Week 12.

Over the weekend, I spoke with several people trying to lose weight and think I have found the perfect diet. It is whichever one that is easiest for you to follow. When you think about it, they are all basically the same, cutting the amount of food you eat, regardless of the means. The Atkins diet seems to try to jump start things by cutting the carbs, but as you go on, you work those back in, just in smaller amounts. Weight watchers is basically counting calories, just expanded. Nutrisystem is kind of a mixture of both, with their portion controlled meals, etc... So if you want to lose weight, find whichever one is easiest for you to stick with and that is the perfect diet. Personally, as soon as some one tells me I can't have food, I want it. I am better off having a small amount of whatever and tracking it. The only key thing, which I hate to admit, is exercise. If you really want to lose weight, I think you have to start moving. Just my personal insight though and what is working for me.

With Labor Day, I only made it to the gym 4 days this week and really didn't expect to have lost more than a pound, if that. In addition to the cook out on Friday, we went to another on Monday and this one had a lot of my favorite foods, in addition to the snack foods, like pepperoni, cheese and crackers, chips and dip, the main course was ribs. As I looked at everything though, I found I didn't really want it. I had 2 or 3 cheese & pepperoni, skipped the chips and dip, had some ribs and sides and went with fruit salad instead of cake for desert. The rest of the week I kept under my 2000 calorie daily cap. The end result being another 3 lb loss.

That is 33lbs in 12 weeks, down to 342.

Rich D

Just think of all the money you are going to saveby not having someone tell you to eat less and exercise more. Most people want the get slim fast method and there is none. It took a long time to get that weight andit is going to take time to get it off. You have accomplished quite a bit already. Way to go. Trust me you will be better off in the long run without all the weight.

EA,

Starting it is the hardest part. Doing it is actually pretty easy. Once you get started and see results, you will want to keep going. Just shoot for reasonable goals. I hope to lose only one or two pounds a week, anything else is a bonus. I still eat my favorite foods, (pizza tonight!), just less of them. I will start dinner with a salad and instead of picking up a medium for me and my wife, I will get a small for us to split. It will work out that for dinner I will eat a little less than I used to. With a medium, I would eat 3 pieces at dinner, then the other two at 9:00. Now I eat 3 smaller pieces at dinner and nothing at 9:00.

Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can!

Rich D

Rich, it sounds like you are on the right track! Easy to say "eat less, move more" but to actually DO it is a whole other story. 33 pounds in a very short time, congratulations! You are making it very hard for me to not get of my butt and lose weight.