<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Of all the various diets out there, the only two mentioned with success were The Zone and Weight Watchers, particularly the newer 1-2-3 (I'm a big fan of point systems). Kevin Kelly's post to seek a dietician was a very good suggestion and could probably be used in conjunction with some kind of support group. It was more the support I was looking for rather than anything else. I do have comments about The Zone -- according to it, my lean muscle mass is 96 pounds and I should weigh no more than 122. I have *extremely* large quantity of muscle mass naturally (calves are 20" -- just like Arnold <g> -- and not fat) and ALL diet/weight calculations are off by a bunch for me. However, using the men's calculations of waist - wrist were closer for me even though I carry much of my weight on my hips. I was diagnosed anorexic at 146 lbs when a teenager -- my ribs and pelvic bones were sticking out but I still had 19 1/2" calves. At that point, I wasn't even fully grown. Also, The Zone, by calculation, is a quite low-calorie diet and also relatively high in fat. _Deirdre <[log in to unmask]> http://www.sover.net/~deirdre "It's snowing pretty heavy outside." "Yeah, but is it cold out or warm?" (Overheard at a truck stop in Vermont, 12/14/97)