Through crash diet competitions with my friend in 2005 which included insane excercising, I was able to lose 20lbs in 28 days (February), and then lose another 12 lbs in April. I was a sexy 188.5 lbs, which was nice being 6'0" tall. However, it all slowly crept back on me over a year. If you don't maintain a diet, changed eating habits, exercise, or whatever you did t olose weight, it will come back as your body wants to be a certain weight.
I can basically eat however I want right now, and I will not go over the weight I am now. However, going below the weight I am now is a real challenge. The thing with me is that I am impatient. If I do not see results right away I become frustrated. I want to see more than 2 lbs a week; otherwise I don't think anything is happening. If I weigh myself every day and see a drop of 0.5 to 1 lb a day, I am happy and very motivated. Otherwise I get discouraged and stop being so disciplined. I know that 0.5 to 1 lb a day is too mch too quickly, but if I don't see it, then I feel the changes I am making are not doing anything.
Retromags should have a contest among members looking to become beautiful whereas the person who loses the most weight wins something. It would have to be an honour system, but it could still be fun.