I come from a family of nutritionists, dieticians, personal trainers, and physicians. I've learned over the years that true weight loss (bodyfat vs. muscle) is around 1-2lbs per week. Anymore than that and you are losing water, muscle or both. You don't want to lose muscle because it burns more calories at rest than fat. I was stupid enough to do Atkins a few years back and although I dropped weight alarmingly fast, I was also keeping track of my bodyfat. My weight went down, my bodyfat went up. I lost muscle (and lots of water weight).
I have gotten smart. I don't pay attention to weight so much anymore. I was wearing a size 6 at 140lbs and 5'1". My sister weighed 125 at 5'4" and was in a size 10. She was about 8% higher in bodyfat that I was and it made that big of a difference. With the higher muscle mass, I can consume a LOT more calories during the day

and NOT pack on weight because muscle is metabolically active, whereas adipose tissue (fat) is not.
So as long as you stick with the rule of thumb....take in less calories than you use and keep it within 1-2lbs a week....you will have a healthy and successful weight loss. Plus, it's been proven that the slower you lose the weight, usually the longer you keep it off

. Obviously, if someone has LARGE amounts of weight to lose, this doesn't always hold true. Very overweight people will lose large amounts of weight much faster than the person who has 20lbs to lose.
A pound of fat is 3500 calories. So to lose a pound of fat per week, you could cut your daily calorie consumption by 500 calories (5 X 7 days = 3500 calories) OR you could cut your daily calories by 250 and go workout for 30-45 minutes. The benefit to working out (lifting weights) is that you will build some muscle, which will then enable you to consume more calories per day without putting on weight. And for women, lifting weights has another benefit...it helps build bone mass that will help prevent osteoporosis later in life
I think everyone should know a few numbers about themselves. Their weight, bodyfat percentage, and their basal metabolic rate (BMR). My basal metabolic rate is around 1200 calories. This means I burn 1200 calories just being alive. That's with absolutely NO activity at all...not even getting out of bed. So I can easily consume 1500 calories, give or take 100, and still have a calorie deficit and lose weight, especially if I exercise that day. If you take in less calories than what your body requires to live and breathe, your body will start utilizing your muscle for energy. Not a good thing.

That's why it's generally not a good idea to go on diets that "allow" you to only have 1000 or less calories per day.
If you are up for some in depth reading, I would recommend this site:
http://www.hussman.org/fitness/
Warning: it is a lot to read but provides lots of sound advice on how the body works when it comes to losing and gaining weight.
Sorry if this post seems either out of place or too "technical". I just wanted to provide some input that doesn't revolve around this program or that program (which by the way I'm certainly not negating...I use Body For Life and it works great for me and I know WW has been terrific for a lot of people). Use these principles and you will lose weight, build muscle and bone mass, and be healthy.
I'm not one to talk right now...nursing school packed on a LOT of weight

and I'm working on losing it now that I've graduated. I posted a link to pics in an earlier post on this thread of my Before and Afters of doing the BFL program. Those After pics were BEFORE nursing school....LOL. I was a size 6 when I began school and I'm now a lovely size 12 (14 in some clothes). I just put up a couple of recent photos that show me at my heaviest....hopefully, by the of summer, I will have new ones that are MUCH improved! Here is the link again....they are the first 10 photos or so, I think:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/melaniemiller2002/album?.dir=/f4f9&.src=ph
I need to lose about 10% bodyfat and probably 20lbs (my goal weight right now is around 140) to feel comfortable and be able to fit into my size 6 shorts again. This is going to be a long, hot summer if I can only squeeze myself into my size 12 pants!!
Melanie
