my you are much calmer today, this is a great post, Lee

Nice post Donna. And frankly as a professional nurse I know that a person is capable of extremely fast weight loss if they are extremely heavy. But not indefinitely, and not without losing muscle mass. Not without damage to their body and general health both emotional and physical. As a professional nurse, if I find during my health assessment that someone IS losing 6 to 10 pounds a week (past the first two weeks of concentrated effort in the case of someone morbidly obese) I start looking for the cancer, or the AIDS or whatever is causing this very negative health profile.

 So, been thinking about that poster who says the human body is capable of
 dropping 6 to 10 pounds per week. I agree. The human body is also capable
 of jumping great distances, running at great speeds, and producing all
 sorts of amazing feats. The reality is that not everyone is a long
 distance jumper, nor should they be. That is for someone who is trained
 to do so, has made the choice to train for same, and who probably
 competes in such an activity, if not with a group, then with one's self.
 The same can be said of other extraodinary accomplishments. Not everyone
 discovered electricity. Not everyone turned a room sized computer into a
 laptop. Not everyone created the hybrid car. But, everyone, at their own
 pace, can lose weight while continuing to eat and exercise and live a
 life that is reasonable and semi-sane. It takes a length of time to put
 on weight and the healthiest of all options is to take it off over a
 length of time. Accellerated weight loss is not for everyone. It is for
 some who are at an extreme level and need intervention to save their
 lives, but not for everyone.
 
 A one to two pound weight loss a week is ideal. It's a slow rate and it
 is associated with changes in habit - eating, exercising, choices,
 portion control,nutritional changes, etc. It is not a failure, nor is it
 an unwanted pace. The scale will show certain numbers. Clothing will fit
 in different ways. Muscles will become more pronounced as exercise is
 included. Metabolism will rise in incremental fashion. And the body has a
 chance to adapt slowly to its new shape and size.

 Health is improved with every pound lost. WW expounds on the 10% being
 the first sign of improved health, but we all know you can see a
 different even before then. With the 20 or so I've lost, there are
 profound changes. By this time next year, I'll be where I want to be
 weight and shape wise and will make every effort to stay there. It's not
 stupidity and idiocy that got me here and it's not ignorance and
 haranguing that will get me where I am going.

 Naysayers serve basically to piss me off. I know nutrition. I know
 health, I know food. I know exercise. I can do anything I want to do. I
 also know that I personally need the assistance of a group. WW is my
 choice of group. There are others. I choose to spend the money for
 myself. Guess what? I'm not spending that money on empty calories. It's
 like quitting smoking. Some people prefer to do it with the assistance of
 a hypnotist, doctor, drug, group, or whatever. Often, a quitter spends
 money on aids to assist in the quitting. The money they spend on those
 aids, which is indeed going in the pocket of the aid producer, is no
 longer being spent on cigarettes. It's win-win.

 So, to the posters who feel the need to dash our efforts against the
 rocks by reminding us we're lining the pockets of corporate fatcats, be
 gone from here. I am doing it willingly, not blindly, and it's a
 tradeoff. I'm quite happy with the way things are going,
 thankyouverymuch.

 --
 ~~Donna~~
 http://www.sewing.com