Hi all - I have been a member of the site for over a year - started my last weight loss trial last Jan lost 15 lbs and I went from a size 22 to 18 between Jan and March then stuff got hectic....well lets face it I got lazy. But I have to admit it has almost been a year and I havent put that 15 lbs back on and still in an 18!!!! I am starting on the Calorie Queens diet again - have to bear with me though - I was laid off from work in Sept just went back to work late November, temporarly for a company (keep those fingures crossed hopefully this will be a FULL time job) So I found myself with another summer were I had to cover up my body because I was discusted to see it. So right now I am at 220 and my ideal weight is 150. So thats 70 lbs to lose...by summer 6 - 7 months. My plan is to dust off the eliptical machine, break out the hand weights, and get to eating better (I have done well , used to eat ALOT and have remedied that situation) I am not going to kill myself over the holidays because I heard that more than half the people who start diet around the holidays fail so I plan to start working out. So I will try and keep in touch and hopefully I can reach that goal!!!

Good job on keeping the weight off. I think I was a member for about 6mo before I posted. I kind of forgot about it. But I do enjoy reading all the posts.

Hi there! AMYC was looking for a book on calorie counting. Maybe you could get in touch with her if you were looking for a compatriot. I've heard that Calorie Queens is very good.

That IS good that you kept the 15 pounds off this past year. Did you do anything different when you went off your diet that you weren't doing before you lost the 15 pounds? I have noticed in the past that once I get to a certain weight, if I can hold on to that weight for a few months, I start to easily maintain the new weight even when eating way more than it took to get there (they call it the "set point"). I believe that's why if we can just get to our goal weights (that's the HARD part!), it is not as hard as it would seem to maintain that weight after you stay at your goal for a few months. In other words, you can start to relax a bit..but you definitely can't return fully to your prior bad habits. Anyone else have this experience?

I've heard other folks do this ... they call it a maintenance break. Then they just tweak a little something and the weight starts to drop again. It's like a new baseline to start from.

I really didnt do anything special - but I did stop drinking regular pop all together, and I cut my portions by at least half - the big thing I miss is the excersize I felt so good when I did it so I need to dust off that machine this week and get a movin! Thanks for the support.