Has anyone here ever lost a LOT of weight?

[XemaSab]

I went to the doctor today and stepped on the scale and HOLY SHIT!

So I've decided I'd like to lose about 70 lbs.

Anyone have any ideas? Suggestions?

[GOPisEvil]

1. I lost about 70 lbs.

I just changed my eating habits. I monitored my intake big time. I allowed myself no more than 500 calories for breakfast and dinner, then ate normally for lunch. That worked for me.

I'm working now, and I've been mostly able to keep the weight off. :)

Good luck! :thumbsup:

[borlis]

2. No, but if you find something that works,

please share. I am about ready to have my lips sewn shut. Good luck! :hi:

[XemaSab]

4. Will do!

Thanks! :hi:

[Floogeldy]

3. Yep

I went on "The Caveman Diet" and did 25 minutes of aerobics a day.

Caveman Diet = Whole grains, vegetables, fruit, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds, with no (or little) additives. No fat, no sugar.

As always, consult a doctor before beginning any exercise regime.

[LeftyMom]

5. I lost 45 lbs

I quit eating animal products and did a lot of walking. That was it. :shrug: I didn't even try, really- those changes occured for other reasons that had nothing to do with my weight.

I haven't had any trouble keeping it off, either.

[XemaSab]

8. I don't eat critters

The problem is that when I was in school, I ate lots of veggies and walked EVERYWHERE, but now I live in Redding and the only place to walk is the thai cafe. :P (without taking your life into your hands)

Also, I've been eating WAY too many carbs. I love noodles, but they don't love me. :(

Furthermore, my mom won't let me eat burritos every night, so I think I am starved for protein.. I'm hungry all the time, even when I'm full. :(

[LeftyMom]

10. I sympathize with the no walkable spaces thing

My neighborhood is getting to be more and more like that. :(

[XemaSab]

13. I can walk the dog around a few blocks

but it's flat and sort of uninteresting and I don't really feel like I "went" anywhere. Better than nothing, I guess.

I need to get a key to the sewage ponds and go down and walk around with my 80 brazilian pound telescope looking at birds.

I wish I had a workout buddy. I find it hard to get motivated to do anything by myself. :(

[elshiva]

6. NO. eom

[Syncronaut Seven]

7. Amphetamines? poverty? a poster of Mann Coulter inside the fridge?

2 pieces of toast, coffee and a 2 mile walk 5 days a week worked for me.

Took off 60 pounds in 6 months.

[XemaSab]

9. I've already got 2 pictures of Cheney on the fridge

in addition to 3 of Bush, one of Condi, and a picture of the Bush compound in Maine.

You'd think I was a supporter. :P

[Angry Girl]

47. LMAO!!! The demons who guard the fridge.... You should add Chubby Karl

URGENT! Timing is critical to save earthquake victims before winter!

[NMMNG]

11. I went on Topamax for my intractable migraines

One possible temporary side effect of Topamax is appetite loss. For about six months my appetite was absolute zero, and I lost around 74lbs.

[drhilarius]

12. Lost 70 lbs...

which was a little extreme for someone of my height, the term "manorexic" was thrown about.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. Yes, I have lost a lot of weight.....and it is simple.....not easy!

Simply eat fewer calories than you burn off and the weight will come off......

Also, exercise makes a huge difference.....

And diets do NOT work, IMHO......YOU must eat what you can live with over the long haul, as in the rest of your life.....

I started at nearly 200 pounds....and am now at about 163....

It has taken a number of years, but my weight continues to come down, though very slowly....a pound or two PER MONTH......

Good luck!

BTW, there is a forum for people like yourself, for support and tips...

Check it out.....


:hi:

[Robeson]

18. "eat fewer calories than you burn off "....

...and "exercise"....

And there it is. It's really not rocket science. Though, as you said, the formula is simple, though not always easy. It requires a lifestyle change. The change has to occur in the mind first. Once that Rubicon is crossed, it can be done as you stated.

[nini]

15. try smaller more frequent meals.

pretzels, nuts etc... for snacks. Eating this way will help you avoid getting overly hungry and pigging out.

Do things like asking for fruit instead of fries when eating out etc.. little stuff like that will add up and you won't feel like you denying yourself much.

Drink LOTS of water.


good luck

[Broken_Hero]

16. during my junior-senior year...

I went from 425lbs to 235lbs...i was 235lbs the day i graduated in 95. I busted my ass off, didnt eat anything, and busted my ass off...but i gained a lot of it back. Now i'm 53 lbs into my current weight loss...i was 383 in may, and now i'm 333. I walk 6.4 miles a day, and eat a low fat diet, i can't buy into the atkins diet, but i do count carbs...but not that much, i sacrifice carbs for fat free, or low fat content. I stay away from fast food, and anything processed, or things with a lot of refined sugar in it like cookies, twinkies that sort of thing...for me...and of course no fried anything.

I eat a lot of pretzels, popcorn, rice, and beef jerky, and ham/turkey/roast beef, and chicken breast...for exercise i walk 3.2 miles, twice a day...i got four substantial hills on our dirt road, and its a decent work out....i plan on being below 300 in late january, or in February for sure...i plan on stopping around 250lbs this time around, but hopefully this time, i can keep it all off, its amazing how quickly weight can come bite you in the ass cheeks.

[AngryAmish]

17. Crystal Meth

[RebelOne]

39. Been there, done that. Lost lots of weight.

[SoCalDem]

19. eat less---exercise more

easier said than done:cry: (don;t I know it)

[Dude_CalmDown]

20. Go to the gym

It's the easiest way to get in shape. You can run, walk, watch what you eat all you want but you're going to hurt your joints, waste a lot of time and be hungry all the time. Join a gym and you'll get an efficient workout that's easy on your joints and allows you to eat (for the most part) what you want. Don't have time? Yeah you do - make the time. There is an hour somewhere in your day that you can trade in for feeling great about yourself. Can't afford it? That will only guarantee that you go everyday. Go to the gym.

[radwriter0555]

21. Get up and MOVE. Walk, join a gym, exercize for 20 minutes a day, 3

times a week, in a moderate, low impact workout under professional instruction.

Then, eat right. Cut your portions in half, and replace any fake, processed foods with fresh vegetables. Drink LOTS of water!

You'll be slim and trim in no time at all!

[auntAgonist]

22. yes....

too much information, what was I thinking. oh well.

Here's a link to the weightloss forum, great bunch of folks there.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=337

[Guy Fawkes]

23. A friend of mine lost 100lbs....

just by cutting out all the chocolate, baked goods, and fast food from his diet. Oh, and he walked everywhere.

[lady raven]

24. I've lost 70 pounds

Small, frequent meals, no fried foods, easy on the red meats, and soda rarely... Walking daily.

It's been slow but if you can handle it taking its time, it's easy.

What made me fail every time before was getting frustrated when I didn't lose fast enough.

[gmoney]

25. I managed to get in a good rut for a while...

about 18 months ago, during election season, I'd get up early and go walk "laps" around my basement for about 30 minutes listening to NPR news... did that probably 5 times a week. Switched from regular pop to diet (I know, I know... chemicals, etc.) and at the time Taco Bell (I know, I know...) had a "cheesy bean and rice burrito" that was good, filling, and cheap, so they got rid of it of course. So, the combination of those things, plus watching portions somewhat and avoiding evening snacking, and I managed to drop about 50 pounds.

Then I got my bathroom rehabbed, which turned my life (and my good rut) upside down, and I've not been able to get back on that wagon. I've regained about 30 pounds of it, but am now losing again thanks to getting a lot more exercise on weekends and reduced late night snacking.

Know a guy who lost a LOT of weight pretty quickly, and he said about all he changed was that he would allow himself NOTHING after 6PM except fresh fruit, dried fruit or real fruit juice. Late night calories are the worst from everything I've ever heard.

But XemaSab, just so you know, I <3 you just the way you are. :)

[XemaSab]

26. Thank you!

I know, it totally creeps up on you.

Even 2 years ago I felt fat all the time, and people would make comments about me being fat, and that was 60 lbs ago! :(

FWIW, I don't think I look hugely overweight, but it's more the knowing that you weigh twice as much as many hollywood actresses. :(

[gmoney]

38. .

:loveya: XemaSab :loveya:

[Awsi Dooger]

27. The only method that works for me

Is the Go/No approach. I've mentioned it here a couple of times. The day starts and you eat anything and everything you want, all day until midnight. Then the next day you eat nothing. I mean zero. If you cheat and rationalize that a bit less on a Go day allows for that much on a No day you'll be shocked how the little bit of food destroys the weight loss benefit.

I've done that many times and lost plenty of weight. But only one friend of mine seems to be able to use that approach and have the discipline to manage an entire No day. The rest complain of headaches. I eat so much on a Go day I've got a stomach ache and I'm not even thinking about food the next day, until shopping for the goodies about 2 AM in the wee hours of the next Go day. The secret is you're not eating for maybe 32 hours so that more than overcomes the 16 hour period you're eating anything you want.

Supposedly laboratory rats live much longer, up to 50% more, when given an every other day eating schedule.

At nearly 6-4 I'm lucky since I have about a 30 pound fluctuation -- 185 to 215 -- where no one says anything or really even notices. When I get to close to the high number I'll start the Go/No, and that's probably going to be post holidays considering how much I normally gain with my family in Miami.

[BikeWriter]

28. I lost 130 pounds. She moved out.

[Guava Jelly]

29. I am on a diet right know started late october

wieghed 237 pounds.
My theory is we are all superman .
If anyone remembers in the 90's they killed off superman only to have him comeback.
But how they did it was supes fought a villian so tough he drained his battery (himself and got weaker).since his power came from our yellow sun.He depleted it and was allmost killed
We are big batteries and we have to run down our batteries by walking and eating better and less.
i now wieght 221 pounds I walk 20-30 minutes on the treadmill in the morning and 20 minutes after work.
i want to loose 50-60 more pounds.
I started slow and have been upping my walks and am going to start pumping a little iron..Hopefully by summer I'll be a stud

[RebelOne]

30. My daughter lost 215 pounds, but of course,

she had a gastric bypass operation.

[flvegan]

31. I lost 80 lbs around 8 years ago.

Took it off in about 9 months.

I was at the gym every day (still am), and cardio was an obsession.

I also went vegetarian during that time.

There's only one suggestion that works: you have to want it, and commit to it. After that, it's gravy.

[MissMillie]

32. WLS patient... I've lost nearly 100 lbs.

and I've never been in better health in my entire life.

[MsKandice01]

43. I lost 210 lbs due to WLS

Congratulations!! Keep up the good work!!

[mwooldri]

54. Kudos to both of you ;)

Weight loss surgery can be the only way to go at times. My wife had lapband surgery and has lost 50 lbs already and has another 100 to go!

[AlCzervik]

33. yes twice, when i was 18 i lost 130 pounds and kept it off for almost

10 years and then i got pregnant, gained a bunch of weight and then lost some of it. In the past 6 months i've lost 60 pounds with 10 more to go.

I've been on the South beach diet for teh past 6 months, a modified version of it and i also bought a treadmill in July that i use 5 times a week for an hour a time and that has reshaped my body. I've gone from a size 18/20 to a size 10.

[nickinSTL]

34. I've lost around 35 lbs in the last couple years

That's a rough estimate, but close.

And there's no magic solution, no easy way to do it.

It takes the determination to change how you eat and stick to it, plus regular exercise.

I cut the fat in my diet, no trans fats, low saturated fat. I didn't mess with cutting carbs except to cut WAY down on regular soda. I used to drink 2-3 Dr. Peppers a day, and now I might have that many in a week. I've switched to stuff with Splenda or just fewer calories.

I also walk at least 6 days a week. 7 if I can find time.

It's a slow process, but it's working.

[ProfessorGAC]

35. My Wife Lost 35 Pounds

She did it by dropping off one medication that was causing weight gain, changed to another one, and developed hyponatremia. It took several months to recover from that and when she finally got back to normal, she lost a little over 35 months.

I recommend against this approach, although it worked great.
The Professor

[Left_Winger]

36. I lost 35 pounds this summer and two inches on my waistline

I rode my bike about 1200 kilometers in the heat of the day (about 30-40 kilometers per trip) and whenever I was hungry, I just drank water.

The weight literally melted off of me.

[henslee]

37. The problem is not losing the weight, its keeping it off for three years..

That is what my friend's obesity doctor told him. That's how long it takes for your metabolism to catch up and level off with your new weight/size.

My friend and his wife lost ninety pounds combined.. on an awesome diet and here's how. First off, it was under the supervision of an obesity doctor and their urgency was back problems they were both having. Second, and follow me now, they had a rigid regimen of eating, exercise and hyration. All of these factors were equally important. Their prescribed existed in two different modes and they were under the supersvison of a doctor, (though they have since shared the diet menu with friends who have also lost weight)

The diet existed in two modes... the first was WEIGHT LOSS mode which was implemented until they reached TARGET WEIGHT at which point it kicked into MAINTAINING WEIGHT LOSS mode which was not so strict.

They were told to purchase a jewelers scale whicih they carried around with them everywhere. They were instructed to weigh predetermined portions of the foods they were eating. The food schedule had diffent categories and some foods that were totally taboo. They did not eat bread, just some special nonfat cracker. Desserts were out of the picture -- they would heat up apple slices on crackers. The guy lost sixty pounds in two years, dropped from 230 to l70.

Their back problems are gone. They bought new wardrobes. It was amaz ing. Remember, inch by inch its a cinch. (I myself dropped fifteen pounds in a year just by cutting down on sweets and meats.

[emmajane67]

40. Lost 22 kilo by going on a 'pill' that didn't agree with me. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

41. just a couple of points

for starters, it will take a good diet and varied exercise to drop off the extra weight (just to add on what others have said)


but always remember that 1. it takes a solid committment to get things going, and 2. there are NO magic bullets and the 70 lbs will not go away overnight...have a reasonable timetable (9-12 mos seems about right)

[VelmaD]

42. I've lost at least 135 pounds...

it may be even more because I didn't get on a scale the first 6 weeks I was dieting. I was probably close to 300 pounds when I started and I'm at about 150 now.

I did it the old fashioned way. I changed the way I eat - eating less and eating more healthy foods. And I started exercising.

In both instances I started slow with baby steps so I wouldn't freak myself out. I made little changes one at a time...cutting out colas, changing from mayo to mustard on sammiches, cutting out fast food, switching to lower fat cuts of meat, eating more vegetables.

The important part was getting control of the amount of calories I consumed every day...for the longest time I was at 1000 calories a day. And then making sure I did enough exercise to burn off what I consumed plus some.

Currently I hit the gym for an hour at least 4 times a week adn I allow myself about 1200-1300 calories a day. I've been holding steady at around 150 for about a year now. I need to lose about 15 more pounds to be at my "ideal" weight...but I'm not killing myself to make it happen.

Anyway, the moral of my story...there's only 1 way to lose weight...burn more calories every day than you consume.

Good luck.

[Le Taz Hot]

44. I'm not sure if 30 pounds

is considered a lot of weight but yeah, I have.

Supplemented at least one meal a day with Carnation Instant Breakfast -- 25% of your daily vitamin and mineral requirements and only 225 pounds AND much cheaper than SlimFast.

I HATE traditional exercising but I do like to walk, dance and engage in carnal gratification with my husband so all of those serve as exercise. Find some physical activity that you LIKE to do and try to make time to do it.

Obviously, you need to stay away from the junk foods/fast foods. You don't have to go hungry as you can eat as many fruits and veggies as you want.

I still have about 20 pounds to go and they have been VERY stubborn but I haven't gained back an ounce of the original 30.

[freestyle]

45. I lost 35 pounds, which was a lot for me. Running worked.

You have to do some sort of vigorous exercise, in conjunction with eliminating foods you know are bad for you. The exercise is key. If running is too stressful for your joints, do brisk walking, biking, swimming, roller blading. Also, making the dietary changes before starting the exercise program helped. That way, when I did get hungry, I was more likely to go for a healthy snack. For the first month or so, stay off the scale. You are likely to build muscle before you lose fat, and would therefore see no reduction, or maybe even an increase. Good luck, and don't rush. We all want to lose weight much faster than we gained it, but it is not that easy.

[Xithras]

46. Chart your calories. 500 calories a day = a pound a week

The first thing you need to do is record your food intake for a week or so. Everything that goes into your body, including water, should be recorded. At the end of each day tally the calories each of the items contained and figure out what your total input was for the day.

Next, figure out how many calories your body actually needs by finding an online calculator or using a formula like this one: http://www.ehow.com/how_5138_calculate-total-daily.html. Remember to do the math using the weight you want to be, not the weight you are now. Doing the math using your current weight should return the number of calories you need to maintain your CURRENT weight.

The easiest way to do things is to simply reduce your food intake to the calorie level needed to maintain the weight you actually want. There are a few caveats however: 1) The steeper the drop, the more likely that you'll fail. It's better to bring yourself down in increments than to slash a thousand calories a day from your diet all at once. 2) You need to maintain a minimum of 10 calories per pound of your CURRENT weight, even if that intake is higher than the calories you need for your target weight. Anything under 10 calories per pound will make your body think it's starving, and will cause its fat burning to stop. 3) Exercise isn't actually required, but it makes the whole process move a heck of a lot faster. We're talking about one year of dieting vs. several years here. 5) A pound of fat contains 3500 calories, so eliminating 500 calories a day from your current diet will automatically start shaving a pound a week from your weight. Doing that alone will shave your seventy pounds in about a year and a half.

[youthere]

48. I lost 65 after my last kidlet...

I gained it with my last pregnancy. Breastfeeding helped a little, but even after she was weaned I still hung on to 50 + lbs. I started walking and stopped eating "white"-no white bread, rice, pasta etc...only whole grains (with the highest grams of fiber I could find). I ate more soup (not the creamy cheesy stuff-broth based soup only), drank more water and less soda and I started walking. Eventually got back to running (which I still do). I cut out all butter and margarine and found a butter flavored non-stick spray I liked and butter flavored sprinkles I liked. Gradually I started using more oils for the heart benefits (Olive, flaxseed, grapeseed, walnut wtc..) I also made a solemn vow to eat NOTHING and only drink water or tea after 5 PM. I also ate (and still eat) 6 -9 times a day (small portions). THIS IS IMPORTANT! By giving your body food frequently it doesn't go into "starvation survival" mode, and you will lose weight quicker. Now if you're cutting off all food after five, and still keep the small frequent meals you will feel as though you are eating constantly. I never thought it would be possible, but I literally got sick of food.
I also never looked at it as something that had an endpoint. I just decided to make these healthy changes in my life, and I've stuck with all of them except the eating after five rule. I go back to that if I notice my jeans getting a little tight.

Good luck!

[Chan790]

49. Yup...127 Lbs.

My secret is water.

Generally...more water means less weight. If you drink the 8x8 a day (8 8oz glasses), it's hard to actually have room to eat enough to maintain a high weight. Find a large cup (I used a 7-11 double-gulp cup, 64oz. or a full day's water requirement) and fill it with water and ice cubes. carry it everywhere. Because it's convenient, you drink it...and it's easy to get the 8 glasses into you daily. It also keeps you from drinking calorie-laden drinks like soda or koolaid out of convenience. If you have chlorinated water, refrigerating it will remove the bleach taste.

If you're a veggie (and unless I misunderstood upthread you said you don't eat critters), you do the little things to burn calories (Don't use elevators or escalators, walk wherever you can rather than drive, etc.), and drink a lot of water it's almost impossible to keep weight on.

Canned nuts are a good convenience protein booster...so is edamame. Both can pack some serious weight though if you eat either to excess.

Avoid "diet" food and soda...dirty secret, it makes you hungry.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

50. Chart everything, especially your daily weight.

I'm a strong believer that even the simple act of recording your weight every day in a notebook, spreadsheet or whatever, along with other things like exercise done, calories burned etc. has a very powerful effect on your behavior.

The act of recording doesn't affect your weight in and of itself, but it helps the other behavior modification.

For one thing, you will see, even if you are in a weight loss mode (more calories burned than eaten per day), that the weight loss is usually gradual, and your weight will go up or down by a pound or two, just fluctuating around the overall trend, so that you won't get overly discouraged by being a pound heavier sometimes, and you won't get overly encouraged by seeing a pound or two weight loss.

Recording also helps keep you from getting any WORSE. For instance if you are having a hard time holding down your calorie intake, seeing that you've gone up a pound or so will tend to make you work that much harder to "hold the line" where you might easily eat more if you weren't paying attention to the trend.

Very good points other posters have brought up here that I agree with:

1) Any "diet" you go with should be something you can eat more or less forever. You can always starve off weight, but you are likely to gain it back if you go back to calories consumed more than burned per day.

2) I personally view regular exercise (definitely try for 5 or more times a week, or at least 4) as critical to success in weight loss for a whole host of reasons. Some people swear by isometric, muscle building exercise like weightlifting to increase muscle mass that burns calories, but honestly I've had the most success with just aerobic exercise. Reasons for importance of exercise:

a) It burns calories directly. (Duh, simple thermodynamics)
b) I believe that regular aerobic exercise increases the amount of calories you burn while at rest, also, but I'm not sure how well the science supports this. When I'm in a mode of regular (4-6 times a week) aerobic exercise, I FEEL differently, like I'm burning more calories all the time, and I'm sure I do. Not sure how to describe this...
c) It increases your feeling of overall well being and self esteem, fostering continued adherence to your diet and exercise regimen.
d) going along the lines of "c", the effort and commitment involved in exercise increases your emotional investment in what you are doing to make changes to your body.

Regular exercise doesn't mean it has to be really strenuous as others have indicated. I know plenty of people who've had excellent results with weight loss from fairly brisk walking for a few miles a day along with diet changes.

When carrying a lot of extra weight, many excellent exercises can be very hard on the body, like running is on the knees, hips, and ankles, etc. I agree with the recommendation to consult with a doctor about appropriate exercise regimens, but get a lot of opinions on this.

Exercises that I think tend to be very good for people carrying extra weight (more "joint friendly") include swimming, biking (real or stationary), and my personal favorite, the elliptical trainer.

Even though workouts in gyms can be tedious (TV and music are very helpful), one thing I like very much about good gym equipment is that a lot of it gives fairly accurate measure of calories burned. This is information that I record in my weight/exercise journal.

[LaraMN]

51. I lost 55 after I was done nursing my last baby.

I cut back to 1200-1500 calories a day, ran 6 days a week, and did Pilates to retain/ regain muscle tone. Probably a bit stringent, but I felt fine. It took me about 3 or 4 months. It was challenging, but quitting smoking, honestly, has been harder.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

52. Oh, and by the way, weigh yourself at the same time every day, under

the same "scientific" conditions.

For instance, in the morning, when you get up, right after you have, er, "cast overboard all ballast".

[darkism]

53. I lost about 50 when I was 18 years old playing DDR

I'm 22 now and can't play worth a damn. :p

[Sequoia]

55. I'm 5' and weighed at 152 once.

Ms. Pear, that was me. My back was fat. Fatback, heh, heh.

I ate stuff like tuna, melba crackers and soup. High carb diet of all things!

[Horus45]

56. I've lost 127 lbs

When I was in my 20's my weight peaked at 365 lbs.
I started off with Opti-Fast and lost 50 lbs on that diet.
The rest I lost on my own with a very low fat diet.
I had gotten down to 210 lbs, but since becoming disabled I've put some back on, current weight is 240 lbs. I know it sounds like a lot, but I'm 6 feet 4 inches tall.

[Conan_The_Barbarian]

57. I'll let you in on a secret...

Now there are a few ways to lose weight, and one reigns supreme above them all.

Now here are your main stream ways that you'll hear a lot about. You've got your carb cutting, calorie counters, walkers, joggers, fad dieters, etc. All these methods can make you lose fat, but that's ALL they'll really do for you. They are all short term solutions to your problem. Overweight individuals typically have relatively little muscle mass and a poor metabolism. When people complain of having a slow metabolism that is completely within their control and is changable. The key is recreating your body composition, and this applies for both genders.

When you cut your calories severly and dramatically decrease caloric intake your body will start burning fat and muscle included, and essentially increasing your likelyhood to regain the weight and more once you stop such behavior, and trust me trying to live on 1800 calories and running 3-4 miles a day is a terrible life style. Now we all know that muscle mass burns more calories than fat. 1lb of muscle burns just as much as 5lbs of fat in mantainence daily. So when you drop the fat this way you drop quite a few pounds of muscle as well, which is counter productive to long term weightloss.

First things first, start drinking lots of water. Water is the base for all chemical reactions in your body, the more available the easier it is for your body to function. Change what you eat and when you eat. Eat 6-7 small meals a day with at least 20g of protein included in each and a healthy serving of some kind of complex carbohydrate, and remeber to eat 2-4 servings of vegetables daily along with taking a simple over the counter multi vitamin. Eating small meals frequently encourages your body to use food to repair and strengthen your body rather than store it as fat for later usage.

Excersize should be a variety of weight training and cardio. Weight training believe or not (espically when training legs) burns a ridiculous amount of calories compared to cardio. Not to mention all your calories you take in suddenely have a purpose to replenish blood glycogen levels and get proteins and other essential building blocks of muscle where they need to be to get the recovery process started.

Contrary to what many will tell you cardio should be brief but very intense. When you jump on the treadmill and job for 45 minutes at 6mph your body burns calories but only while you do such activity. If you jump on the treadmill and pump out 16 minutes of pain at 10mph you actually encourage fat loss and are promomting new muscle growth in your legs, not to mention saving tons of time. Intense cardio also pushes your metabolism off the charts, you'll notice a dramatic increase in appetite just a few days after you start such excersize and commit to it frequently.

You'll find yourself eating more and more as you get faster and stronger and that's because your body needs the glycogen because your muscles take more and more for your mechanical movements. I lost 100lbs and I eat more than I ever did when I was wondering why I was gaining weight. I easily take in 3000 calories a day, usually in the mid 3000 range and I swear I need every single one of them.

Also keep in mind, when you're actually hungry, not just bored hungry than it means you should eat something, you're not doing your body any favor by depriving it of required nutrition. That's just a basic introduction, the internet is full of sources, if you're a beginner I'd suggest a book called Body For Life. Stick with it for a challenge or two and you'll notice some major improvements, but be warned the first two weeks of frequent excersize are HELL.

[Beaverhausen]

58. I lost 50 lbs on Phen-Fen - and my heart is fine

This was back in 1996-1997. I am so pissed that some assholes got this taken off the market. It was willpower in a pill. I kept the weight off a long time but of course have now gained back over half of it.

There were some news stories about Meridia the other night...I'm going to ask my Dr. about that stuff.