Need help and support!

Congratulations on your weight loss!

My suggestion would be to get a workout DVD you can do in your home. The reason I say this is because I am someone who needs direction and structure to have an effective strength training workout. When I started exercising and doing strength training I really had no structure. It is so easy to follow along with a video. I know I am working evenly on both left and right sides and working the muscles properly. Currently I am doing Power90 (which is the much less extreme version of P90X and about half the cost, but don't get me wrong, it is a great workout and good place to start). I have definitely become stronger and more shapely.

Well, I hope this helps and wish you the best.

dorts - congrats on the weightloss & welcome to the "toning & building" part of your journey! :flowerforyou: To give you some motivation & success story on workout DVD's, I'll give you my experience, even though I'm doing mine to lose weight I gained. In December I quit going to the gym, I wasn't getting results & by the time I finally got home at nite (go to gym after work) it was almost 8pm! I picked up a couple workout DVD's (for me, Tammilee Webb Tight on Time & Best Of box set - I'm a chick so I need a chick workout!), but I started waking up early each work morning to do at least 45-50 mins workout. The first 3 months I didn't see any weightloss, but suddenly I was looking better, healthier, toning and feeling SOOO much better inside. By March I finally had lost a couple lbs & my fiance noticed before I even told him I'd lost a little (he thought I'd lost a lot more than I had - so light weights can go a LONG way in a workout!). Now, 8 months later I've lost only 10lbs, but my body looks so much better, I fit into clothes I was wearing when I was 10lbs thinner and I look younger than I did 5 years ago! I've "thickened" up in some areas but in a good way, and trimmed in the areas I wanted to be trim. I'm not hugely muscled, but the shape and definition is definitley there!
Something else I added that may also help you, is I do a Tai-Chi or a Tai-Chi/Kick-Boxing mix DVD, this helps with core as well as toning and control and that was where I noticed the biggest difference: it works muscles you may miss during your other workouts and targets more "inside" muscles.
Anytime you need an extra motivational push, just holler (or send a message!), It's a long, hard and tedious road, but it is Oh so worth it when you see your results!
(PS. take a "before" pic and then take an "after" pic a month later & compare them: the difference will be amazing!):flowerforyou:

For extra help & support, especially during celebratory times :drinker: you can always add me as a friend. There is so much help on MFP and we're all in the same boat & none of us want to capsize!
(PS-don't feel alone in your journey: my baby sister always jokes & tells my fiance he's skinny, but like you, he's got "the pudge" that he wants to tone up: he's planning on starting to work on it when he's ready, so maybe your pics will help motivate him when he's ready, too :happy: )