Expert: Leigh-Anne - 9/19/2004

Question
i am the same 5'10 girl of 220lbs who plans on eating less than 500 calories a day. In response to your assumption, yes i have dieted before. last year i weighed in at 245lbs. in about 3/4 months i lost 30lbs by trying to not eat though i was constantly failing and would end up eating and say i'd start again tomorrow. the longest i ever went without eating before was 3 days. after that i started all types of diets, trying a new thing every few days. such as eating only pickles, or only yogurt, i was a vegetarian for a while and tried to eat very little bread at the same time (basically i was living off of potatochips and junk), and for a while i went with out fast food, i've tried not eating after 8pm, and a negative calorie diet. With all this dieting i lost 35lbs, but i never really realized it until i had given up on them all (it wasn't real apparent (i went from a size 18/20 to a size 14/16).  Unfortunately, I gained 20 of the pounds back (originally i only gained back 10 lbs, but within the last couple of months, i've gained an extra 10) the lowest i've ever weighed at this height is 210. I was a skinny child up until age 10 and then i got fat. My extended family is fat, but both of my brothers are skinny. I think i have very large bones and i am strong for a girl (i took weightlifting and can benchpress 150 on a machine) I am normally a fast food eater and i gained weight eating sometimes even 2 meals a day from fast food, but i am well aware of this problem, and am restricting fast food in take to once or twice every two months at least until i am at my skinny goal of 135lbs. i never eat breakfast so i eat 2 meals a day (normally excluding this diet where as long as i eat under 500 calories its fine).  BUT MY REAL REASON FOR WRITING BACK IS TODAY I EXERCISED TWICE! (MORE THAN 2HRS) AND IN TOTAL I WALKED INCLINE 5-15, 3.5-3.8MPH, AND BURNED A LITTLE OVER 2000 CALORIES. I WANT TO CONTINUE THIS. CAN YOU TELL ME HOW MUCH WEIGHT I WILL LOSE NOW. I think i am becoming addicted to the exercise. I just pop on my headphones and start moving for an hour.

Answer
Like i said it's going tobe different for everyone. Since you are overweight the first 15-20 lbs. are going to come off a lot quicker and easier, but you will no doubt hit a few plateaus on your endeavor to reach 135lbs. I will say that you would probably lose your 15lbs in 3 weeks. Please don't overdo it though. You are going to wear yourself out. This exercise that you are not used to is going to take a toll on your body and energy level and if you keep up the exercise intensity along with a scant diet you are going to crash and burn... so to speak.