Is it possible and/or healthy to lose 2-3 pounds a week?
I have read some articles about it.

If it is healthy to do, how would I go about it?

Thanks,

You need to burn or not eat 3500 calories for each pound of fat you want to lose. So if you know your resting metabolic rate (the number of calories if all you did all day was breath.) then you take the number of pounds you want to lose in a week times 3500 calories. (3 x 3500 = 10,500) So you need to adjust your weekly calorie intake accordingly. 10,500 calories / 7 days = 1,500. So you reduce your intake and increase the calories you burn by 1500 per day to lose 3 pounds a week. Yes it can be done, but it is probably a little to big of expectation, unles you have a really high metaolic rate, or have hours to spend at the gym daily.

I have a friend who is loosing about 4 lbs per week (I'm so jealous!) and she is doing it in a healthy way. It depends more on you body, some people loose weight really fast and some don't..

Over the long run, 2-3 lbs is tough. You will find many dieters that start off and have alot to lose can lose this much for periods of up to a year but over the long run it is much tougher.

I lost 3lbs per week fo the first 3 months then 2lbs per week for the next 4 months but eventually it slowed to closer to 1lb per week. I still have the occasional 2lb week but not that often.

The important thing is that I continue to successfully lose.

Lori

Over the course of the year (or so) it took me to lose 100 pounds, I averaged over 2 pounds a week (100 pounds in 55 weeks). But as has been noted, I started off a lot heavier than you are. I think if I were to try to lose at my current weight that I would not lose nearly as quickly! I'm a lot smaller than I was then!

what all worked?

What worked for me was good old calorie counting and exercise.

More importantly was that I found a plan that I could stick with day in and day out over the long term. Consistency is key.

Any one can go on a crash diet and lose the weight but as the terms implies - you will likely crash and burn.

You can choose almost any plan - WW, Calorie Counting, Jenny Craig, South Beach and it will work. But you need to find the plan that makes sense for you and your lifestyle because your ability to stick with the plan is ultimately what will make you successful.

Lori

Initially, I lost 30 lbs in about two months.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record ... it's all about eating less and moving more.
I went from eating anything, everything and lots of it ... to calorie counting.
And went from sitting as much as possible and an afternoon nap to ... walking almost 3 miles almost every day.

i lost 3 pounds last week...but this week i'm afraid i wont lose any poundage...i want to be down 10 lbs by 3.17

Its the damn indian curry takeaway that gets me!!!

Like others, I started out losing more faster, but now that I'm down to 170 or so, the weight comes off more slowly, no matter how careful I am about what I eat.

What worked for me was, as someone else said, good old fashioned calorie counting. I count calories, I count fat grams, and I work out 4 or 5 days a week at the gym (cardio AND weights). I will say I'm very convinced that I couldn't have made the progress I have if I hadn't added weights into my exercise routine.

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I lose an average of 1 - 2 lbs per week. At the beginning (227lbs) it came off a little faster, but I'm ok with 1-2 per week. I figure in a year that's almost 100 lbs (give or take for plateuas, etc) and that's much more than I need to lose. I'm aiming for another 60lbs before the end of 2008...that's pretty doable I think. I also know that some weeks I lose a little more if I increase my calories..yes that's right increase! And some weeks I need to decrease a little more. I'm on a 1500 calorie a day plan.

Good Luck,
Tamara