1. Always eat a balanced meal or snack containing complete protien, carbohydrates, and fat.  Eating this way will help create a hormonal balance (homeostasis) to stabilize your blood sugar. Your body will mobilize fat when your blood sugar is stable.

2. Eat within 1 hour of waking up and again every 3-4 hours. blood sugar levels drop over time, by eating frequently you will keep it stable. If you go too long without eating and allow your blood sugar to drop, your body will turn to its valuable muscle for fuel. Every pound of muscle burns 30-50 calories per day!

3. Eat only until satisfied, not full!  Eating too much will elevate blood sugar levels. When sugar levels are high, your body will store fat. Yes even if it is healthy food!

4. Drink alot of water. Aim for 16 oz with every meal and another 16 oz between meals. at least 1 gallon per day for healthy, active adults.

5. Supplement your diet with a good multivitamin-mineral and essential fatty acids (fish oil, flax oil)

By incorporating this type of nutrition plan paired with a well-planned exercise routine, you will transform your body into a fat burning machine! Eating this way will easily become a lifestyle and help you to break the damaging yo-yo diet cycle.

If you would like help incorporating a nutrition plan into your lifestyle, go to http://wncweightloss.com I have online and consulting plans available that will change your life.

Thanks,

Lee Sedon

Personally, I lived the low-carb lifestyle for about a year and a half.  The mood swings and cravings caused that plan to fail.  I have never been drawn to the "take this pill and look like a fitness model" scams, because that is exactly what they are: a  scam!  Worthless junk marketed toward peoples desire to have an awesome physique, now, without working for it.

I have a great nutrition plan that is truly life changing.  It focuses on blood sugar stabilization through frequent, balanced meals. Incorporate a well planned exercise routine and watch the fat disappear. Please check out my site http://wncweightloss.com if you like what you see, share it with your friends.

Thanks,

Lee Sedon

 By: Stephanie Althea

Before: 215 lbs

After: 135 lbs

Vital Stats

Name: Stephanie Althea
Location: Ontario, Canada
Email: stephanie_althea@hotmail.com
Height: 5'7"
Weight Before: 215 lbs
Dress Size Before: 18-20
Weight After: 135 lbs
Dress Size After: 4

Why I Got Started

I was extremely obese as a teenager. At 15 years old, I weighed 215lbs. I was teased a lot at school, and ended up dropping out, spending my days watching TV, shoving food in my mouth the entire time. I would literally sit on the couch for 9 hours at a time, eating entire packages of cookies and 10-packs of pudding cups.

I would watch old "from geek to chic" episodes of Jenny Jones and Ricky Lake, and I would cry, wishing desperately that I could grow up to be one of those beautiful girls. I wanted men to pay attention to me, I wanted to wear pretty clothes, and I wanted to be happy and popular.

Click Image To Enlarge.
I Wanted To Be Happy & Popular.

I come from a family of obese women; most of the ladies in my family are over 300-400lbs, so my mother would try to console me, saying I was going to grow up to be beautiful, but that our family's genetics would never allow me to be skinny, and I'd have to accept that. I sunk lower into depression, fueling that all-too-common binge cycle.

Click Image To Enlarge.
I Sunk Lower Into Depression.

Eventually I realized that I could not possibly live the rest of my life like this. My stomach hurt from the volume of food I was consuming, I couldn't climb a flight of stairs without getting dizzy, and at 15 years old, I was having heart palpitations! The idea of living this life for 80 more years was unacceptable, and I had to do something about it. This was my life, and I was going to live it on my terms!

Click Image To Enlarge.
I Couldn't Live My Life Like This.

How I Did It

I didn't know what to do, so I did what felt natural: I cut out junk food (I was eating Wendy's twice a day at that point), dropping 20lbs almost immediately. I added just 10 minutes of walking a day, and another 20lbs melted off! I increased the duration and speed of my walks, and walking turned into speed walking, which turned into jogging, and within two years, running.

The proudest day of my life was when a boy from high school, who once told me I had "more rolls than a bakery" not knowing who I was, asked me for my phone number!

Click Image To Enlarge.
A Proud Day.

I lost the rest of the weight through long-distance running. I couldn't describe the euphoria of being physically able to run- I felt so free and light. I ran my whole first half-marathon with a grin on my face. My body looked great, and I was skinny, but I was still jiggly. One afternoon, I was watching TV, and saw a documentary on teenage bodybuilders, and I was entranced.

What an interesting culture this was! I liked the discipline of it all. I hopped online to learn more, and stumbled across Bodybuilding.com.

Talk about a life changing moment! Over the next few months, I immersed myself in every article I could find. I started to build my own home-gym, slowly adding equipment such as a treadmill, free weights, and a stationary bike.

I also copied the exercises on bb.com, marveling at the muscles just popping out on me all of a sudden! My energy increased, and I found renewed passion for fitness and life - next thing I know, I'm on stage in a bikini contest, in front of hundreds of strangers!! (I definitely never saw that one coming!)

What Supplements I Took

Whey protein after workouts, and in my coffee, and a multivitamin every day, with extra doses of Vitamin C. I now take Crantastic Razz Fruit Blast Isolate from 4Ever Fit.

Click Image To Enlarge.
Stephanie Is Now A Sponsored Athlete Of 4Ever Fit!

Sample Week Of My Diet

Weight loss in the first few years was slow, because I had no idea about the impact of food! I started out just cutting out junk food, and within the first two years, slowly evolved into eating clean foods - lots of fresh fruits and vegetables!

I didn't learn about the benefits of protein until I discovered Bodybuilding.com; the nutrition section was the best thing to ever happen to me. Turns out it's not genetics that makes my family obese, it's simply lack of education - I honestly didn't know what a carbohydrate was; I knew "protein" referred to meat.

Click Image To Enlarge.
Education Is The Key

By implementing the information I gained on bb.com, I really saw results FAST - I leaned out, and the jigglies went away! I wasn't a saggy bag of cardio bones anymore!! I really urge you all to read as much as you can!

Click Image To Enlarge.
I Wasn't A Saggy Bag Of Cardio Bones Anymore!

I'm a creature of habit, so my diet is fairly similar, day-to-day. Sunday's are my "rest day", and I like to indulge in either bigger helpings of my favorite foods, or a little treat (usually chocolate!)

Monday-Friday: (off-season)

6:00am (pre-workout)
 

• A cup of coffee with a scoop of Optimum 100% Whey

 

8:00am (post-workout)
 

• 1 scoop of Optimum 100% Whey
• 1 Royal Gala apple (my favorite food in the world!)
• 1/3 cup oats OR 2 slices of whole wheat toast with low-fat natural peanut butter.

 

10:00am
 

• 10 baby carrots, or a cup of grapes

 

12:30pm
 

• Veggies
• A protein source (tofu, soy, whey, occasionally chicken, though I'm mostly vegan)

 

4:00pm
 

• A protein bar, or whey shake
• A Royal Gala apple

 

6:00pm
 

• Medium salad
• 1/2 brick of firm tofu

 

8:00pm
 

• 2 tablespoons of 100% pure soy protein, mixed with water, and a tablespoon of honey for flavor!

 

Sample Week Of Training

I weight train 30-45 minutes, 5 days a week. Cardio is 6 days a week, and varies between 35-60 minutes. I like to train my abs while I'm weight training, in between sets, as it keeps my heart rate up, and cuts time!

Click Image To Enlarge.
I Train Abs Between Sets.

• Monday: Biceps/Shoulders, Cardio
• Tuesday: Triceps/Chest/Back, Cardio
• Wednesday: Cardio only
• Thursday: Biceps/Shoulders, Cardio
• Friday: Triceps/Chest/Back, Cardio
• Saturday: Cardio, Legs
• Sunday: REST DAY

Click Image To Enlarge.
Stephanie Althea.

Suggestions For Others

If you only take two things away from my story, let them be this:

1. Research until your eyes glaze over!! Knowledge is your most powerful tool; you do not need to buy into the hype diet-of-the-day, and as-seen-on-tv products if you know how your body works and why your body works the way it does!! Plus, you can gross people out with all the wonderful poop facts you'll find.

    

   
   Click Image To Enlarge.
   Knowledge Is Your Most Powerful Tool.

    

2. Eat 5-6 small meals per day. In fact, forget the word "meal", just graze on (healthy!) foods all day long. I know a lot of you will swear that eating less food will make you skinny, but if you take into account my number one piece of advice (research!) you'll find out that your body is like a wood stove; you have to keep a log on the fire all day long to keep it alive.

Click Image To Enlarge.
Keep A Log On The Fire All Day.

It's okay to be a little wary; I was too! But then, I tried it, and the weight came off so quickly, I was an instant believer!

  All rights reserved. Learn more at Bodybuilding.com

Laura (Robbla1) Lost 110 Pounds!

I can remember my ballet teacher telling my mother that I could be a professional dancer if I lost some weight. I was 5. I started counting calories as young as 8 years old – I got a new skateboard when I was 11 when I’d lost down to 92 pounds. Obviously, I’ve battled the weight monster my entire life. My parents always supported me, and I never felt badly about my weight, but they did encourage me to lose. They wanted me to be healthy and happy, and I just wanted to wear the popular new styles of dress like the other kids in my class. If it didn’t flatter my figure, my mom didn’t buy it (thank God!!!), but most of the trends never looked good on my “plump” body. I got down to a size 12 in the 10^th grade, but started gaining again, and graduated at a size 18. After my freshman year of college, I was 220 pounds. After hovering around 230 for about 5 years (give or take the 30-45 pounds I’d lose and then gain), I decided I’d had enough. I knew exactly what to do to lose weight. A registered dietician actually told me once that I knew almost as much as she did about nutrition and how to lose weight. I was active, and still healthy, but I just couldn’t seem to get it off. I would have bouts of success – 35 pounds here and even lost 45 at one point, but I could never keep it off. In 2004, I went to my parents and told them I wanted to look into bariatric surgery. They were supportive – I wasn’t sure they would be. I found an option call LapBand. It’s perfomed laproscopically, it’s adjustable, it doesn’t cut, staple or re-route your intestinal track, and I felt that it was the option for me. Although costly, it was the best money I’d ever spent in my life. My parents and grandmother helped me pay for part of it, and supported me from start to finish. 

Get $20 off your first order with Diet to Go! Use coupon code CJ2000 at checkout

Congratulations Laura!

My job requires a lot of traveling--at least a week out of the month, maybe more. This makes it difficult to stay on any diet, yet with the diet techniques I have learned from SciVation Director of R&D Chuck Rudolph, I can make due with what I have. Here are some rules for staying lean year-round and maintaining a physique that is always 6 weeks out from being dialed-in.

]]> Sun, 17 May 2009 00:02:19 +0100 http://www.overallhealth.com//index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=285:what-to-take-if-your-diet-stinks-&catid=109:information&directory=137

1. High Potency Multiple Complex:

2. Alpha Lipoic Acid:

3. Omega-3:

4. Vitamin C:

5. L-Carnitine:

6. Milk Thistle:

7. CoQ10:

  All rights reserved. Learn more at Bodybuilding.com

First, you have to decide if you need a diet or a lifestyle change.  A diet (as I use the term) is a temporary change to your lifestyle (exercise and eating habits) diets are good for losing small amounts of weight that will come back over time.  If you want to lose ten pounds because you have a reunion or event coming up, you probably need a diet; hopefully, you find one that works.  A lifestyle change (which is what most of the articles I write focus on) is a complete overhaul of what you eat and how you exercise- it can incorporate an underlying “diet” but focuses on the long-term.  A lifestyle change is required for those who are significantly overweight.  Because it’s not just enough to lose the weight- you have to lose the weight and keep it off.

Examination 

The first step in making a lifestyle change is to examine how you currently live.  You can keep a journal; maybe make a blog – whatever works for you.  Record what it is you are eating and everything you are doing in terms of exercise.  You have to be honest with yourself in order for this to work.  So if you normally drink a regular soft drink but decide to write down a diet drink because you think that is somehow going to help you while you’re recording your current lifestyle, it’s not.

This step really worked well for me because I am a visual person.  I kept a notebook and for a week I wrote everything I ate and what all I did that could be considered exercise.  I usually didn’t carry it with me, I just remembered what I ate and wrote it down at the end of the day.  For the exercise I really didn’t do much, walked to the car and walked around work. Nothing too major.

Research

Taking your journal look at what you ate and what you did during that week.  If you really want to have some fun look up the calories, fat, and carbs in each of the things you ate.  You can do this on the Internet or on the packaging of most of the items you eat.  If you eat out a lot, there are many sites that offer this information for anything you order, including most websites for the restaurants themselves. It just may surprise you how many calories you consume normally.

You are also going to want to research the different types of diets. There are all kinds of diets out there. The most of them involve at least one of three components. There’s low calorie, low carb, and low fat.  You’re not necessarily going to go on a diet but at the core of your lifestyle change is an underlying diet that you need to stick to.  Personally, I chose low fat because it seemed easier than counting calories and well, I love me some carbs.  Plus, I have never understood low carb diets- I know lots of people that have had success with them but really, I don’t understand how you can eat bacon and lose weight. It’s just not natural.

Please remember that a diet is a temporary fix, but if you are looking to lose significant amounts of weight and maintain that weight loss for a long period of time diets can be beneficial. Make sure that the diet that you choose can be incorporated into your everyday lifestyle.

Looking at my first week in review, I focused on problem areas and made small changes at first. I continued to keep the journal to aide in my healthy lifestyle efforts and continued to make healthier changes as the weeks progressed.

Planning

Take a look at your journal and make a conscious decision to adhere to making healthy lifestyle changes. Once you accept that you need to make some changes, the better your efforts will be. It’s ok to start out slowly at first and make a couple of simple changes. For instance you may switch from regular soda to diet soda, and then eventually cut soda out all together. In terms of exercise you should set your goals small at first if you are not used to being active. You can make simple changes by taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator or perhaps park at the back of the parking lot so the walk to your building is a little longer. Maybe you have fifteen minutes during lunch that would allow you (and even a co-worker) to take a short walk around the building or parking lot. Walking is one of the easiest and best exercises you can do for yourself.

I started exercising slowly. I literally took it one step at a time. I did little things like walking short distances while at work or doing light housework daily. Eventually I bought a treadmill and started out walking slowly while watching television. As time progressed I was able to walk for longer periods of time, and eventually jog. Keeping with my routine I was ultimately able to run on my treadmill. So, sticking with a routine no matter how long it takes—you will eventually see some type of progress.

Follow Through and Maintenance

Once you’ve realized your need for change--stick to your plan. It’s ok to falter once in a while. Go ahead and have that scoop of ice cream! Just make sure you get back on track right away. There’s nothing wrong with having ice cream every now and then. You’re going to want to have some of those “bad” foods from time to time, and that is quite alright. The key is portion control. You can’t expect to cut out everything you’ve indulged in previously and never crave it or eat it again. That’s not being realistic. Limiting yourself to only a select few foods is not good and will just lead you to cheat on your lifestyle plan.

Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t seeing progress on your scale. There are probably going to be days or even weeks when your scale doesn’t register any change. Chances are you are progressing in other areas. Perhaps your scale says you still weigh the same, but you noticed your pants are fitting better. You’ve probably lost some inches! Maybe when you first started your exercise routine you couldn’t make it up three flights of stairs without being out of breath, but a few weeks later you have no trouble with them! Remember that this plan isn’t just a temporary change in your habits.

This plan is for you. This plan is for life—your healthier life.

Product Info and "Daily Values"

The Nutrition Facts label is divided into Two Main Areas:

• Sections 1-5 provide product-specific information (serving size, calories, and nutrient information). These vary with each food product.
  
• Section 6 is a Footnote with Daily Values (DVs). The footnote provides information about the DVs for important nutrients, including fats, sodium and fiber. The DVs are listed for people who eat 2,000 or 2,500 calories each day.
  • The amounts for total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium are maximum amounts. That means you should try to stay below the amounts listed.
  • The DVs for total carbohydrate and dietary fiber daily represent the minimum amounts recommended for a 2,000-calorie diet. This means you should consume at least this amount per day for each of these nutrients.
  • The footnote is only found on larger labels, and does not change from product to product.

What's On the Label?

1. Serving Size

   This section is the basis for determining number of calories, amount of each nutrient, and %DVs of a food. Use it to compare a serving size to how much you actually eat. Serving sizes are given in familiar units, such as cups or pieces, followed by the metric amount, e.g., number of grams.

2.  Amount of Calories

   If you want to manage your weight (lose, gain, or maintain), this section is especially helpful. The amount of calories is listed on the left side. The right side shows how many calories in one serving come from fat. In this example, there are 250 calories, 110 of which come from fat. The key is to balance how many calories you eat with how many calories your body uses. Tip: Remember that a product that's fat-free isn't necessarily calorie-free.

Limit these Nutrients

Eating too much total fat including saturated fat and trans fat), cholesterol, or sodium may increase your risk of certain chronic diseases, such as heart disease, some cancers, or high blood pressure. The goal is to stay below 100%DV for each of these nutrients per day.

Get Enough of these Nutrients

Americans often don't get enough dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron in their diets. Eating enough of these nutrients may improve your health and help reduce the risk of some diseases and conditions.

Percent (%) Daily Value

This section tells you whether the nutrients (total fat, sodium, dietary fiber, etc.) in one serving of food contribute a little or a lot to your total daily diet.

The %DVs are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Each listed nutrient is based on 100% of the recommended amounts for that nutrient. For example, 18% for total fat means that one serving furnishes 18% of the total amount of fat that you could eat in a day and stay within public health recommendations. Use the Quick Guide to Percent DV (%DV): 5%DV or less is low and 20%DV or more is high.

Footnote with Daily Values (%DVs)

The footnote provides information about the DVs for important nutrients, including fats, sodium and fiber. The DVs are listed for people who eat 2,000 or 2,500 calories each day.

• —The amounts for total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium are maximum amounts. That means you should try to stay below the amounts listed.

Details on the Daily Value
3 Easy Ways to Use the % Daily Value

2. Evaluate claims.
   So you don't have to memorize definitions, use the %DV to help you quickly distinguish one claim from another, such as "reduced fat" vs. "light" or "nonfat." Just compare the %DVs for Total Fat in each food product to see which one is higher or lower in that nutrient. There is no need to memorize definitions. This works when comparing all nutrient content claims, e.g., less, light, low, free, more, high, etc.
   
3. Make dietary trade-offs.
   Make dietary trade offs using the %DV. For example, when a food you like is high in saturated fat, select foods that are low in saturated fat at other times of the day.

Shawn’s Ten Keys to Weight Loss are geared more toward lifestyle changes. But if you are looking to go on a diet, there are many things in here that will help you as well.

The first step to weight loss as I see it is to do a complete examination of your lifestyle.  You can read more about that here.  Once you do that you develop your plan and the rest will fall into place.

10. Visit doctor – It may sound corny, or like I’m just saying this for legal reasons, but there is a reason they tell you to always consult a physician before starting any type of diet or exercise routine.  How do you know if what you are planning to do is safe?  How do you know running a mile won’t kill you? Seriously, seeing a doctor could identify an underlying cause to your weight other than a sedentary lifestyle.  Those of you who have ever seen the Nip/Tuck episode where Ms. Clause has a hard time losing the last 30 pounds and sees the surgeon and it turns out to be a petrified baby know what I’m talking about. You always want to cover your bases and be safe.  Plus, it’s a good idea to have a physician monitor your progress.

9.  If you don’t have it you can’t eat it. – If you rid yourself of temptation it’s hard to find it (or something). I took a look at my life and found that when I was bored I would run to the kitchen and eat some chips.  Maybe reach into the cookie jar and have a few cookies, eat a candy bar.  Drink a few regular sodas- you know how I do.  But surprisingly, when I threw all of that stuff out (non-perishables to charity, of course) It was a lot easier to stick to my plan.  Because while I might really want a candy bar right now, that means I would have to put on shoes, get in the car, drive to the store, stand in line, pay for it, then drive back home and then enjoy it.  I’d rather just eat something healthy that I have here at home, thank you.

8.  Don’t deny yourself if you want it- You have to distinguish between a desire and a need, but once you do this one is a piece of cake (mmm cake).  Say you have found your plan and you are sticking to it, but somewhere along the line you start having a craving for a big ole steak (which is not included in your plan).  Experience has taught me that eventually that desire or craving will turn into a need, and when you deny yourself a need you start to look for other ways to fill it.  You may cheat a little here and there, maybe forget about it and give up completely.  You may cheat a lot, but it’s never with what you wanted in the first place which was that steak.  When what you should have done was eat that steak, enjoyed the hell out of it, then set yourself a goal for when you could have one again.  Because the steak would have been less detrimental to your plan than all the other stuff you decided to eat in its place. So I guess this one is a little more complicated than I thought but it boils down to this… if you fall off the wagon, get back on… don’t get discouraged.

7.  It’s not going to kill you- This one is really not a key, just a pet peeve that I figured I would throw in here.  On your journey to a healthier lifestyle you are going to experience many roadblocks, these can include (but are certainly not limited to) cake at a co-workers birthday celebration, Thanksgiving, Christmas, celebration dinners, etc.  We all know the person that passes on that piece of cake then announces to everyone that they are on a diet (completely stealing the spotlight from the individual celebrating their birthday). Just take the cake and eat a few bites – it’s not going to kill you and chances are it’s not that good anyway.  If it’s Christmas or Thanksgiving, come on! That’s your family and it’s time for you to spend with them.  One day is not going to kill you and one piece of food isn’t either, and in the end you’ll be a lot happier and that’s what it’s all about. Just remember to use smart portion control. One small helping of mashed potatoes should suffice—not the whole bowl!

6. Exercise and drink lots of water – Yes, it’s true, and yet no matter how many times we are told it we still don’t do it. It’s best to drink water throughout your day. Not only will this help knock out cravings, but it’s better overall for your body and its processes. You’re probably thinking of exercise as joining a gym and working out for hours. That’s not exactly what I’m saying. Exercise is anything that involves moving, and hopefully you’ll break a sweat by doing it.

5.  Look at your life and make the appropriate adjustments – YOU are the only person who is going to know if the plan you have chosen is going to work for YOU.  YOU have to look at your life, really examine it and determine what is going wrong and what is going right.   Read my Excuses and Reasons article and Plan your Lifestyle change to learn more.

4.  Sorry, I don’t own a scale.  I was at the gym once and there was this really hot chick that would spend about 15 minutes on a machine then run to the scale and weigh herself.  Then she would go to the next one and 15 minutes later she was on the scale.  We all want to see how well we are doing and I know that was an extreme example, but scales are deceitful.  Seriously, I have had days where my weight would fluctuate by ten pounds.  I used to be obsessed with that damn scale. There is no magical number you should be chasing after.  You should be following your plan and judging your success based on how you feel: How your clothes look or how much energy you have.  It’s funny to me that there are charts that you can go and pick your age then slide down to your height and there is your range of what you should weigh. Yeah, uh, last time I checked everyone was different.  I always felt so terrible that I never fell into that stupid little range- and the time that I did (I was even under the range for a while) I was pretty much a skeleton with some skin thrown on it.  You can’t tell me that professional athletes fall into these ranges of acceptable weights. No one should tell you what you should weigh, not even yourself.  If you are comfortable and happy then that’s all you need.

3.  Find Support – Whether it’s your family or your friends, a group (virtual or real) you are going to have questions.  You are going to need support.  If a friend has built a bridge and you decide you are going to build one too, do you just want to go out and build one? Maybe you should talk to your friend, see their bridge, look at their plans then go out and build yourself a better one- ask for your friends help and they’ll even help you. Overallhealth.com is a fantastic place to find support!

2.  Slow and steady wins the race – I learned this one the hard way.  In today’s world we all want it yesterday. It’s never fast enough.  Never mind that it took you 20 years of steady gaining weight- you have decided you are going to lose all that next month.  Yeah, uh, not so much.  While I will say that the heavier I was the faster the weight came off, at first I did it all wrong (way wrong) and I lost A LOT of weight WAY TOO fast. So fast, in fact that I had to have excess skin removed. I would not have had this excess skin if I would have taken my time and slowly lost weight, allowing my body time to adjust.  Now let me just tell you that there is nothing more disappointing to have lost a tremendous amount of weight only to have some disgusting skin all floppin’ around everywhere.  Seriously, I looked better fat.  Then you have to save up for the surgery, and then have the surgery.  Ok, moral of the story is lose weight slowly.

1. Do it for yourself – My favorite story here is a good friend of mine told me that if she was able to lose 30 pounds her boyfriend told her they could get engaged.  Wow? Really? I told her a way she could lose about 220 pounds instantly- by dumping him.  If you are looking to lose weight or start a healthier lifestyle, make sure YOU are doing it for YOURSELF.  If you don’t have your heart in it, there is no reason you should even begin to think about your plan.  Because it’s probably not going to work – not saying that it won’t work.  I mean if your marriage depends on you losing some weight then maybe it would.  But in my experience, you have to find your own motivation. This motivation has to come from and be for you.  Society has taught us that skinny is beautiful, and we all have an image in our head of what we would like to look like.  But there are many attractive larger people, filled with self-confidence that are happy the way they are.  If you are truly happy the way you are and the only thing impeding that happiness is an outside influence encouraging you to lose weight- trust that it’s a lot simpler to remove the outside influence.  If you decide that you want to lose weight, make sure you are doing it for yourself- because if it’s for you its much more likely that it’s going to work, and that the weight will stay off.