Hello. I am 18 years old, 6'1" and 240 pounds. While the weight is a large number, I tend to hide it pretty well, as I am mostly stocky/big boned, so most probably wouldn't guess I weigh that much. However, basically, here is the story. About 6 years ago, I was overdosed by a doctor with Prednisone for a medical problem and that led to the substantial weight gain. After a litany of medical problems, I am eager to want to lose weight and be able to get a flat stomach, where most of my weight lies and get the prototypical six pack. The thing is that for years, I've told myself... O.K., I can do this and once I'll start on something, after not seeing results, I would easily get discouraged and just give up. You see, I plan to go to NJ for the summer, this August, and when I take off my shirt, I don't want to disgust the entire beach with my belly. The goal is to go out there confident and in good shape and hopefully a flat stomach. As I said, I've never quite had the proper motivation, thus leading to horrible eating habits, eating snacks at 3 A.M. and eating fast food mostly every night. After a recent surgery, I pretty much just drink Gatorade. But, ultimately, I know that I need to get going in reaching these goals... I can't continue to look like this. I guess the reason I start a thread though is because I have a medical condition that prevents me from being able to bend down all that much, which is obviously a huge hindrance to weight loss. So trying to find a program that works has been very hard for me, so I come to you. Based on my condition, is it really possible to find a diet/exercise program that can allow me to lose the necessary weight (which I'd guess 40 pounds or so), flatten my stomach by the summer, with my medical issues? I know this is an incredibly newbie question, but I guess the medical condition makes it a bit complicated. But your help is appreciated, nonetheless. Thanks!

You're not going to find THE GUARANTEED PROGRAM that will make the weight disappear and the 6-pack appear, no willpower required. The only thing you can do is start eating better and exercising more, today. 40 pounds in eight months is do-able, but it's not going to happen over night. Start by drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day. Eat a healthy diet of whole grains, fruits, lots of vegetables, lean protein and small amounts of healthy (unsaturated) fats. Work up to 60 minutes of cardio, 6 days a week. I'm not sure what to reccomend for strength training, with the whole no-bending thing, but try to fit in 2 or 3 non-cosecutive days of strength training. With all of these things, start small, but start today. After you get a few weeks in, you can start making adjustments. If the weight isn't coming off as fast as you like, you can start focusing on exactly how many calories you are taking in, how many you are burning, etc. Good luck!

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Goal: 140 by my 30th b-day (8/7/07). If I make it, you are all invited to the party!

You can make many positive changes in your life, starting with cutting out the fast foods and fixing up your diet. As far as exercise goes, you should speak with a doctor (altough they are not always too helpful when it comes to specifics of exercising), a physical therapist, or a certified personal trainer who has experience and training dealing with physical limitations. Given your health history, it would NOT be wise to start up a program based on what someone online says or from any fitness mags (especially since most fitness magazines are notoriously inaccurate).