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Dear V,

Please see your doctor first. Take this to him or her and see if it is OK for YOU.   YOU are priceless, don't mess around.  Happy New Year.   GLD

LOSING WEIGHT SENSIBILY

A great question!  Thank you.  Losing weight can be dangerous to your health.   Overexertion, high impact aerobics, starvation and most diet pills are likely to be hazardous.

Avoid injury by doing moderate exercise for 45 to 60 minutes 5 or 6 days each week.   Walking is by far the best, outdoors or treadmill. Indoor or outdoor bicycling is almost as good for your weight reduction plan, again for 45 to 60 minutes.

Do not use starvation.  Your body is very swift to use up the high upkeep muscle tissue long before your stored fatty tissue.  Decrease by 150-200 calories your daily food intake (a Snickers Bar is 160 calories).  Use only liquid fats and use them sparingly.

If you are too extreme with heavy exercise and little food, you may injure your parts, and your clever body will go into panic storage mode, defeating your whole plan.

Your weight loss will be quite rapid, 1 ½ to 2 pounds weekly for 3 or 4 weeks, then will settle into about 1 pound most weeks.  That seems slow, but it is almost 52 pounds in one year!  Slow enough to establish new habits as normal, prevent disappointing collapse of your plans, and make you progressively more proud of being slimmer and buff.  Good Luck!! 

/ GLD