from 250 about 12 weeks ago.

Still a ways to go but damn.  Pretty much all I did was cut out soda and start walking with the dog about a mile a day.

The soda and Sushi diet!  Works every time!

2 pounds a week. nice work.

Did you cut out the "real" soda (high fructose corn syrup), or diet (aspartame) ?

Real soda.  I have an irrational fear of artificial sweeteners.

I don't think it's irrational.

And they really taste horrible.  Especially Splenda. They claim it has no "unpleasant aftertaste", but they lie.

When it comes down to it, I'd rather eat a small amount of something containing real sugar than a whole lot of artificial crap with fake sweeteners.

Just drink water.  Good old tap water is fine unless you live in a third-world country.  Bottled water is the biggest scam known to man.  And some of those come straight out of the tap too!  (Aquafina and Desani among them).

I don't know, the water that comes out of my taps is manky. You have to run the thing for five minutes and then its fine.

But yeah theres nothing like a cold glass of water, goooooodnes

So get a filter for your kitchen faucet.

Or a filtering pitcher.

2 pounds a week is awesome.  that's like a reduction of 7000 calories a week, right?

Splenda is the first artificial sweetener that's palatable to me. It's different from sugar, but not particularly unpleasant. It's amusing that Splenda is like 1000 times sweeter than sugar and so a packet of Splenda is mostly cellulose filler.

"2 pounds a week is awesome.  that's like a reduction of 7000 calories a week, right?"

OMFG.  Why do people think losing weight is some kind of linear function.  WTF.  While a pound is equal to 3500 calories, you don't really have to reduce your intake by 3500 to lose a pound if you simply increase your physical activity.

The variables I am familiar with are:

-sleep
-activity
-your body's genetic propensity to store fat
carb vs. protein vs. fat content of your meals and the -optimum combo for your body's metabolism
-How much muscle you have on your frame

It still comes down to 7000 calories difference between intake and expenditure (walking the dog didn't build up that much muscle). I think all the fat/carbo/muscle stuff makes a difference in the last 10 pounds. When you're trying to lose, say, 60 pounds, the first 50 pounds is all about them calories.

Read this book.  Come back.  then we can have a discussion.

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Need-Know-About-Loss/dp/0966916867/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4793428-5171308?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176328875&sr=1-1

If losing body fat/weight were merely a calorie counting adventure, then nobody would plateau.  But they do. And the reasons they do are more complicated than multiplying/adding/subtracting.

Why do you think most people are unsuccessful at weight loss?

Because they listen to guys/gals like you who say it is all just a matter of calorie counting.  It just IS NOT. They keep cutting calories, exercising, and nothing happens after awhile because they think simply exercising more and eating less will get them past the first few pounds.  You WILL plateau, and you have to understand nutrition to fix it.

"I don't know, the water that comes out of my taps is manky. You have to run the thing for five minutes and then its fine."

If you are having this experience, it is the pipes in your home that are manky.  After run it for five minutes the water will get noticably colder, this means you are getting water from the mains not from what has been siting in the pipes in your house.

Dieting doesn't work.  In fact, people who diet are supposedly more likely to gain weight over time.

A heavy person would be better off just trying to eat moderately and increasing their activity level, and if the pounds come off very slowly or hardly at all, it's still better than either crash dieting or continuing to pig out.

In fact, what Muppet is doing is exactly the right approach.  Cut out soda and walk more now.  Maybe in a few months, cut out another bad food habit, lose a few more pounds.  In other words, do things that are maintainable over a long period of time and can become lifetime habits.  After all, if you can go "on" a diet, you can go "off" it too, whereas moderate changes in lifestyle can become permanent.

Is it widely thought that most thin people can eat whatever they want and not gain weight?  Some people can (my husband) and others have to watch what they eat to stay thin (me).  I think most people are in my category.

How old is your husband?

Because I used to be able to do that, but apparently something is catching up with me.