Hello! I'm 51 and fat! Seriously, I'm 5'1" and weigh 170. I am starting to feel the effects of too much weight on my small frame and it's time to take action. I have an underactive thyroid (on meds) and I'm also going through menopause. Yikes!

I tried South Beach several years ago and was really successful. I never had a weight problem until I was in my 40's - in fact, I was always that super thin person who could eat whatever I wanted without any repercussions. Now, my life is drastically different. As I said, last time I went on South Beach, I lost just over 25 pounds. I looked and felt great and following the plan, kept the weight off for about two years. Fast forward five years and I've fallen into bad habits, My boyfriend is a junk food junkie, insists on meat and potatoes for every meal, and likes snacking late at night. All things that I know are big no-no's, but I did it anyway. Now, most of my clothes don't fit and I find myself buying things that are big and bulky to hide the fat. Who am I?

So, around the holidays, I knew it was time for a drastic change, but doing it over the holidays was not possible. Plus, we had a vacation planned for January 15, so I decided to "live it up" until after vacation and well, here I am.

I've been following Phase I of South Beach for almost a week. So far, so good. I intend to lose 35 pounds to get myself back to where I was. My boyfriend doesn't like that I'm not cooking the types of foods I usually do, but I told him he will just have to live with it. Since we don't live together, he can eat at home.

I've read some of the inspiring posts on this board, and I'm hoping to accomplish what others have. Please bear with me, as I know it's going to be tough, but I know I can do it!