I'm almost 5'5" and 172.1 lbs. I recently did the 17 day diet and lost 17 pounds in less than a month, but then I gained it all back plus 10 more. I'm having a pizza party tomorrow night at my house with lots of junk food, and I'm going out alone (no kids) for dinner with my husband Saturday night. We haven't been out alone for dinner in 2 yrs. See, every week I can find excuses for not starting over again. I just came back from our condo's pool. You would think having to face my neighbors in a bathing suit would be a big motivator. Anyway I'm going to try my best to at least eat better. Usually I mindlessly eat sweets and carbs every day.

Best of luck to all, Lori

Hi Lori,
I'm new here too and I too am 5'5". I was 176 at my heaviest but now down to 136. What's your workout plan?

Best of luck to you too

For me motivation is well being pain free, but also logging. I log everything. I log a bite of steak off my husband's plate even. My husband thinks it's a little anal retentive, which I'm sure to him it is, but it's working. I don't know if I will have to log forever, but after nearly a decade of gaining (I was always thin until about 35/now 42) and not losing...it's working. I love to workout so that's never been a problem..yes I'm strange

Good luck with your efforts!!

Wow! Thanks for the support everyone. I had my party. I was pretty good. I ate fish instead of pizza, ignored the chips, and had diet hot cocoa instead of brownies and cookies. My guests didn't notice or care that I had a different menu. Earlier today I stumbled a bit - I had 1 banana and about 10 raisins because I was craving sweets. The rest of my food was okay - eggs, salads with vinegar for dressing, yogurt, peach, and strawberries. I'm trying to ease my way into the 17 day diet, so the banana, raisins, and diet hot cocoa weren't allowed. However I did achieve my goal of eating better than usual. I haven't started exercising yet. I'm feeling more motivated. Thanks for helping me get off to a good start.

Lori