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Starting from Scratch
My mother and I need a weight loss plan (she's at least 300 pounds, and I'm 260). We want to support each other, but we have no idea where to start. Please point us in the right direction. 
— Kerri, 24, Waco, Texas


You can start a mother-daughter boot camp by walking together. Start with Bob Greene's walking program advice in Oprah's Boot Camp. At first you may only make it two blocks or one lap around the track. When I was 237 pounds, I could do only half a mile, but in eight months I was able to run a 26-mile marathon. I would also recommend eliminating "the white stuff" from your diet—for me that's the easiest way to lose weight. You'll probably feel lethargic as you detox from the sugar, which can be like a drug. But after the third day, you should come out of it. Reggie, my makeup artist and a doughnut freak, got off sugar in our boot camp, and it took him only three days. Oh, I tell you, though, that second day, he looked like he'd been in a boxing match with Mike Tyson, and I mean Tyson in his prime.