I think Timgt5's diet and exercise is right-on...very sound advice. However, I also think 6 lbs a week is an unattainable/unhealthy goal! In order to lose one pound, a person has to cut and/or burn 3500 calories. 6 lbs is 21000 calories a week...3000 calories a day. The average person consumes between 1500-2000 a day. The highest impact exercise is fast running...running 10 mph burns 944 calories an hour in a person weighing 135 lbs...the calories go up slightly for people weighing more. Thats running 6 minute miles, steadily, for an hour. You would have to do that for over 3 hours a day to burn 3000 calories. Also...you would have to INCREASE calorie intake in order to do this. This is what world-class marathon runners can do...after training for years. After they do this one time, they then take up to a week to recover ( walk normally), and they "carb-load" the week leading up to the marathon. A much more reasonable weight loss goal is 2-3 lbs a week...and this is still considered a bit fast by dieticians and trainers.

One thing you may find though, is that if you weight train, the number on the scale may not change much, but your body will. Muscle weighs more than fat. By building muscle (and losing fat at the same time), you will be healthier, and smaller. Size is more important then the number on a scale. A number is arbitrary...how you look in the mirror and feel in your clothes is more important, don't you think?