Hi,

I have always thought about and wanted to be a cop.  I finally decided to get off my butt and do something about it.  I enrolled in school for criminal justice and will be graduating August of 2011.  Which means I have about 15 months to get physically fit enough for the police academy and to pass the LEAB.  Sounds easy...but I have a BMI of 47.  I am staying positive...if I got myself here, and can get myself out of it!  I'm a 23 year old female, 5'5", and 277lbs.  I have legs of steel, but my upper body is a HUGE problem area for me (arms and stomach) and a bit in my inner thighs.  I have my own routine I've been doing for the past month and I've seen results (11 lbs lost so far).  What I'd like to know is *is it a good routine?  *what should I change about it? *what should I do to see long term results? *what is a good diet to follow (for life, not short term) What I'm essentially looking for of course is to lose about a good 140 lbs, build muscle, and be able to follow my dreams, WITHOUT surgery. 

Currently, I am counting calories and eating no more than 1800/day.  I have one coffee in the morning and other than that it is water only, and lots of it.  Twice a day I have a slimquick drink mix in my water.  I take Lipozene before each meal and never eat past 8pm.  I just rejoined a gym and I want to make the most of it.  Right now I do cardio for an hour one night, then the next night is cardio for 30 min, upper body for 30 min, then cardio for an hour, then cardio/lower body.  I do crunches every night.  I'm just looking for something to mix it up.  I've been looking online for a good gym routine to maximize weight loss, and cant find a thing and especially want to be sure I am well prepared for my fitness test at the academy.  

Any expert advice or pointers will be much appreciated!