Like NascarLady, I've been lurking for the last week or so as well....I tested the waters, and I've decided to jump in! I started my lifestyle change on 1/28/07 and so far, so good. I've chosen the South Beach eating plan (not a diet!) because I need structure, and this seemed like the best plan for my lifestyle.
A little bit of background....I was never heavy until college....I was so busy studying (and developed depression that I wasn't aware of, but trust me everyone else was!) and what goes better with studying than food?
Anyway, I gained my freshmen 15 every year....Once I graduated, I became more active and managed to shed some pounds.....then the depression worsened and I lost a ton of weight--all I did was excersize and my depression manifested itself with terrible reflux which made me have a huge aversion to food. I met my now husband, but he couldn't handle me due to my depression that I claimed I didn't have. My mother finally convinced me to see a doctor, which I did, and I got on a better path, for a while....I got married, stopped excersizing, got rid of the reflux, was doing well, and then I lost my mother (she was only 52). I was devastated and my family fell apart--my Mother was the glue that held the family together, and as it started to fall apart, I tried to fix it....big, big, mistake....I got very depressed, almost lost my job, drank way too much, and just stopped caring about anything....My mother was my soul mate and I was lost.....
And I made the weight gain ok by saying to myself and others that the only time I was "skinny" was when I was depressed and that I'd rather be fat and happy, I don't have time for excersize, my new job is a ton of travel and I'm eating on the go, blah blah blah.... People ask how long we've been married, and I reply "We've been married for 50 lbs....a piece"....we've been married 12 years, and it's been more than 50 lbs a piece, but I use humor to make it seem OK.....
I had my "come to Jesus" at my last physical which occured right after I turned 39--I decided that my 40s (Big four oh is in September of 2008) are going to be the best years of my life. I quit smoking November 1st, 2007, and realized that I actually did have some self control and that it was pure laziness that kept me from changing the way I was living. After quitting, I gained some weight (not much, but enough that my clothes were getting tight) and I decided that if I can quit smoking, I can quit my unhealthy eating/drinking (I love chardonnay, I mean love love love.... and I quit that on 1/28 as well)....
So, there's my long winded story....I've received so much inspiration from reading everyone's goal stories, their frustrations, their triumphs, etc that I wanted to put my story out there and make sure that I admitted it publicly so that I can no longer pretend that I'm the only one that knows that things have to change...and when I say "pretend" it's because everyone around me already knew......ahh, the lies we tell ourselves.
So, thank you for letting me jump on the path of this life-long journey with all of you....we will succeed because we can!
Count me in!
KT 
