Said goodbye to 55 pounds in 9 months

Thanks everyone!

As silly as it sounds what really got me thinking was when my doctor said to me he could write me a prescription when I am sick, but I'd have to write my own prescription to get myself back in shape.

I read a lot on these message boards about diet and exercise and on http://www.nutrition.gov/
I started eating much better and I cut pop out of my diet (used to have 1 diet coke/day, but then would never drink enough water). Now I drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, but usually more.

To get myself started, I decided on a certain day to kick off my journey. I had to have this day in my mind so I'd actually do it. In the past it was always "one day I'll start doing this," but then life happened and I never made time for it.
My goal is to work out for at least 30 minutes (I shot for 45 minutes), 5 days per week. Anything less than 5 days/wk wouldn't get the results I wanted. I had too far to go. Seeing my friends on here logging their workouts and seeing their results kept me going. That was a huge motivator to me. If they could do it, so could I, right?

I've mostly done cardio - The C25K program worked for me. I now want to run in my first 5K, then 10K and so on.
I've added strength training recently and started reading New Rules of Lifting for Women.

When I get bored with my cardio (treadmill interval training mostly), I have Jillian Michael's DVDs that are awesome. I also love Reebok's Stability Ball Workout, although it's a little cheesy.

The key for me was scheduling my workouts before everyone else in my family is up in the morning and before I go to work. This wasn't easy for me as I'm a night owl, but there was no way I could do it after work. That's when it's time to be a mom and after my son's goes to bed I just want to relax.

I actually love getting up early now and feel awesome after workout. It really is a great way to start your day