That does it! I'm officially a big fatty!

What's a sane amount of time to plan on losing 80 pounds?!?

:hi:

and excercise. Good luck! We're here for you! :hi:

Slower loss gives you a better chance at keeping it off. Good luck.

in about 16 months. I did Weight watchers for the last 16 months. I hit 80 lbs last week.

Awesome!

...with regular exercise. MODERATE exercise to start. Not painful bursts, just take a ten minute walk every day for a week, up it fifteen, then twenty, then a half hour....good time of year to start. You will be in the groove by the colder months, and then you can join a gym if you are in snowland, or take up cross country skiing!

and it took me about 2 years. Slow and steady. My advice...make little lifestyle changes one at a time. Things like cutting out sodas. And cutting out snack foods and switching to fruit. Using mustard instead of mayo. Find a good low-cal bread. And giving up fast foods. But don't do it all at once or you'll never make it stick.

Also, get some exercise, but again...start slow.

:hi:

One good thing I have in my favor is that I live with my SO, and that's a fairly recent development. We take care of her father who lives here too, he has Alzheimer's.

You know, he's a sweet guy, but demanding, old-world, off the boat from Poland years ago, has that whole women-are-here-to-serve-me attitude on top of the Alzheimer's.

Make a long story short- I joined a gym to get the hell out of the house when he irritates me where I can go work off my frustration.

But man I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror today and I must have been avoiding the full-length mirrors lately because holy shit. I was like, damn, who the hell is THAT?!

is this groovy software using USDA calorie, protein, carbs, etc. database. You type in the food and weight, in grams or ounces or whatever, and it automatically adds everything up. I am supposed to be balanced in carbs and protein. Takes about 3 minuts all day. You can do a lot with this and its free for 10 trials...just keep it on and it is GREAT! I registered mine last week, best 30 bucks I have spent. Lost 4 pounds the first week. Still using my weight watchers guide but now I know what everything really IS! WHOA....NOW I know why I wasn't losing anything with all that work. Only works for PC though...http://www.dietorganizer.com/index.htm

you can lost 80 lbs in 12-14 months if you excercise.

It will take WAY longer if you don't.

Again, consult a nutritionist.

in terms of weight you want to lose per week. I've got two years to lose about the same as you baby, wish us both luck!
In my fantasy world I'll be 25 again when I'm done but I will settle for strong, fit and healthy.
Good luck!

thanks for the recommendation on that program, I'll take a look.

Good Luck..have fun!

Even more when you first start. I lost 60 lbs and I lost 5 lbs a week the first two weeks. I gave up salt to start with so I think most of that was water. When I gave up salt I wasn't thirsty anymore. I didn't crave the milk and soft drinks I did before. Then after the first two weeks I regularly lost about 3 lbs a week. That kept going down as I lost more weight till it was something like half a lb a week towards the very end. There's nothing that boosts your resolve, willpower and self-image like dropping 10 lbs in the first 2 weeks--just don't expect that kind of progress to last.

My secret was cutting out salt, as I mentioned, and cooking everything for myself. No more restaurants, pizza, fast food, dinners "to go," it all had to come from my kitchen. And I didn't even have to deprive myself. I fixed basically what I wanted. Except I was motivated to do some easy substitutions, e.g., egg beaters instead of eggs, lowfat or nonfat cheese instead of the high fat variety, nonfat sour cream, part Splenda to replace some of the sugar, whole wheat flour and whole wheat pasta. At least most of the time. I'd often splurge too, the only rule was I had to make it myself.

Good luck and check in again and let us know how you're doing!