I began developing a major bif a couple of years ago... okay, I'll be serious.

Well things didn't start this way. When I was younger I was always thin. In school I was really active. I played on all the sports teams and did a lot of volunteer work. All this running around kept me quite fit for many years. I didn't have a lot of spare time on my hands, but I still found the time to eat right. I had all kinds of energy, I wish things could have stayed that way. But you know how it is, life happens. Things change as you get older and it gets really hard to stay on top of your health when all these other things pop up.

I did well in college, stayed on the healthy track, and that's where I met my wonderful husband. Afterwards I went on to a great management job in a fairly large company. The pay was great but I had a lot of responsibility and not a lot of time. Being away from home so much put a strain on my eating habits. Doughnuts were a regular staple at work, and with little else to eat between meetings and projects I couldn't help myself. My diet even started to slide at home, I found myself bringing home fast food more often than I'd care to admit. Or, I'd throw together whatever I had in the fridge, which wasn't always the best food. I noticed my weight was beginning to increase, and I was really upset about it because I knew I could do better. I knew I had a problem when I actually had to change my style of dress to compensate for the change in my size, and I even started wearing more black just to hide it. I was really concerned, but I tried to keep myself busy at work so that I wouldn't have time to really think about it. That was a mistake.

I was a mere 120 pounds when I graduated from college, and proud of it. But now, closing in on my 30s, I was closer to 160 pounds - and not proud at all. It wasn't just as though I'd let myself go, it was like I'd completely destroyed all the work I'd done in my younger years to keep myself fit. Worst of all, my husband was showing some concern about me, and even seemed less attracted to me. That was the part that made me the most unhappy, and made me realize that I had to do something about my weight.

I had never tried a diet before, and I was really intimidated. I mean, it all sounds so complicated - you can't eat this, you can't eat that, you have to eat this at that time. I was frustrated with all the literature. So, I decided to start simple. I began eating simple light meals, I even brought them to work. No more fast food, and no more doughnuts, either! That part wasn't as hard as I thought though, because I was never really addicted to the junk food, it's just that it was convenient. However, I found it nearly as easy just to make simple meals at home. When I knew what I was going to cook, it was that much easier. I also started exercising. I did a lot of jogging after work, and biked on weekends. Also, I enrolled in a yoga class and got myself a morning stretch routine.

All of this helped, I lost 10 pounds after a few months. It was nice, but it felt so daunting. I saw all the TV commercials, you know the ones - "I lost 100 pounds in just 100 days" or something ridiculous like that. I don't trust those, they always say "results atypical" and it doesn't really seem like that could be healthy. I wanted it to come naturally, but I wasn't getting the results I had hoped for, and was getting frustrated because I couldn't seem to get any further than the 10 pound hurdle - the cravings were just too much. I had heard about Nutrisystem on the internet and from TV commercials, and I wasn't excited about it or anything. But after I really looked into it, it seemed really promising - no special foods or limits, just less of an appetite and I still got to choose my own foods. Well it worked like a miracle, all I needed was the extra little bit of help from the Nutrisystem program. After just another 8 months of careful eating, combined with the Nutrisystem use, I had dropped down to 130 pounds - nearly my old self!