Welcome! Many of the wonderful ladies here have already given you fantastic advice. All I have to add is that as of Feb 2011, I was in a similar situation except 12 years older and the 24/26's were getting too tight

With no specific goal in mind other then to stop the perpetual upward trend on the scale and to hopefully improve my quality of life by improving the quality/quantity of the food I was putting in my body, I started to make some changes. Now, 6 mos later, I'm down 47 lbs and
feel 10 years younger. There is so much more joy in my life now and an abundance of energy I would have never believed possible.
I spent more then 10 years paralyzed by the number on the scale, overwhelmed by how long it would take, clinging to all my bad habits because they were soooo comforting. These 6 mos have flown by, and while it hasn't been a perfectly smooth road by any means, I have enjoyed every minute and can't wait for what the next 6 mos, 1 year, or 10 years bring. As the Nike says: "Just do it!"
