Hi all - I've been offline for a LONG time (years)...I have about 120 lbs to lose. I know a lifestyle change is required. I'm 45, have 3 kids and am moving in 2 weeks to start a new job. The opportunity is that I'll be living alone for 6 weeks, travelling home on weekends until my family joins me at the end of june. Any ideas for a program that will give me a quick jump start with good results but is also manageable in the long run with my busy family and life? I've ordered the Belly Fat cure but it hasn't arrived yet. It sounds pretty restrictive. Advice?
p.s. I've also looked at WW online and the biggest loser club.

Welcome back!

For the long run, in my opinion, nothing beats calorie counting. There's nothing off limits (except what you ban yourself from, haha). For the short term, I would be tempted to do something like Nutrisystem to kick start yourself and get used to smaller portions (and not have to cook!). Also - exercise every day!

The funny thing is that I actually started and live my weigh loss journey exactly like Juliana above recommended. I did Nutrisystem for about 3 months then switched to calorie counting and have been doing so ever since!

I found my quickstart with Medifast. Love it!

There are a lot of different plans out there and the bottom line is that what works for the long haul is whatever you'll stick with. You have to be willing to put in the work and stick like glue to your plan... at that point, just about anything will work!

Good luck!

I like calorie counting precisely because I had to pick something I can do every day for the rest of my life without cutting out anything unless I decided it was not worth the calories.

This exactly! Plus, calorie counting is free, and I am very cheap...ahem, frugal.

For me, it was getting off the Standard American Diet. No fast food, limiting processed foods, limiting empty white carby calories (chips, pretzels, baked goods, cookies, etc).

It was a little tough at first, because it's soooo easy to eat the way everyone else eats. It's convenient to grab a burger or pick up a frozen lasagna to stick in the oven. But, once I established some good habits (buying lots of fresh produce, packing lunches, finding favorite recipes), it's easy to maintain.

Everyone asks me what I am doing when they see me. I simply say, "I just try to eat right and excercise". They are almost always doubtful that I don't have an easy answer. I don't consider myself to be on a plan or a diet, I am just trying to do the right thing every day and I believe that the weight will take care of itself. Good luck

When I started out, I did some things that were smart, some that had a negligible effect, and some that were downright dumb.

One of the smartest things that I did turned out to be taking a good, hard look at what I usually ate for dinner & working very specifically at making better choices.

Which meant buying more produce & learning more about how to prepare vegetables.

It also meant re-learning how to cook -- teaching myself how to make a certain number of healthy dishes, and stopping making others that had been fast or easy but were not so healthy.

It really helped me, once I had established a repertoire of "go to" dishes, made up almost entirely of whole foods that I cooked myself without a lot of unhealthy stuff glopped over them.

The other thing that helped was getting a walk in every day. Yes, every day. No excuses. Eventually, I went a lot further with exercise, but in the beginning, walking for at least 15 minutes around my neighborhood every day without fail established a good routine.

I changed up a lot of other things as I went further & further with my efforts, but those two things stand out as the basis for everything that followed.

@ saef - THANKS! I have been having a hard time fitting in exercise. Baseball season is a busy time for my family and I have been the queen of excuses. I keep not making it to the gym, but there is NO reason I can't take a walk every day. Thanks for reminding me! I will start TODAY!!!!

I have tried many things and find calorie counting to be the easiest. The biggest obstacle for me is hunger. If I drop my calories (even a little bit) for more than a week, I feel ravenous. I spoke with a weight loss counselor last week. She suggested the volumetrics diet, so that I can eat larger volumes of low calorie foods. The easiest thing is to just eat a brothy soup or salad before a meal. This week, I made a big batch of soup with lots of veggies and beans. I've been eating my soup before dinner (which is when I overeat the most). It has helped a lot and is something that I feel that I can do long-term.

Agree 100 %.

Another calorie counter. I enjoy the freedom of knowing NOTHING is off limits as that would spark something weird in me LOL I hate lima beans but tell me I CAN'T have them and I'd probably snarf down a whole bag LOL Common sense went a long way, just plain eating LESS than I was used to. Cut out the junk, go for walks every single day no matter what (actually they count more in the rain lol) and try not to obsess over every scale fluctuation. We all certainly weren't glued to the scale on the way UP in weight so why do it for the way down. Eat less and move more and the scale will follow. The time is going to pass regardless of what we do, so even a little bit helps.

oh, and the Wii fit! love it and it got me off my a$$

Another calorie counter here too and I totally agree with what Trazey said. The plan is just a means to an end and should be whatever plan works best with who are.