Goal Reached: 5' 7" Down 20 lbs. with Pictures

Thanks everyone for the nice comments and feedback. I'm glad it's helpful to some of the newbies.

Here's a little more about how I did it: I was really good about exercise the first few months. I'd say I used the elliptical 3 or 4 times a week for 15 to 45 minutes each time and went on walks with the dogs. Nothing extreme. I lost most of my weight by the end of October.

I tried to stick to 1200 calories per day, but I went over A LOT. I did horrible during the holidays and quit logging for a week or two, but I got back to it afterward and finally lost the last few pounds.

The main thing is to not beat yourself up when the scale stays the same for a while. Sometimes it was WEEKS between any weight loss for me. Just keep at it, and keep doing your best. I figured even if I went over 500 calories, it was a still a lot less over than I would've gone before joining MFP.

Just stick with it and have realistic expectations as far as the time goes. Good luck!