Thanks again, everybody! You guys are the best!
Kathy, I'm finally getting around to explaining my plan. The short version is that I've come to understand the wisdom of "Calories in, calories out." For years I dismissed the idea that dieting is really as simple as expending more than you take in, but that's mainly because I didn't know what I was taking in or expending. I'm a big believer in logging my food now, and I use a program called Diet Power to track calories as well as the macronutrients -- fat, protein, and carbohydrates, which I try to keep balanced in a ratio of 30-30-30 (I know other people have had success keeping the fat % lower, but I struggle to keep it that low!). I don't have a reduced carbs plan per se, but I have replaced "white" carbs with thier higher-fiber, whole grain "brown" equivalents. I also try to space out my 1300-1800 daily calories so I can eat small meals or snacks (fruit, yogurt, chicken breast, tuna) all day long and don't get hungry. One final thing I do that I know isn't optimal is to save more calories for dinner than for the rest of the day (i.e., not save only a third of my calories for dinner). I have learned that dinnertime is when I tend to overeat (partially because my husband isn't dieting and partially because we live in the city and tend to get takeout more than we should), and if I don't save enough calories, I'm over for the day. It's an adjustment that isn't ideal, but it works for me.
The other side of the equation is exercise, and I do it at the gym 6 times a week. I do at least 30 minutes of cardio, but I've worked up to 45 or 60 for most days. I have also added lots of strength training to my routine, lifting heavy weights several times a week (I'm convinced this has been a KEY to my weight loss because I believe it has boosted my metabolism -- and it's fun to feel my new muscles emerging as the fat comes off around them
!)
Although I love exercise and know the gains to my health have been stunning (my resting heart rate is like that of a runner's now, and that's while I'm still technically obese!), I also have learned the limitations of exercise for weight loss; while exercise is very helpful to complement a sensible reduced-calorie eating plan, it won't replace it. When I first started, I didn't make any changes to my diet but exercised and found that while I lost a little weight, I lost it *very* slowly. As soon as I put the pieces together, I was surprised how much more quickly the pounds came off.
Anyway, I don't mean to sound pat when I say that weight loss is simple. While I believe the actual formula is simple, my brain is the big variable. Even though I know what works, sometimes convincing myself to DO those things is the hard part, like when I just don't
feel like getting up in the morning to shuffle off to the gym all bleary-eyed or I don't
feel like eating a tuna whole-wheat wrap instead of pizza. I've learned that the head part is the hard part, and it probably always will be, even when I'm trying to maintain.
Hope this has been helpful. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask me!
. I am finding that exercise alone is not enough, also. I think it has allowed me to stop gaining and to lose a tiny bit. But I need to keep working on changing my eating habits, too. I hope you are feeling better, and thank you again for helping me to keep the faith.
What a wonderful xmas gift to yourself! 
