Originally Posted by nellebelles

Okay--count me in too! I have about 20 pounds to lose for my first goal. At 5'2", I weigh 157 today. I have been working on getting back in shape after having a "big" foot/ankle surgery in October. I have been cutting down on the amount of food I eat, improving the type of foods I eat and adding exercise too. I have been going for walks with my husband when the weather allows, and getting on the exercise bike when it doesn't. I can do about 15 minutes on the exercise bike right now. The way I do that is: I pick a show I want to watch and record it on the DVR. I watch it while I bike away. Before I know it, my time is up on the bike! I have also added more fruit and veggies to my diet, and I eat those before I eat anything else. Drinking water is still a problem but I am working on that. I have entirely quit drinking pop, which puts weight on me instantly! I'm not counting calories--too constricting for me. I need to follow the example of my older sister. She did hypnosis and lost a bunch of weight and is actually very thin now. When she goes out to eat, she will ask the waiter to split her dinner or lunch in half, put one half in a to go box before she even sees it, and then she eats the other half. Or if it is fast food, she will cut it in half herself, and just eat that half and take the other half home for another meal.
I think another important thing for us to do is figure out what started us being overweight in the first place and try to work on that as we lose weight and get into shape. For me, it is being happy. Yup--I gain weight when I am happy. When I am too stressed out or unhappy in some way, I don't eat. I weighed about 130 when I got married 2 1/2 years ago. Another thing that puts weight on me is when I have to take steroids to get me back on track with my health. I have lupus and fibromyalgia and residual problems with injuries from a head on collision ten years ago. I just had a Kenalog shot about a month ago, and I put on three pounds with that. My biggest weight gain was shortly after I got married and I had to take prednisone for a few months. I gained 20 pounds then and haven't been able to get it off. I know only part of that was the steroids, the other part, just being happy.
The balance I need is to eat healthy no matter my state of mind/emotions. And to exercise as my body allows. I feel better when I am thinner, and I really would like to feel better!
I appreciate the input from everyone on here. I am impressed with the efforts of all of you! Keep going--I know together we can reach our goals and maintain them!