I am 26 years old. In December I weighed 343. I decided it is time to do something with my weight before it kills me. I am a big boned buy. I am aiming for 225-230. Since January 1st I have lost a total of 36 pounds as of last night. I have changed my diet. I am now a calorie counter. I have cut my intake from only God knows what to 1500-1700 a day. I am lifting weights 4 days a week and cardio 5 days a week. I am dreading the plateau that will come as it always does. THis is why I have given up in the past. Any information as to how to avoid the plateau or get over it faster? Thanks,

To get over a plateau the piece of advice I've seen the most is to vary your exercising and introduce things like interval training. You seem to be on an awesome track, just make sure you're eating the nutrients you need.

As you lose weight it'll take less energy to move around so don't get discouraged if after a point your weight loss drops to a few pounds a week or even 1 or 2 pounds a week. Also although it's hard to bulk up during a diet phase, don't be discouraged if you don't reach your goal because you packed on some weight from muscle mass.

I suggest at least getting a physical with a doctor because you are dropping weight so fast, just so you know everything is on the up-and-up.

I did go to the doctor. Everything is fine they said. I have been doing about 45 minutes of weightlifting and 30-45 minutes of cardio every weekday. I have missed 2 days since January 1. I go to the gym to lift weights and have a treadmill at home. I have been doing interval training 3.5-3.8 5 minutes 5.0-6.0 for 2 minutes for 30 minutes a day. Of course I have mixed it up to where its not the same every day. I feel alot better and can feel the difference but I cannot visibly see a difference in my belly. I can pretty much everywhere else though. I am not trying to bulk up at the moment just burn some more calories. I am just trying to keep from canabolizing my own muscle with such a strict diet.