Did you ever think about the fact that losing 2 pounds a week adds up to 104 pounds a year? That's a LOT of weight.

Sooo.... Let's say that you have only about 20 to 30 pounds to drop. You could safely lose that extra weight in 10 to 15 weeks, or about 2 1/2 to 3 months. I think that's a pretty handy thing to know.

Why you shouldn't try to drop weight too quickly

First of all, your body tends to want to retain weight; and the first weight that drops off is usually water weight, or fluid weight. So that 10 pounds that you drop so effortlessly and gain back just as quickly is probably just extra fluid.

Even if you try to starve yourself, your metabolism will just slow to a crawl, and make it that much more difficult to drop weight. Your body thinks it needs that extra fuel (weight) for survival.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

"Slow and Steady..." says the tortoise.

Okay, now how do you do this?

Well, lasting weight loss means improving your eating habits and yes, exercising. This takes time and effort. This is one reason why quick weight loss is usually followed by quick weight gain - you haven't had enough time to develop good eating and exercise habits.

You can start by not skipping meals. This slows your metabolism even further. Try to eat five or six small meals a day to keep your metabolism revved up and burning those calories.

Exercise - think you just don't have the time? How about a quick ten minute walk two or three times a day? That adds up to 20 to 30 minutes of exercise a day. And you get the same benefits as exercising all at once. As a matter of fact, you get your metabolism going more often when you break exercise into manageable chunks.

Slow and steady weight loss is beneficial to your body AND helps you to adjust to new eating and exercise habits.

Besides, with everything else in life rushing by, why not slow something down? You'll feel great when that weight drops off and stays off, to the tune of 104 pounds in only a year.