# How do I lose weight?



## Jenikyula gone mad (Nov 9, 2009)

I would like to lose 20 pounds at the very least, but it's very difficult for me to actually do. Every time I decide to change my diet and exercise more I end up sinking into bad habits like ordering out and watching shows. My bad habits seem to be ingrained in me and I feel powerless to change. 

Out of my 4 main vices (eating junk, excessive internet use, drinking too much, and occasional smoking) I have gotten rid of one: I quit smoking, and I'm sure I won't start up again. I'm also seriously considering not drinking ever again; maybe by next year it'll happen. So I've made a little progress, but it's one thing to avoid something altogether like cigarettes or alcohol, and another to NEED food and have freedom of choice when buying it. 

I really need to change though because my ritual of ordering out or bingeing on junk food is very time consuming, and I'm wasting my life! I should be doing things that actually enrich my life. I feel comforted by food, but it's fleeting comfort and afterwards I feel terrible and hopeless...and fat. Just a few years ago I was a thin, athletic girl and now I have a muffin top!

I would really appreciate any advice about breaking bad habits, losing weight, and sticking to goals. Maybe someone here has been in my situation and gotten out of it.


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## Ardi (Sep 20, 2012)

I recommend changing your diet, that is the first step. If you wanna lose weight you have to eat healthy and make sure you burn more calories than you take in.

Sticking to goals: You should take a picture of yourself now and start working out and just force yourself to do it. Everytime you feel like you just dont wanna go, force yourself (it works trust me). 

Working out: If you're in really bad shape, be careful. Don't overtrain. If you don't know what to do i recommend jogging. 

Hope this helped a little bit, cardio is not really my field tho. Good luck


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## Charmander (Sep 5, 2012)

I recently just lost a ton of weight (not literally) over the summer. You just have to set a workable routine. Like I make sure I do at least an hour and a half a day of exercise. Sometimes I just jog for an hour when I'm watching TV or something. And then in the evenings I'll do some pilates to tone up. (If you search Blogilates on Youtube she has some pretty good workouts) 

Don't make your daily routine too strict since you'll get bored and might go back to your old ways. Just vary the amount of exercise that you do. And make sure you don't buy junk food so you won't be tempted. (The week-ends can be used to rest if you've been working out all week so it's perfectly okay to eat a bit of junk on the weekend if you're willing to work a little harder to burn it off the next day. Remember cardio is needed to melt the fat and pilates is awesome for toning. 
Trust me if you stick to a routine you'll be amazed at the results!


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## dreamerme (Sep 27, 2012)

Eat Healthy
Exercise 30 to 45 minutes a day


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## Brasilia (Aug 23, 2012)

It is important to eat more!
Why?
Because this will speed up your metabolism.
Therefore you should eat a lot more smaller, healthier meals. Whatever you do don't cut things out all together, you need a bit of everything (including cakes!!). 
Balance is key to a natural, healthy, and effective weight-loss diet


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## dietcokeaddicted (Sep 22, 2012)

If your BMI is over 30, you should definitely completely cut carbs. It makes you lose weight really fast. It stops working after some time, then you'll have to exercise and eat healthy, but I still think it's a easier way.

I lost 50 pounds from January to March by cutting carbs. It has some side effects, but it's still the best way. I'm sure I'd not have lost any weight if i hadn't done it, because I wouldn't have the will power to exercise and eat healthy just to drop two pounds a month.


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## rawrguy (Mar 29, 2008)

I'm in the same situation as you are in


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## Wurli (Sep 15, 2012)

Like everyone's already said keep a healthy diet and do some cardio. It takes 3 months for an activity to become a habit, so if you can keep it up for 3 months you'll get used to it. I've also read some articles that say you should try to maintain a pretty strict diet 5 or 6 days a week so that you can have 1 or 2 "off" days where you can be a bit more lenient with your diet. That way you won't feel guilty afterwards and you'll still be able to satisfy your cravings. But I think the most important rule of all is to not overdo anything. If you push yourself too hard at first, you'll quickly get overwhelmed and quit. So make gradual progressions.


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## moya (Feb 16, 2012)

Don't listen to what other people are saying. 'Eat healthy' is waay too vague of a term and subjective (it depends on your goals, your lifestyle, what your body responds well to, etc). You can easily lose weight just eating fast food, I wouldn't recommend it, but I'm making a point. If your daily required intake is 2000 calories (to maintain your bodyweight), you're gonna lose more wait eating 1800 calories worth of cheeseburgers than you would 2200 worth of veggies and lean chicken breast.

Cardio helps, but resistance training is more important. Losing weight means losing bodymass, which includes muscle and you wanna lose as little muscle as possible because it helps you burn fat.

But you can lose weight without exercising too. Losing weight is about calories in vs calories out.

Study the OP religious for a few days and cram it in there and try to calculate everything. YOU CAN DO THIS. It's easy, just takes a bit of getting used to the terminology. If you have questions regarding stuff, just ask in this thread



dietcokeaddicted said:


> If your BMI is over 30, you should definitely completely cut carbs. It makes you lose weight really fast. It stops working after some time, then you'll have to exercise and eat healthy, but I still think it's a easier way.
> 
> I lost 50 pounds from January to March by cutting carbs. It has some side effects, but it's still the best way. I'm sure I'd not have lost any weight if i hadn't done it, because I wouldn't have the will power to exercise and eat healthy just to drop two pounds a month.


Dude, you're 16, you shouldn't even BE on a 'diet' and cutting carbs? Your body (and more importantly) your brain is in development. You should've just eaten whatever you were eating, but LESS. A normal life style change.

And **** 'side effects' from cutting carbs? Are you trying to destroy your body from the inside?


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## lilyamongthorns (Aug 13, 2012)

Portion control


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## ElectricEnigma (Oct 3, 2012)

The key to losing weight is being active and having a balanced diet. And do not cut carbs. They are the bodies main fuel source. You will notice that if you cut them out, that your brain will not function as well as normal. It only uses carbs as fuel.


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.html


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## farfegnugen (Aug 16, 2010)

Do short bursts of exercise of about 15-30 minutes that get your heart really going throughout the day. The key is intensity- just walking or mindless running is okay but not very efficient. Eat a nice assortment of foods when you feel hungry but not because it's time to eat or you're bored. Try to sleep regular hours.


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## momentsunset (Nov 10, 2009)

Well what worked for me in losing 30 lbs was eating every 3 hours so I never feel hungry, but having a calorie budget for each meal/snack. Meals are usually 300-400 each, and snacks 200 (having 2 per day). It's pretty simple to me, and I still do this to keep it off. I have a little of everything, never cut carbs or whatever and still fit in chocolate and other unhealthy crapola to my calorie budget


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

3500 calories = 1 pound


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## SuperSky (Feb 16, 2011)

Get an amputation.


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## Aussiery (Sep 17, 2012)

Try to eat 5 small meals day carbs like oatmell or eggs for breakfast try and make lunch and dinner more protein and vegies ie chicken, tuna ,turkey and fish with vegies.And have 2 snacks like a hand full of dried friut or nuts they are just examples.Havin more meals will quicken you metabolism and exercise also have a cheat day once a week where you eat your favourite food ie pizza,chocalate etc.


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## robertward203 (Apr 23, 2012)

What many others have said. Just have a lower caloric intake

This guy gives great advice, and in depth 
http://scoobysworkshop.com/losing-weight-and-building-6-pack-abs/

And it's completely free


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## ElectricEnigma (Oct 3, 2012)

To lose weight, eat healthy and do a mix of cardio and strength training. Doing both is key. cardio will strip the fat and the strength training will increase the speed of your metabolism, which means you will be burning more energy. Muscle uses more energy than fat. And obviously because of this it will be easier to lose weight. Also, to the girls, don't worry about becoming the she-hulk from strength training. You can't, you don't have the testosterone.


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## Solomon's Tomb (Aug 14, 2012)

Chain smoking works well for me.


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## ElectricEnigma (Oct 3, 2012)

Solomon's Tomb said:


> Chain smoking works well for me.


Yeah, but one of the aims to losing weight should be to increase one's health. Smoking isn't sustainable solution. There is a pretty good chance it will kill you if it is prolonged.


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## Solomon's Tomb (Aug 14, 2012)

ElectricEnigma said:


> Yeah, but one of the aims to losing weight should be to increase one's health. Smoking isn't sustainable solution. There is a pretty good chance it will kill you if it is prolonged.


Well, everybody dies eventually anyway. I mean, it's like the last line in _Blade Runner_...


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## Jayhawker (Sep 24, 2012)

Treadmill 30 min a day and cut out deserts


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## mdiada (Jun 18, 2012)

change the times you eat. like eat breakfast, lunch and dinner 4 hours apart. be more conscious of the calories in what you eat, be more conscious of WHEN you eat. try not to eat a lot before you go to bed. if you have to snack, then eat fruits or low calorie snacks. drink a lot of water, add in a little plain coffee. walk around the park as much as you can. start out for 30 minutes around the park every day, or as often as possible. 

i'm trying to lose even more than 20 pounds, and i've done the above (plus joined a local gym for $25/month.. no contract! but my SA is getting in the way of that at the moment... too worried of people watching me!) i've lowered my caloric intake, am eating more fiber, and i've already lost two pounds in about two days, no joke! it takes time. just take it one day at a time, and slowly but surely, your old habits will be out the window 

good luck!!


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## moya (Feb 16, 2012)

ElectricEnigma said:


> To lose weight, eat healthy and do a mix of cardio and strength training. Doing both is key. cardio will strip the fat and the strength training will increase the speed of your metabolism, which means you will be burning more energy. Muscle uses more energy than fat. And obviously because of this it will be easier to lose weight. Also, to the girls, don't worry about becoming the she-hulk from strength training. You can't, you don't have the testosterone.


I lost 33 pounds of fat in 5 to 6 months doing NO cardio (and I'm understating this I'm pretty sure). Cardio is NOT needed to lose weight.



Aussiery said:


> Try to eat 5 small meals day carbs like oatmell or eggs for breakfast try and make lunch and dinner more protein and vegies ie chicken, tuna ,turkey and fish with vegies.And have 2 snacks like a hand full of dried friut or nuts they are just examples.Havin more meals will quicken you metabolism and exercise also have a cheat day once a week where you eat your favourite food ie pizza,chocalate etc.


Meal placement is almost irrelevant. And fats are fats and carbs are carbs. It's about eating less than you burn. You can have that fruit and taters and pasta before bed. Your body looks at an AVERAGE in take over a period of time.



mdiada said:


> change the times you eat. like eat breakfast, lunch and dinner 4 hours apart. be more conscious of the calories in what you eat, be more conscious of WHEN you eat. try not to eat a lot before you go to bed. if you have to snack, then eat fruits or low calorie snacks. drink a lot of water, add in a little plain coffee. walk around the park as much as you can. start out for 30 minutes around the park every day, or as often as possible.


Meal timing is also a lot less important than people originally assumed. You can lose weight just fine eating 2 big meals per day.

CALORIES IN. CALORIES OUT.


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## ElectricEnigma (Oct 3, 2012)

moya said:


> I lost 33 pounds of fat in 5 to 6 months doing NO cardio (and I'm understating this I'm pretty sure). Cardio is NOT needed to lose weight.
> 
> Meal placement is almost irrelevant. And fats are fats and carbs are carbs. It's about eating less than you burn. You can have that fruit and taters and pasta before bed. Your body looks at an AVERAGE in take over a period of time.
> 
> ...


Yes, it is not needed but for the sake of health, it is a lot better to do so. It also makes it a lot easier to take in all the nutrients you need because you can eat more.

For the sake of health, you should exercise regularly. Weight loss should be more than cosmetic. That is what people tend not to think about. You are trying to do more than lose weight. You are looking to improve your overall health. Ask any dietitician. The combined exercise and diet route is the best option, especially cardiovascular exercise.


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## theCARS1979 (Apr 26, 2010)

3 4 or 5 cups of coffee a day or so helps lose weight


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## moya (Feb 16, 2012)

ElectricEnigma said:


> Yes, it is not needed but for the sake of health, it is a lot better to do so. It also makes it a lot easier to take in all the nutrients you need because you can eat more.
> 
> For the sake of health, you should exercise regularly. Weight loss should be more than cosmetic. That is what people tend not to think about. You are trying to do more than lose weight. You are looking to improve your overall health. Ask any dietitician. The combined exercise and diet route is the best option, especially cardiovascular exercise.


I did exercise. I did resistance training three times per week. But the OP asked how to lose weight and if all you talk about is 'eating healthy' and 'exercising', you're not helping them at all. 'Healthy eating' is a subjective term and VERY few people ACTUALLY know what eating 'healthy' actually means. And exercising doesn't do ANYTHING if your diet isn't on point. You can slave on the treadmill every day for hours and not lose weight if you're under or overeating.

If you skip everything about HOW MUCH they should eat, you're skipping the most important thing the OP is asking about. So yeah, you're gunna have someone who does cardio 3 times per week, maybe eating 1500 calories per day worth of veggies, nuts, fruits and lean meats and then wonder why they aren't losing weight (because their body is trying to save every ounce of fat it can because they're undereating) and after a while start binging (becauuse you cna only undereat for so long before your body starts protesting) and feeling like a failure (HOW can't I lose weight like every body else does?).

Alllll this other crap is incidental. The OP wants to lose weight and can lose weight rather healthily by calculating their required caloric intake (on a DAILY average, mealtiming and size is pretty close to irrelevant. Like I said, your body looks at AVERAGE intake) and their macronutrional values (how much protein/carbs/fats they need). They WILL lose weight no matter what. Swear on my mama's grave.


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## Harry08 (Oct 16, 2012)

Hi guys... It's really informative, discussion which you, and really nice all posts, guys, i also want to say something about this topic, guys, if you really want to lose your weight, then i want to suggest you, should take exercise regularly, and you also you avoid fast foods because fast foods are harmful for you...


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## queenbanana (Sep 5, 2012)

I'm a lazy bum, never exercise and I'm laying or sitting down all day. I'm not in the best of shapes but my weight has been at a constant 115 for as long as I can remember (since I stopped growing). What do I do? Not eat obsessively. I only eat what's necessary and the occasional snack/junk food. Try it little by little. Don't drink soda anymore. Then cut burgers from your diet, then pizza, and so on. Drink LOTS of water, keep a water bottle with you at ALL times and drink as much as you can. If you get cravings, try fruit. Think of how much money you're saving for not buying crap food. Think, I could buy a some shorts instead, a video game, etc. Don't keep junk food in your house! If you can resist buying it, you're one step ahead of everyone. But if you absolutely can't contain it, at least check in the back of packages and get what has the least fat/calories. You get used to it, trust me. I don't find junk food at all that appetizing anymore since I went vegetarian. I tried a Mcd's burger that I used to love, and found it rather dull. 
If you can, go vegetarian. It's one of the quickest ways (without exercising) to lose weight healthily.


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## arnie (Jan 24, 2012)

Don't keep junk food in the house so you won't be tempted to eat it. Whenever I have something tasty in front of me I always feel compelled to eat it until it's all gone. That's why I only keep boring food in the house so I don't eat too much. I've calculated that I'm only eating 1500 calories a day which is kind of weird for a guy my size (should be at 2500) so IDK if that's bad or not.


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## saltyleaf (Dec 30, 2011)

an apple a day . . . or stick of gum 

ok seriously just be mindful of what you eat. if junk food is your weakness dont have it in your house. you should also have healthy snacks on you all the time so if you get hungry while you're out you wont just eat anything. 
also set goals for yourself, maybe start small. once you see yourself losing a few pounds it'll be easier to stick with it; possibly even change your eating habits altogether.
good luck!


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## loveymiller (Oct 18, 2012)

Wake up Early and Drink Lemon Juice with Salt. Do work out and Yoga. Beware of foods containing fat. 

With Regards
Lovey Miller


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## loveymiller (Oct 18, 2012)

Solomon's Tomb said:


> Chain smoking works well for me.


Really? Is Chain Smoking Caused weight Loss?


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## Brad (Dec 27, 2011)

Hit the gym and eat healthy. Nuff said.


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## Harry08 (Oct 16, 2012)

Harry08 said:


> Hi guys... It's really informative, discussion which you, and really nice all posts, guys, i also want to say something about this topic, guys, if you really want to lose your weight, then i want to suggest you, should take exercise regularly, and you also you avoid fast foods because fast foods are harmful for you...


[URL=http://shuck.com.au/]gold coast restaurants


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## mariasemuel (Nov 5, 2012)

Tips to lose weight:
Drink water before taking breakfast
Don't skip breakfast
Daily exercise at-least 30 min
Eat vegetable and fresh fruits
Avoid junk food and oily food.


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## flowersforsarah (Nov 1, 2012)

http://tan-fit-healthy.tumblr.com/

I look at blogs like that a lot.  I focus on being healthy rather than skinny. I eat all healthy all the time. I find that if I eat all healthy, I start to think "mmmm strawberries, frozen mango" vs. "mmmm chocolate, french fries". I've pretty much convinced myself that fast food is gross. A mcdonalds happy meal was put out years ago & it has yet to show signs of molding or aging. . So what, when I eat that I may aswell be eating plastic, right? I also journal my progress & write to myself, "Good job! You are awesome!" after my workouts. Eight to ten glasses of water a day! I also take a B vitamin.


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## ihatemoving (Aug 28, 2012)

Stop eating so much, drink more water, and run a few kilometers in the morning. Takes a little bit of dedication but is simple enough, if you don't lose weight doing this then you're not trying hard enough.


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## TobeyJuarez (May 16, 2012)

burn more calories than u take in over the course of a day... like eat 500-700 calories less that u burn... 1lb= 3500 calories so if u did that ud probably burn about a ilb a week... thats the fastest i would try and lose weight though... push it anymore than that and it would be bad for ur health... and remeber for every 5ilbs u lose ull lose 1lb of muscle so u will definitely lose some strength

i would balance ur diet to be 30% protien 40% carbs 30% fats... but thats just what works for me, i would tweak it a little until u find out what works for u

so like say ur intake of calories is 2000 total for a day
600 kcals should be from protien
800 kcals should be from carbs
600 kcals should be from fats


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## SupaDupaFly (Sep 1, 2011)

Create calorie deficit

Workout

Consistency 

Patience

=

Pounds lost


Before doing all that you need to have the will. Don't do it for anyone else but yourself. If you do this you won't do this for just losing those 20 pounds but for the rest of your life. It's a LIFESTYLE change..


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## arnie (Jan 24, 2012)

Brian76 said:


> if you really want to lose weight eat 1200 to 1600 calories a day. a calorie defecit is the only you can lose weight!!


That's what I do. :stu


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## geoagre (Nov 17, 2012)

I lost 50 pounds from January to March by cutting carbs. It has some side effects, but it's still the best way. I'm sure I'd not have lost any weight if i hadn't done it, because I wouldn't have the will power to exercise and eat healthy just to drop two pounds a month.


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## geoagre (Nov 17, 2012)

geoagre said:


> I lost 50 pounds from January to March by cutting carbs. It has some side effects, but it's still the best way. I'm sure I'd not have lost any weight if i hadn't done it, because I wouldn't have the will power to exercise and eat healthy just to drop two pounds a month.


Des Moines Weight Loss


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## Mourn4UrSelf (Nov 2, 2012)

Change your diet. It's not difficult.

I have been on a vegan diet for almost a year and I've lost 15 pounds because of it.
Exercising also helps


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## Raphael200 (Aug 18, 2012)

Try not finding Weight,that way Weight can easily get lost.


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## Alangreen (Nov 20, 2012)

exercise is the only best and natural solution we have, and also look up your diet avoid all fats food. and drink green tea daily, i drink green tea from last few months and i feel much changed so i prefer you to drink green tea, i always buy from chaoji.
More info www.chaoji.co.uk


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## Jenikyula gone mad (Nov 9, 2009)

geoagre said:


> I lost 50 pounds from January to March by cutting carbs. It has some side effects, but it's still the best way. I'm sure I'd not have lost any weight if i hadn't done it, because I wouldn't have the will power to exercise and eat healthy just to drop two pounds a month.


What are the side effects?


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## HRodriguez93 (Nov 20, 2012)

First step is analyzing your diet, and what your daily caloric intake looks like, then trying to reduce it by a few hundred calories, that along with some exercise, body weight exercises, yoga, weight lifting, and some cardio should do the trick. It worked for me, I dropped from 198-152 in a few months


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## creativedissent (Oct 25, 2008)

Don't order out. Buy groceries and cook at home. It'll save you uneaten calories and time. Also, find an exercise you enjoy doing like boxing or something along those lines. 200-300 minutes of cardio per week.


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