My previous high weight was 160, and I got down to as low as 138 at one point a couple of years ago. I've now ballooned up to nearly 180, and I am miserable. I'm at home from school for the next 5 weeks, and I am trying to use this opportunity to kind of jumpstart myself...I'm hoping to lose a good 15 pounds (I know that's 3 pounds a week rather than 1 or 2, but with the amount of time I have available for exercise, and the fact that I always drop several pounds at the beginning of a diet, I hope it will be at LEAST that amount).

I've been here before and found it helpful, but it's been a long time and I really need support.

If it's support you need, well then you've come to the right place!

Okay, that being said, do you have some kind of plan in place? A strategy for accomplishing what you want? A food plan in place? An exercise regimen?

I think it's real important to have these things mapped out for yourself ahead of time. Set yourself up for success!!!

I started phase 1 of South Beach, and I have a treadmill here on which I plan to walk for at least an hour a day. I'll have to adjust my plan when I am back at school and living in an apartment, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I've also prepared a binder with before pictures that I don't like of myself, an excel spreadsheet where I can check off each day that I complete my cardio and ab work, and stick to the diet, and paper where I will keep track of my calories more closely once I'm done with Phase 1 (it's too hard for me to worry about both during this phase!)

I'm trying to be really serious about it this time.

It does sound like you're really serious! That's a good way to start. As you probably know, 3FC has a South Beach forum with plenty of information and ideas. Scroll down from the main forums page to find it.

Be consistent, and don't try to lose it all at once!

Jay

Work on building good habits you can use when school starts! It's no fun to lose a bunch but not have a plan to stick with when your schedule changes! Typically, people gain it back then!

Keep us posted!

Take a deep breath and listen to me for a second - the kind of desperation that makes people want to "jumpstart" their weight loss doesn't tend to lead to permanent success. I say this from my own personal experience, where I always thought if I can cut some calories and lose some weight, I can cut MORE calories and lose MORE weight.

And yes, that does work in the short term. I could always lose weight. But from your own post, you've also experienced the yoyo.

When you hit 138 lbs, why didn't you stay there.

That's what I did finally. I looked at my 20 year dieting history, where I went from a 140 lb high school sophomore to a 200 lb 35 year old woman and tried to figure out why I could lose weight, but why did I ALWAYS gain the weight back AND MORE.

It was like a lightbulb - I realized I always wanted to "diet" for a short while and then quit dieting and eat "normally." Once I wrapped my brain around that concept, everything became so much easier. I changed life almost exactly 4 years ago - here I am, 70+ lbs lighter, a size 6, healthy and happy with a closet full of adorable clothes - maintaining my weight loss, slender for the rest of my life.

Okay, I typed a lot, but what I was trying to say is please don't think "jump start, quick, fast results" please think "how can I be slender and healthy for the rest of my life." That kind of planning requires healthy, sustainable choices that you can STICK TO long term.

Your jumpstart may work just fine, you can easily lose 15 lbs, quickly. Then what. As hard as may seem, losing the weight really isn't the ultimate problem. Keeping the weight off is the key.

The treadmill and the Excel spreadsheet sound great - just make sure you carefully watch your calorie intake - too little is just as harmful as too much.

I'm glad you're here and that you have a plan. Remember that, when it comes to weight loss, no adage is as true as "Slow and steady wins the race". Statistics show us that most people who lose their weight very quickly do so in a way that they cannot sustain (there ARE exceptions, people who lose quickly and then successfully maintain that loss, but they are rare members of the already rare class of successful maintainers). So, to echo what Glory said, fast isn't necessarily the best way to approach this..."sustainable" might be a better thing to keep in mind.

Stick around and keep posting. Can't wait to hear more from you soon.

Read what Glory wrote! Read it two or three times, in fact.

I hear the desperation in your post and I understand how you can WANT to lose all the weight quickly, but if you set unrealistic goals, you're only setting yourself up to fail. You won't be able to meet those goals and then you'll give up in frustration and despair.

3lbs a week, especially at 180 isn't really reasonable. The conventional wisdom is about 1% of your bodyweight per week. That will vary some based on your water weight, TOM, and many other factors, but the reality is that most of us *don't* lose 2+ lbs per week consistently.

Yes, it's possible that you'll have an initial rapid success where you might drop 5 lbs or more the first week or two. Mostly that's water. Once your body stabilizes, then you won't have that same quick loss going forward from there.

And I noticed you mentioned that you expect to exercise a lot. I'm here to tell ya ... there comes a point where you exercise so much that your body says "hey .. I need energy!" If you restrict your calories and really hit the exercise hard, you might actually be sabotaging your weight loss. Your body needs fuel to exercise. Don't undercut any progress you might make by overworking and underfeeding yourself.

I know it's hard and I know how easy it is to be impatient for the pounds to disappear. Just remember: You didn't put on that weight in 3 weeks or even 3 months. You won't take it off that fast either. You're better off to build sustainable habits that will take it off and KEEP it off!

Good luck!

.

Thanks for your advice, guys! I think I should clarify, by "jumpstart" I did mean to get things going, in order to start feeling better and CONTINUE to eat well. I fully intend on changing my eating habits for life, I just have a better opportunity here to get things going. Sort of like a self-imposed boot camp I guess.

Also, I gave up on South Beach already. I've started counting calories and tried to just make healthier choices.