NEW with 80 pounds to lose

The best thing you can do for yourself is to look at the long term. Don't expect to lose it all in a couple of months.

I had 57 pounds to lose (started at the end of August) and I gave myself a whole year. I've lost 17 so far.

Having a diet buddy can help - even an online one. I'm married and my husband does not eat well at all. Neither of us are very active. I found a diet buddy online and she and I talk about all the things my husband can't relate to.

Like many, I had tried several times before with small successes, but this is the longest I have stuck with a diet plan ever and it is largely due to having someone to talk to.

One huge tip I can give as far as specifically losing weight: cycle your calories. Don't eat the same number of calories each day. Your body will get used to it and will stop shedding the pounds.

GOOD LUCK!

Welcome to the beginning of a "new you"~~~new and healthier, that is. It took me four years to become more serious about getting rid of this excess weight. On November 16th, a good friend told me about how one of her adult son's has lost a tremendous amount of weight by using this free online program and also that her husband has started using it because he has a few pounds he needs to drop.

That afternoon, I took a look at the program, registered and began right away. Over the past few years, I was only given "lip service" to watching what I eat and cutting back, however, I was NOT measuring and weighing the food nor beverage items accurately. Eyeball measurements DO NOT WORK.

The key to success in all weight control programs is: accurate weighing & measuring for every single thing that goes in your mouth. Portion control, portion control, portion control.

Do not take the food package's word for accuracy of one portion of the item. Put the item on a digital scale to weigh it if it's a bulk item like a fish stick. If you can put the item into an individual measuring cup (1/4, 1/3, 1/2, etc.) and level off with a straight edge knife or spatula, you'll do much better. Do the same thing with measuring spoons. Don't use an eating teaspoon or eating tablespoon to measure because they are much larger.

Eat frequent small meals, every 3 hours, to divide up your calorie goal for the day.

Try to eat your dinner meal earlier in the day (between 3 pm to 6 pm. if possible). The earlier the better so you're not going to sleep on the calories for the end of the day.

What kind of physical activity would be fun for you? I love to dance so I found a bargain price for a set of 4 Zumba DVDs. You may need to start with just 15 min. sessions, 5 days/week. Work up to a minimum fitness program of 30 min. /day 5 times/week.

Two-thirds of your plate needs to be vegetables. Avoid the high calorie veggies.

I've done this before so I know what works. I just needed a great program to help me stay motivated and stay on track.

Get on that scale one time a week only. Same amount of clothing, same time of day, same day of the week.

You ARE successful, one day at a time. Remember, success breeds more success. You may add me ad a friend on here if you would like to.

just lost 40 pounds hang in there so worth it

Thanks guys for your advice, I will definitely do my best. Please could you tell me more about recycling calories. How do i do that?

quoted from "Burn Fat, Feed Muscle":

'Your body is an amazing machine that is remarkably adaptable to any situation or environment. Your body likes to stay in a state of equilibrium and will always fight your efforts to change.

Fortunately, there is a way you can “trick” your body into keeping your metabolic rate up while you’re dieting for fat loss – It’s called the zig zag method and it’s without question the most powerful fat burning technique ever developed.

You must have a deficit to lose fat, but what you don’t want is a large deficit for a long period of time. The way to “outsmart” your body’s starvation response is to avoid prolonged calorie deficits. You simply drop into a calorie deficit for a brief period of three days, then – before your body has a chance to decrease your metabolic rate– you raise your calories back up to maintenance level (or even above maintenance) for one to three days. You then repeat this process until you reach your desired body fat percentage.

Some bodybuilders zig zag their calories completely at random and this seems to be effective for them. Other people use low, medium and high days in a pyramid fashion. My research, based on personal coaching programs with over 600 clients and on 14 years of competitive bodybuilding experience, has shown conclusively that the zig zag method works best in three day cycles. When your calories are kept in a large deficit more than three days, that’s when your metabolic rate starts to dip. By raising your calories every fourth day, you spike your metabolism and the starvation mode never fully kicks in.

Here’s how the zig zag method works: You will use two separate menu plans – one high calorie day, and one low calorie day. Your low calorie day will be initially set at 15-20% below your maintenance level. Your high calorie day will be initially set at your maintenance level. You will then “cycle” your calories on a three days down, one day up rotation."



Hope that helps! I had hit a plateau that lasted about 5 weeks. Then I discovered this method and have lost 5 more pounds in the last couple weeks. So I know it works!