new motivated member!

Hello Everyone! After reading many of the posts, this site seems very supportive and helpful with guiding the way towards reaching our weight-loss goals. I'm a new member as of 5 days ago and new to dieting. I've had a couple knee surgeries in the last 4 years and have spent the last two years being very serious about physical fitness and knee rehab. I excerised frequently but ate what I wanted, and sometimes this ended up in too many desserts.....over time, I have managed to put on about 20 pounds too much. I'm 5'2" 150. Five months ago, I quit smoking, knowing that I would probably gain weight and I did, about 5-8 lbs. So now I'm 32 and have realized that I can no longer eat what I want, especially when the overweight gene seems to run in my family! I feel great after having quit smoking and am eager and ready to conquer this last big challenge in my lifestyle change. Even in just the last 5 days of counting calories, I have already realized how badly I needed to pay more attention to what I eat. Reading nutrition labels and actually seeing the fat grams or comparing calories among brands has been a real eye-opener. QUESTION: As I start to lose pounds how can i distinguish between pounds actually lost and those daily flucuations? For example, I weighed in at 152 the morning I started my diet and this morning weighed 149. Now, I weigh myself every morning and often see a 1-2lb change over the course of the week. So is the best way to take that average or something of the sort? Anyway, I'm excited to be a part of this community!