I found the Hacker's Diet a useful reference for both diet and exercise. I found its engineering-minded explanation of how the body uses food resonated with me. (I lost about 50 lbs. in 6 months). Link: http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/
I have never been overweight so I'm just trying to maximize my current health, cognitive performance and longevity. With my current diet, I seem to have more clearer mind, can eat less often and don't have desire for snacks or sugar. Green tea seems to have relaxing effect(it's also measured that l-theanine increases alphawaves) on me and alcar+ala has a slight energizing effect.
Dragon door has a really good selection of articles on body weight exercises. Most can be done with only your body or common items like dowels, or on things like a tree branch.
Linkhttp://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode2/Workouts
Body weight exercises seem to be really underrated right now by most people. One of my exercise goals, once I start working out regularly, is to be able to pull off planche push-ups. It's like a normal push-up, only your feet are kept off the ground for the entire time.
There's also a small section on practical daily exercises that can be done quickly, without need for equipment. I'll link directly to that: http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/e4/exercise.html
The key to both diet and exercise, however, lies in consistency -- you have to apply yourself every day.