WEIGHT LOSS TIPS

From Size 22 to Size 8

Melissa was a size 14 for much of her adult life but gradually moved up to size 22 by the time she was 28 years old.

Now, two years older, she is wearing size 8 clothes. She's gone from being a couch potato to an active person and she speaks very highly of the Curves program which helped her lose the first 65 pounds.

She said the most weight she lost in any given month was six pounds. It's taken her two years to lose 92 pounds.

See her very inspirational before and after pics here.

On her blog, Losing Leelee points out what everyone should know;

When people tell you to lose weight

First of all, overweight/obese people do think about it or at least attempted to lose once in their life. It is not that they don't want to, it's deeper than those words, 'lose weight'. Being overweight myself, I can tell that it is not easy to change yourself. To lose weight, you have to find the core of the problem of your weight gain. It varies for every individual. My problem was stress and boredom. Whenever I was frustrated I would stop what I was doing and head towards the fridge. Eating took my mind off work because it was an excuse to take a break. Then there were times when I had nothing else on my mind that I would think of what to eat. In the end I paid the fridge another visit. It took me about 3 years to stop this habit by going on different diet plans (took me a while to find one that suited me). I wasn't losing much at the beginning, but I gained knowledge in return.

When people tell you to lose weight when you are losing weight

I understand people can't read your mind to know that you are losing weight. But the fact that some of those who know you have lost weight will tell you to lose more weight, or imply it. For instance, when I had lunch with a few friends I remarked how stuffed I was. It didn't take long for someone to say 'you should lose a bit of weight'. Uh yes, I am already working on that, thank you! And what's wrong with me anyway? After feeling refreshed from losing 20 over pounds at the time, did you think I looked as big as ever? See, when you dictate to people on what to do, especially a delicate matter such as weight, it agitates them. Why? Weight is also an emotional part of us. Ask anyone who has been taunted at school as an overweight child, left out among a group of friends, mocked while walking down to their local shop because of their weight.

Sometimes talking about the past hurts, and on top of that having people tell you what and what not to do is degrading another.

See her weight loss blog here.

Marie Osmond, 47, signed up with Dancing with the Stars in the hope that all the dancing would help her lose weight. She's succeeded in losing 20 pounds so far. Her mother died early of heart disease and Marie wants to improve her own health. See her story at OK! Magazine.

Cathy Baughman works out at the YMCA for about an hour five or six days a week. She used to weigh 310 pounds, and has succeeded in losing 142 pounds.

She pedals up and down on an ARC trainer, a machine designed to take pressure off the knees while exercising the legs and arms.

See her inspirational story here.

Huey had a heart attack when he was 58 years old and had to undergo two surgeries to clear his blocked arteries. It was at that point that he decided to lose weight. He's gone on to lose 135 pounds.

He used to eat a lot of meat and that was the most drastic thing he changed about his diet. Now he eats no meat at all. He remembers how the fat would clog up his sink pipe and could imagine what effect it had on his arteries.

He also exercises very intensively, seems like too much according to what he's told the reporter at the Daily Iberian. But the reporter says that even though Huey is about to turn 72 soon, he has "the vital signs of a teenager".

See his weight loss story here.

(The photo above is the popular poster "Growing Old is Not for Sissies")