimmick. Every single one of them. Of course they often work. That's why they call them diets. The question is what happens next? If you can live on the 5/2 diet or any other diet for the rest of your life then fine. Most people can't do such things and then the problems begin. You don't need to diet. You need to alter or tweak your lifestyle and intake in a way you can sustain. There are several things mentioned on the thread which are useful. Eating regular and small helps avoid the peaks and troughs. This makes it less likely you will reach for the cake, chocolate etc because you aren't as likely to get hungry in between bigger meals. Staying hydrated helps your body in a variety of ways. Avoid sugar is a big one as it is incredibly addictive and bad for you and be aware that sugar comes in a variety of forms and food companies try to con you by labelling it under many different names. Try to eat natural foods and avoid processed. There are others but you'll be getting the message. A Ferrari doesn't run on dogshiit. Quality in. Quality inside and if what goes in is less than you are using up you will lose weight and vice versa.

In relation to exercise there are of course metabolic and physiological changes which begin to creep in during your 40's and this can exacerbate the effects of poor diet. However, you can help offset these. As others have mentioned short high intensity workouts tend to be good for raising the base metabolic rate but using a heart monitor to keep the heart rate within safe parameters becomes a good idea as you progress into middle age. Remember though that the ageing process affects joints, cartilage, bone density etc and it's of no use if you start to pick up chronic injuries. So keeping the muscles around major weight bearing joints like the knees and hips strong is essential. Swimming and cycling are tremendous forms of low impact exercise which burn up the calories. Stretching and even things like yoga and pilates can be greatly beneficial.

There are many other things but you are at the start of the journey and only you can undertake it and you have to be willing to look and act.

How to lose weight with little or no exercise? You might find this interesting ....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpqbzPj92HU

8 tugs a day is the way forward, ok I'm nearly blind and riddled with arthritic wrists but I'm slim as f***

Some good tips on here - personally I think diet is the key because I've always been pretty fit but sometimes fit and fat.

Would n't dream of preaching but the following works for me.

I do two high intensity gym sessions a week (1 x 1 hour, 1 x 45 mins) - mainly kettle bells but some body weight exercises, never use anything but free weights, only cardio machine I use these days is the rower - I'll occasionally run for an hour outside if the weather is amenable - I've done a few half marathons and would like to do a full marathon but I think the stress on my joints caused by running makes this increasingly unlikely.

I've virtually cut white bread out of my diet, just buy one granary loaf each week from a quality local bakery and that's the only bread I eat really. Just one sweet treat a week (I'm a chocoholic), no snacking to speak of (well,the odd chunk of cheese like the op!) - only drink alcohol if I'm out socially (errrmmm well, apart from a glass of port maybe one night a week as a nightcap), three proper meals a day, will try and avoid sugary cereal for breakfast unless I'm going to the gym immediately afterwards and need the energy boost. Plenty of salad at lunch time 'cos it's summer and a good way to get the vegetables in. Proper dinner every night, balance of red meat,white meat and fish throughout the week, takeaway maybe once a fortnight.

Agree about walking - I admit to silly little things like parking as far away from store entrance as possible in supermarket car parks just to get a little walk in!   

Writing it down it does sound a bit regimented but it works better for me than any crash diet regime, I'm 51 and can't remember feeling better or stronger. Recently met up with some old friends after 10+ years who were convinced I'd lost weight, I actually weigh pretty much the same as I did 10 years ago but it's much better distributed.

I do think it's very individual though and what works for me would n't work for someone else or vice versa - also agree drinking a lot of water helps and probably quality sleep also.

Good post RH ^^

Why do you lot need to lose weight and diet?

Are you all office workers who sit on your arse all day?

The robdylan method works thus......

Give up drinking
Do loads and loads of exercise/sport and walk everywhere
Eat whatever you want, and loads of it.

Lost a pound a week using this method.

To be honest, I can manage it during the week with exercise and healthy / minimal eating when i'm not doing the social thing. It's weekends that kill me. Too much fresh white bread from the bakery and too much cheese. I also drink pints of diluted Ribena which is frankly ridiculous for a grown adult and will be stopped. I may as well mainline sugar into my veins...

Do you lot eat pies and cakes all day? I'm 12 stone, the same weight as I was playing rugby when I was 18.

I am a doctor with a specialist interest in sports and metabolic medicine. I deal with this pretty much most days and I have to say that pretty everything Eeternaloptimist says is spot on and one the best posts I have read on here. I have a few points.

Myfitnesspal is excellent because it educates people about their current diet. Track EVERYTHING that goes in your mouth for a week - you will soon learn more about yourself than any book will teach you. You will also learn that a few simple changes make a huge difference.

A diet is just a temporary restriction of calories, as Eeternaloptimist states the key is looking at your lifestyle - why are you overweight and unfit?

Recent research shows weight loss is about 80% calorific reduction and only 20% exercise. Exercise is amazing for health and well-being but is not very good for weight loss.

Don't try too many changes at once - you will fail.

Don't smoke.

Work - even controlling for other negative lifestyle factors, people who work live for 7 years longer on average.

The good news is that if you can make this lifestyle stick for over two years for most people it becomes permanent.