I have been reading posts for some time; I especially like the NSV's and the one reason for staying on plan today so I thought I would come out of the shadows.
I started this weight loss/get healthier journey about 2 years ago. I was a chubby kid and I developed earlier than most so I always felt huge but looking back, my BMI in high school was about 23. Throughout my late teens and early 20's I exercised and dieted when I needed to keep my weight between 135 and 145. I even lost down to 127 right before my wedding.
Of course the scale crept up again after but I settled in at about 150. The with DD #1 I put on about 30 pounds, another 30 with the 2nd and you can see where this is going. With 2 kids, busy working Mom, I didn't think I had time for myself so the last 30 I call my "why-bother" weight!
I was camera-shy and mirror-phobic but not unduly bothered by my weight until I turned about 45. Things started hurting, a flight of stair would leave me sucking wind and I had to start meds for high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Then when my oldest was in college, she decided to spend a semester in Madrid and my younger daughter and I went to visit her. We made a side trip to Lisbon and Lisbon is straight up and straight down--beautiful city but there was one hill on the way back to the hotel (if I close my eyes I feel like I'm still climbing it) that I had to keep stopping to catch my breath. My girls were terrified--afraid I was having a heart attack!
When I got back I decided things had to change. I started walking and I decided to change one habit a month. I had read enough about maintenance that I knew I would have to do this the rest of my life. The first month I started eating breakfast, then I switched out ice cream after supper every night for homemade grape juice popsicles. Switched to whole grains, concentrated on portion control other months and lost about 40 pounds in about a year. Not fast weight loss but steady and not particularly painful. Then about a year ago I got a little lazy with the walking (it got hot here) and started to slip a bit for about 4 months--gained 5 pounds back. I decided if I wanted to get obese off my chart I would have to start counting something. Points are smaller numbers than calories so I joined Weight Watchers in October and have lost 25 lbs on WW, tweaking my earlier "program". I still have 2 rules for myself: no more than 2 new habits a month and I won't do anything to lose weight that I can't do the rest of my life.
poco a poco
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Nada
lurker weighs in
Chickie . . . you are definitely on the right track and you've come to the right place for lots and lots of support and encouragement . . . 
. . . glad you finally came out of "lurkdom" and decided to join us. 
to 3fc! I was glad to read your post as you seem to have extremely realistic goals and sensible rules that will keep you in it for the long term. 
