Okay, this is an area that I have some expertise in. I lost 90 pounds this year and I did it totally on my own. No Weight Watchers just my own diet I made up. Not that I have anything against using it I just didn't want to spend the money or go to meetings. Anyway, the way I did it was first I changed my diet. I started by figuring out how much was needed to maintain the weight I was at. Then I figured out how much I would need to maintain the weight I wanted to be. I then split the difference between those two numbers. That was my starting daily calorie count. I then divided that number into 3 meals and a couple of snacks. I eat oatmeal almost everyday, and a lot of fruit, veggies and whole wheat. I eat snacks every couple of hours and I feel for me at least that is important for maintenance. As my weight loss progressed I tweaked the numbers a little to take into account that I needed less calories. It wasn't too much less because I was so much more active by then. Next was exercise. I started by walking everyday. Then once I got used to that I started going to the gym. Basically I work out now about 3 days a week. 30 minutes of cardio and about 20-30 of core training and weights. I alternate the weights by working upper body one day and lower body the next. My understanding though is that something like Zumba would be a good substitute. The other days I try to do something active like walking the dog or roller skating. Some of the weight loss was partly the divorce diet because I lost too quickly but the divorce was over 4 months ago so I thik I can take most of the credit for it on my own.
