Post #541400 by VanTiki on Thu, Jul 8, 2010 7:20 PM

Great thread! I'm totally going to second what Mad Dog said. I was a very heavy kid growing up, and my parents went through an endless cycle of diets to try and lose weight. From their experience, I've grown to avoid dieting like the plaque. A few years ago I became very unhappy with my weight and state of health - after a rough year I had let myself go, and was tipping the scale at around 215, and could no longer fit into most of my clothes. I had been running off-and-on for a year or so, but I decided to bravely join a running group in my town. Since then, I'm down about 50 pounds, and I don't have to worry about food or calories! As a bonus, I get my best art ideas when out on the road. Now, I know that some people hate running - and I don't blame them - but I think that it is very enjoyable if you start with extreme moderation. I highly recommend the couch to 5 K program:

http://www.c25k.com/

gets you from the couch (non-runner) to running 5k (three miles) in 9 weeks. It is a solid program, designed to avoid injury and allow your tendons and muscles time to grow strong. Ms. VanTiki loved it.

I will now get off my soapbox :)
Henrik