When I was little, I was a pretty regular sized girl. I didn't have any problems with my weight until I was in high school. My diet didn't change drastically, except I maybe ate a little more because my appetite increased as I became a teenager. Anyway, the change that I experienced was still very slight. I was by no means a big girl, but I noticed that I was getting bigger. I knew that I had a problem when I had to start buying larger clothing because my old clothes were becoming too small.

After high school, things got a little out of control. My weight was all over the place. Up and down, all the time. I sort of went in cycles. I would be lazy and eat a lot and gain a lot of weight, then I would get all self-conscious and work hard to lose it so that I could look good again. The trouble is that each time never could get back down to the weight where I started. The other problem is that it got harder and harder to diet and exercise over and over again, and it got physically more difficult to lose the weight as I got older. I just lost the will. Then I had children... and that was the end of that.

As my children got older, I found I had more time to focus and concentrate on my own life. But I noticed that I had really gotten fat, and I was so upset and I didn't know what to do. I started talking to people around me about what I could do, and most of my friends would tell me about this diet or that diet... whichever one was working for them at the time. I tried several, too many to mention. The one common thing was that in every diet I would lose a little bit of weight, and then gain back a little more later on. I just couldn't stick with it. And I get the feeling that those wierd diets wouldn't have worked anyways, even if I had done everything I was supposed to do.

It was so difficult. I'm not good at restraining myself. I was always used to being able to have the foods that I wanted, when I wanted them. If I was feeling depressed, I could have some sweet stuff. If I was craving something, I would eat it. But now I had to start all over again. Well I knew that what I was doing wasn't working, and I needed to try something new. I was totally desperate, and would have tried anything. I got a little crazy, and thought that if I ate less junk food, and more healthy foods in proper portions... with a little exercise on the side, that I might just be able to beat this thing. Wow, that plan was just crazy enough to work... who would have thought?

Instead of having coffee and a croissant for breakfast, I had a bowl of cereal and an orange juice. For lunch I would have a light chicken salad or some pasta. And for dinner I would have light chicken meals or more pasta, with lots of veggies. Most importantly, instead of junk food snacks throughout the day, I just brought fruit to work. Wow, it filled me up great and gave me all kinds of energy, without making me gain weight. Also, I started walking to work every day - I never thought I'd be able to do that, but just came down to a matter of forcing myself. It still isn't easy, but it's easier than walking on a treadmill, because I'm actually getting somewhere. Also I began biking on weekends, and played squash in the evenings three nights a week.

Such a simple plan, but it is a lot of hard work. It sounds easy, but it isn't. It took me several months to build up to this point and get used to all the work. But the more I do, the more energy I have, and the more I can take on. It's wonderful! After 7 months of living a healthy lifestyle, I've lost over 56 pounds.