. I'm one of those people who has pretty much struggled with my weight all my life. Part lazy... Part I just really love food. I grew up in a home where the words diet & exercise was something that "white people did" I ate whatever my mom cooked whether I liked it or not annnndddd, I had to clean my plate. 
Of course with age comes wisdom and, as an adult, I decided I could no longer be apart of #teamfatandohwell. So, one cold day in March of 2010, I literally woke up & said to myself... "Oh nah, I cannot, will not,, won't not go into my 30's this big." 
Sooooooooo, I got serious (forreal this time)
One of the things that was so helpful, initially, was that I had a partner that was as motivated as I was. That's not to say I haven't had that in the past but, it was different because we lived together. We motivated each other to stay the course. We had similar diets, which made planning meals less daunting and, we went to the gym together for the most part. That partnership was especially important in the beginning.
Another advantage I had this time around was access to a free gym. In addition to my membership at Planet Fitness, I had the luxury of having a gym in my job's bldg. The bonus of that was being able to work out twice a day Mon - Fri. You talk about siced!!!
(This was about 60 days in when I started going to the gym at my job regularly plus working out in the evenings.) The gym used to be dungeon of despair. I hated going to the gym.
Now!!! The gym is a place of solace & I had/have it all to myself on most days. 
It didn't take long at all to see results. At this point, the weight started to literally fall off.
That was the beginning. A lot has happened in those two years & nine months. The way I began is nowhere near where I am now. However, I lost a cool 80 pounds give or take a few. I've also managed to keep most of the weight off somehow.
Changing my lifestyle was hard. Do you kno how hard it is to choose "Total" instead of eggs, breakfast meat, pancakes, grits, & potatoes??? Or, Choosing a lean meat, broccoli w/o cheese, & brown rice, over smothered chicken w/mash potatoes & cornbread??? Water w/lemon instead of soda. Nah, yall prolly don't. But I do & I stillllllllllll struggle with this to some degree lol 
Today, I am somewhat comfortable with my diet and exercise regimen. As a matter of fact I really don't diet anymore. (Unless I wanna fit into my bathing suit). I'm just a lil more aware of the choices I make. For instance, I hardly ever drink soda and juice. At first, I quit drinking alcohol that lasted about a year or less.
I'll prolly quit again in 2013. 
I still go to the gym almost everyday (which is more for maintenance). More importantly, my journey is not over. I'm still a work in progress. My weight loss goals have evolved some since the beginning. The scale is a lil bit in my favor these days and for the most part I believe I can manage this size for the rest of my life. I prolly could stand to lose 10 lbs maybe 15 depending on my mood but f-it. 
I like the way my clothes fit, my butt grew a couple of modest inches, & physically, I'm in the best shape of my life. 
Side note: I am currently seeking a cure for a sweet tooth. It's something about being a woman in her 30's & sweets. When I find it & gain the rights to it, I'll be sure to pass it along.
Visual Aids...
March 2012
Yall should go tho & tell me about it...
After we were situated at the table we began to order appetizers & drinks. One of my girlfriends suggested we try the Sangria's... She has good taste in those type of drinks, so yeah I was jy eager to try it... Gate!!!! Off break the waitress tells us they don't have any sangria's & basically gave us the short form as to why they didn't have em... Then she says well I could ask the bartender to make it but, we would just have to wait awhile till the fruit marinated in the wine... Gate!!! They don't have any wine... So we just order their regular specialty cocktails... I had a peach margarita that tasted awesome to say the least... We all were pleased with our secondary choice, except for my Sangria friend who had to settle for a coke 
If I wasn't so freaking hungry I wouldn't have ordered anything... I ended up getting the shrimp & just called it a day... Somewhere between 10:15 & 10:30 they bring us our food... & guess what my order was wrong... My shrimp came out fried instead of broiled...