someone please help me get motivated !

i have a comp comming up and need to loose some weight fast! any suggestions?

are there any diet pills out there that anyone has tried that they would reccomend using? that really work?????

what should i do? i need help and encouragement!

The first thing to do is to get over the idea that you must and can lose weight quickly. Don't ask me why, but it seems to me the more I stress about losing weight, the less weight I lose and the more slowly I lose it. But if I don't think about losing weight (other than to just watch my portion sizes), the weight starts coming off more easily.

I've probably tried every pill that exists, and every crash diet that exists, and the truth is that you can probably drop five to ten pounds very quickly and easily but it will all start coming back on the day after the comp unless you've made actual permanent lifestyle changes.

For getting five to ten pounds of weight off quickly, try one of the reduced-carbohydrate diets like South Beach, Atkins, Sugar Busters, Carbohydrates Addicts, Protein Power, etc etc. Depending on your current start weight, you might be able to lose ten pounds in two to three weeks on one of these -- if you use the most restrictive form of the diet.

I don't recommend crash dieting. I know you've probably heard that 100 times, but like I've said I've tried every stupid diet there is and I swear all I ended up doing in the long run was making myself fatter than I would have been if I hadn't ended up yo-yo dieting. I also definitely depleted myself of vitamins, enzymes, and important neurotransmitters, with the result being that I physically and mentally crashed a few years ago and it's only now that I'm truly balanced and healthy again. And I'm still fat. But, interestingly enough, I gave up dieting about two months ago and I've lost over 15 pounds without even thinking about it. Who would have thought?

Good luck to you and don't panic. I make costumes for lots of people who complain they are fat, but when I take their measurements and determine what size they are and what their proportions are I tell them they are crazy and they're fine, especially if they are dressed in a way that (a) flatters their assets without emaphasizing their less-than-pefect areas and (b) fits well over all and is a good color for them. I think it's sad when a beautiful well proportioned young lady who is a size 5 complains that she is too fat. Ditto for a beautiful well-proportioned woman who is a size 10. In other words, don't kill your own energy levels and stamina just for a dress size or scale number.

Sorry for the lecture, but I'm just so tired of the body obsessions that people pick up....

laura, thanks for the input. i am going to try the atkins and hopefully stick to it after comp. i did it before and lost 40 lbs, but of course gained it all right back. i have been running and taking xanadrine. and its not working yet...go figure.... i know being a nursing major that crash diets are horrible, but i have too do it this time.
i am by far not a size five saying that i am fat, but i know it makes me sick to see someone at a 5 and thinking they are fat! granted that the average wonan in the us is a 12. i am between a 10 and 12 and way too overweight for my height. in all actuallity i should weigh around 120...... can you say that i am not close to weighing that!

speaking of making costumes..... where are you located? i need a new smooth dress , and you could possibly make it for me! i am no good at it.....how long would it take you to make a smooth dress? and costs?

sorry to change the subject so fast, but i thought id jump on the opportunity to ask about dresses.

Hi Anonymous,

I'm in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you're not here, then I unfortunately can't really help you -- I don't do mail order because I'm very particular about fit.

Here's news... don't diet, exercise on the Dance Dance Revolution at your nearest arcade or if you have a Playstation II you can hook up this video game/dance mat available at any mall. You lose inches and pounds pronto. If you don't already know of which I speak, just Google up under "DDR" and check it out. In twenty minutes on the "workout" option, you will break a sweat and accumulate a whole lotta endorphins. I can lose 2 lbs in one hour of dancing.

Sorry to be a bit of a damp squid, but sweating in itself isn't weight loss. Sweating cools the body, and the fluids lost will need to be replaced. Sweating DOES indicate energy expenditure, which will cause weight loss, but it's VERY difficult to lose weight by exercise alone.
The average person would be hard pushed to run more than 10 miles in an hour. This would expend 1200-1500 calories.
one pound in weight corresponds to approx 3,500 calories so, talking long term, sustainable weight loss, the best that can be done in one hour is about 6 ounces!!
It's much easier to restrict food intake to 'save' those 1200 calories (if you find that hard to believe, try running 10 miles!!!)
However, exercise is important because when you restrict food intake, your body thinks there is a famine, and reduces its metabolic rate. That's why you feel listless. So the body adapts to reduced food intake unless you do something else. Exercise forces your body to keep its metabolic rate up.
And, as pointed out, exercise makes you feel good once you get used to exercising.
Sustainable weight loss is a long-term project.

I think the problem is right there on your second sentence. Weight loss AND Fast!

As posted by Laura and others, weight loss is a long-term project.

Examine your lifestyle and change it gradually. You'll be able to keep the weight off longer--hopefully permanently. There is no quick and dirty cure.

Remember: what you shed quickly, you gain back in DOUBLE TIME AND DOUBLE-WEIGHT.

Well, I don't know if that's entirely true...I lost 35 pounds in seven months, and I gained back 45 in 24 months. By that saying I would have gained back 70 pounds in 14 months. Or is that 70 pounds in 3 1/2 months?

That said, weight cycling and yo-yo dieting is worse than taking a slow and steady approach because of what it does to your biochemistry and metabolism.

I have had good success with a modified version of the South Beach diet. In the first two (somewhat difficult) weeks, I lost 10 lbs. Then, I lost another 5 during the "maintenance" period after that. I now go back and forth with those 5 lbs, but have never regained the original 10. And, I lost it in my gut, for the must part.

When I say I do the "modified" version, I pretty much don't eat any potatoes, pasta, rice or bread. I'm able to maintain without having to deprive myself of much more. If I want to get rid of those 5 again, I'll skip the other treats, sweets, occasional alcoholic beverage, etc., but I'm probably at a plateau and am quite content there.

Good luck!

Well, you've gotten plenty of good advice, but I'll add one more thing: If you do anything drastic, and I include Atkins and Southbeach in that (I'm on Atkins and love it), you will find that you will be going through some changes in the first couple of weeks. I had no energy while my body was converting from using carbs for fuel to protein. You don't want to go through that right before a comp! Just eat sensibly and exercise daily and know that you'll be thinner for the next one...that's the best you can do.