well lets see...my name is mandy. i currently live in Florida. i gained a good bit of weight in my early 20s, and around 5 years ago (age 25) i kicked my butt into high gear and completely revamped my diet and start an intense workout regimen. Im 5'2 and i weighed in at 180...i brought that down to 129 in a matter or 4 months. i ate right, i lived and breathed exercise, from swimming to runnin, to manual labor around my parents farm, anything to stay in motion. I kept that up for about another year or so til i started drinking regularly...that has been the one obstacle thats stood in my way for 3 years now and helped me to pack on 41 of those 51 lbs. Now i'm in at the end of week 3 of another running and swimming regimen and my overeating is back under control. No weight loss yet, but that's to be expected so early on i guess. I do look a BIT smaller. Anyway everyone here seems so supportive and we all have many things in common, so I look forward to sharing some stories, advice and encouragement!