Hello, I'm a 38 yr old single mom of a 16 yr old young woman. I work full time and have loads of stress and I have been steadily gaining ten lbs a year for the last ten years and am looking to take it all off and then some. I have always been thick as I tend to build muscle easily so I don't look as big as the scale says but I definitely feel it. In the past I have dropped over fifty lbs or more on two separate occasions but I have been struggling for the past six years. I did manage to lose 25 lbs three years ago after exercising ten hours wkly & regularly for six months but I plateaued for three weeks and then quit. Of course I gained it all back and more. I feel optimistic, I know I need a lifestyle change for this to work, exercising just won't cut it anymore. I quit smoking two years ago (yes, I miss it)and now I am focusing on reducing my stress as well as my calorie intake. The doctors say I have no health issues so I expect to see great results. I have given myself 18 months to lose 120 lbs, I want to be 40 and a fox not 40 and flabby.