Thanks again girls.

Wyllenn: I lost 8 pound last week and so far (my weigh in is tomorrow) I've lost 4 for this week. And I'm not restricting myself everyday. That's why I was a little concerned my number were high. Heck, I had TWO smores Monday night while camping!

Sounds like you are having some incredible weight loss success to me! I am lucky to get 1-2 lbs a week these days.

Way to go!

This is only my second week. I just want to be 175 by aug 18th. So from here on out I have about 2 1/2 pounds to lose each week. Believe me.....it will slow down for me too.

I have found over four months that my weight loss slows as my fat grams creep up. I keep to 1400-1600 calories per day and try to keep the fat grams under 25 daily. I really struggle with keeping the protein up while keeping the carbs under control. I'm a carb magnet!

It will definitely slow down!

Any reason you have such a hard deadline? The reason I ask is because lots of times people set deadlines, and then when they don't make them they feel like a failure and give up -- even if they've lost a lot of weight!

Others focus so hard on the deadline that they relax when it's over and gain the weight back!

Both are depressing outcomes. I think it helps to focus not only on LOSING weight, but how to maintain success throughout the process AND thinking about maintaining the loss when all is said and done.

That's just my first goal. I want to make it to 150 by my birthday in April but thought it would be nice to be down 25 pounds to 175 by my anniversary. That's Aug 18th. No reason. I'm sure I weighed much more than that when I got married. Just a good date to look up to I guess.

Research is now pointing to a moderate level of healthy fat in the diet for successful weight loss and maintenance.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m...21/ai_88759012

There is also evidence that a diet higher in monounsaturated fat will lower your bad cholesterol while raising the good cholesterol, so is more beneficial for the heart.

The tricky bit is not over-doing the calories in the fat, like others have mentioned.

I guess the question is, how will you feel if you DON'T make your goal?

I think if you're losing weight and moving toward living a healthier life that, even if the scale doesn't cooperate, you should feel like a success!!

Weight loss isn't linear. You can do the same thing for a number of weeks. Some weeks you will lose, others stay the same and others gain. There are a lot of complex factors at play.

I guess my advice is just to NOT get discouraged if you don't make a particular goal!

Thanks! I understand I may not make it. But if I just say, "I want to be 150 by April" I'll never make it. I'll wait until March and then get mad at myself for wasting all this time. So, I thought a smaller goal would be just the thing I need to kick my butt in gear.