[RightOnline]

Read, follow, enjoy, comment......I agree with Ms. Majorossy's points 100%. Hope it helps some of you.

[Spiff]

Sounds good. I figured almost all of those out on my own since the end of September as I've lost over 40lbs. One slight variation I have is on the carbs. Don't be afraid of carbs, just be reasonable and don't eat "empty" carbs. If it is bread or pasta, ALWAYS go with whole grain wheat. My wife has found whole wheat everything in the store or she grinds our own wheat and makes it herself. She's lost 25lbs in the same time period. We both feel so much healthier and younger not to mention how much slimmer we look. She's got only 5lbs to go but I'm only a little over half way to my goal.

[Gay State Conservative]

I lost 30+ pounds a couple of years back (on advice of a Cardiologist)by exercise (brisk walking an hour a day) and Atkins.The pounds seemed to melt off of me.Atkins was surprisingly easy for me (a chocoholic and lover of all carbohydrates)...but you've gotta like water,chicken salad
and beef.

[teenyelliott]

Burn more calories than you consume.

End of list.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Learn to love your blender and your juicer. If you don't have a juicer, Black & Decker makes an affordable one for under $25. You can find it at Wal-Mart or Target, etc.

We keep the weight off by making healthy shakes, smoothies and juice mixes from fresh ingredients. I absolutely love carrots and apples juiced together and for breakfast today I had a smoothie made from frozen melon chunks, banana, skim milk (I also use soy milk), vanilla and a packet of Splenda. Scraps from our juicer go to the chickens, or you can throw them into your compost pile, too.

There are many cookbooks out there on juicing and smoothies, and of course you can find recipes on the web. It's an easy way to get a lot of nutrition & fiber into you without getting a lot of calories into you, too! :)

[SamAdams76]

During 2003, I went from 304 pounds to 197 pounds and I'm maintaining at about 210-215 today (I'm 6'3" male).

I can distill all of the above to just three points:

• Exercise EVERY day. None of this "three days a week" crap. I wear a step pedometer and ensure I do 10,000 steps a day (about 5 miles). I get up at 5AM every day to do a three mile walk so I'm already over halfway to my goal before I even have breakfast.

• Eliminate processed foods from your diet and eat only whole, natural foods such as meat, fish, nuts, vegetables, fruits, olive oil, cheese, yogurt, eggs, red wine, beer. Avoid completely all foods that contain either high-fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated fats (also known as trans-fats). Use REAL butter (not margarine which is very bad for you) and lots of olive oil. This will actually IMPROVE your cholesterol if that is what you are worred about.

• Never skip a meal, especially breakfast. But also never eat after dinner. You may snack on nuts and such between breakfast and dinner if you must but I'm not buying the 4-6 small meals a day idea either. I also don't buy the "8 glasses" of water a day. Nothing wrong with drinking water I suppose. But I only drink when I am thirsty and don't drink just to maintain some artificial criteria of fluid intake. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!

The fact is that taking off weight and then keeping it off is not easy. It will require an enormous amount of self-discipline and constant effort. There is no easy way out. You must get out and walk at least five miles a day and you must always watch carefully what you eat. Otherwise, the pounds will only pile right back on again. I've been there and I've been fighting the obesity battle my entire life. There are no shortcuts and it ain't easy. But I can assure you through experience that if you do the above, you will lose weight, keep it off and look and feel great.

GOOD LUCK!

[Atlas Sneezed]

My personal experience:

1. Low-carb (Atkins) WORKS if you don't cheat.
2. Exercise is essential.
3. If you go crazy with Atkins and eat too many fatty things, your cholesterol may spike. (I lost 25 pounds in 3 months, but spiked to 266 Cholesterol.)
4. No crap (soda, sugar, Cheetos, etc.)
5. Get comfortable with the notion that you may occasionally feel hungry. Live with it. (Read Fumento's "Fat of the Land" for inspiration.)
6. "Low Metabolism" is a lame excuse. Anyone who claims this needs to explain how the laws of physics are violated, and they store nutrients from food they didn't eat. (Or do they think that all the normal people are passing waste that contains lots of unabsorbed nutrients?)

[Mr. Blonde]

Its funny, being on the wrestling team we all lose a lot of weight and everyone wants to know how we do it. Although diet is a big part of it, working out for 3 hours a day is also very effective no matter what you eat. One guy I know eats McDonalds about everyday and has around 6% body fat.