Honestly... exercise is just a bonus... it really does matter what you eat...you would be amazed at the calories in things... and a lot of people have no clue how many calories things actually contain.

So many people lose weight with diet alone and never step foot in a gym or watcha workout video...

If there are no medical problems I suggest that you really dig deep into what you are eating, and you might want to cut out that much alcohol...indulge once in awhile but make smart choices when you do

:hug:Hun I so feel u. I have close to the same story. I am at the begining of my journey so I obviously don't have any brilliant advice for you. I just wanted to encourage you to keep at it. You have come a long way and each step you take is getting you closer to your goal. My suggestion to u is to take a min to revaluate why you are doing this in the first place. What are your goals both weight wise and otherwise. Remember why you wanted to change your life, and it sounds like you have already done that. As far as advice on how to break the plateau. The only thing I have is i read Jillians Michaels book recently and she suggests switching up your calories every day. Instead of eating 1500 each day try eating diff amounts each day. This is supposed to keep your body losing. Also she says that on biggest looser they have 1 day each week that they eat a lot. Supposedly it re sets your body and helps you break through the stall. I dunno if that is going to help at all but i thought i would throw that out there. I really hope you know how strong you are. You have come so far. Don't let this be a reason to give up. U deserve to take care of yourself and reach your goals.. GOOD LUCK!! We are here for you.:hug:

Thank you guys SOOOOO much for the advice, and please excuse my tardy reply. My 8 year old had an emergency appendectomy Saturday! Needless to say I haven't been to the gym in four days, have been eating crappy hospital food, and am disgusted by the pictures I took on Friday at my cousin's wedding. I thought I looked damn good in my maxi dress, my fat arms begged to differ! :D

It is really hard to believe change is coming. I would love to cut out more alcohol, which I have, trust me! It's just so a part of my culture, not to mention my job. Believe me, I have cut waaaaaaaay back! And before anyone assumes, I don't have a drinking problem.

I think there might be something by way of a thyroid issue. My cousin has one, she is very overweight at 4'11", and her weight gain was sudden. Three other times in my life I have seriously tried to lose weight through excersize and nothing happened after weeks/months, and I grew discouraged. The only other time I lost weight as an adult was when I had a virus, and couldn't eat or keep anything down for a month. I seriously believe there may be a problem. I am scheduling an appointent as soon as I can with my family doctor, who is amazing and supportive.

If there is such an issue, what can be done? Medication, injections, etc? Anyone know?

And one last question, more of a silly weightlifting one: I have great muscle definition underneath my big fat arms. Why won't the fat around it start melting away? Instead of making them leaner, they look bigger! I do high reps of light weights, like 30 pounds, 2x15. Is there an arm secret?

On a positive note: while trying on a cute short dress with high HIGH heels, I noticed my legs looked FANTASTIC from all of the running and walking! I only have tiny cankles now! LOL

First question: i think there will probably be options for you to manage any condition you may/may not have, i wouldnt worry about it until you see your doctor :) You can look around here if you want, we have forums for thyroid and other challenges and you would probably get a better idea from there and doing some of your own research

2nd question: if you find out the arm secret tell me xD The only thing that has worked for me is just losing overall body fat and my arms were the last thing to start improving, isnt that bizarre?! But they do go in the end :)

Tiny cankles ftw :D