40 pounds in 8 weeks is not a realstic goal. Try to choose healthy low fat high fiber foods, avoid fried anything and give up alcohol. With these small modiofications you should start to lose about a pound a week.

I agree, your weight loss goals are not realistic to accomplish by normal means and I don't think you want to lose weight by things that are harmful to your body. The very best way to lose weight and keep it off is not aerobic activity and/or diet. Neither of these are harmful for the most part, but they are both short term solutions. Your body is very simple when it comes to storing fat. If you don't use it, it stores it. People today do not get enough hard exercise because of lifestyle and become "flabby". Over time, people tend to lose muscle mass and this is the primary user of energy in our bodies. This is why a bodybuilder can eat 3-4 thousand calories a day just to sustain their muscles, and the same principle applies to ordinary people. Instead of trying to burn the fat off or using eating less calories, try using 6 months to build a little muscle - the benefits will outlast all the other options out there, because whether you are sleeping or watching TV, the more muscle mass your body has will always burn calories. I am not talking about becoming a body builder or bulking up a lot, but trying a workout that includes real muscle gain, which might hurt a little but will have a better long term benefit regarding keeping the weight off. It does involve extreme workouts pinpointing specific muscles and groups, and I would suggest building either arms or legs, because they are the most used and controllable muscles you would normally use without going to any extremes. Try a workout using weights to push your muscles to the point of failure and give them rest 2-3 days inbetween. Do this with your aerobics and you WILL lose weight and next year, you won't have to worry about this because you will still have generally the same muscle mass and be using more calories on a daily basis just to sustain your body. Hopefully this helps.