What Mel said...

We'll have to get together sometime...have a play...I mean...exercise date or something. ;)

Nina -- Just to echo what the others are saying. I started at around 300 pounds just over two months ago. After a month of just watching portions, I started counting calories and decided to keep it around 2000 on average (I weigh everything and use nutridiary.com).

This so far has worked -- for ME. My goal was to lose 1 pound/week, but I'm actually averaging between 2-3 pounds/week right now (I expect that will slow, and that's fine). I've lost 25 pounds and starting to be able to do more. I really started adding in the exercise a few weeks ago as well.

What makes me really able to stick with it is that I don't feel deprived. I make lots of healthy choices and have rediscovered that I really love fruit! But I also get to eat Cheetos when I choose -- it's just 1 ounce instead of the whole bag! As I lose I will reevaluate to see when I want to drop the calories lower, but I will probably keep doing this for some time. It's not a sprint, but a lifelong marathon. So, like the others, I guess the point is that you should try things out for you, but that for some it is possible to lose at levels that others would gain at.