How do you get the ball rolling?

I would be wary of the bellydancing just yet. It can be killer on your knees! All that bending and shimmying!
What about swimming? Is that an option where you are? Or kickboxing. That doesn't seem to bother my knees, but your knee problems sound a mite more troublesome than mine.

Also, with regard to your family eating like you do..it can be hard, but you don't have to make everything a switch right now. If tapering down is working for you, then it wil work for them. Plus, there's nothing better than watching your kids make healthy choices and want to eat the healthy stuff you're eating as well. We have cooking time once a week where we get together and all try to come up with something healthy out of the stuff in the kitchen. My nephew made this lovely concoction of quinoa, LOADS of veggies, scrambled eggs, and spices that we call "Fake Fried Rice". Now we don't even use white rice, and it uses frozen veggies, frozen chicken breasts, quinoa which we get by the bucket load for cheap in the bulk bin section at the market, and eggs which we always have on hand. Simple, it makes alot, you can take it for lunch, and it's relatively healthy. Also, my nieces and nephew FREAK OUT when I melt peanut butter in the microwave and drizzle it on apple slices. Don't get me wrong, they'll sit mindlessly and munch some Doritos if a random movie is on...but it's chaos if they think they're getting "nutter apples"..lol.

Ooooh, I've always wanted to do some work with kettlebells. I suppose I could, I'm just scared that I won't be able to do it. Good for you for having that goal in mind!

Ohh, here's an idea, just for something fun. Almost every Saturday I get together with my sister, her kids, and the family, and we play our Latin Jams CD. It's about an hour of songs by Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Elvis Crespo, Thalia...just anything fast paced, and we salsa, merengue, cumbia..whatever! (well, we don't actually know how to do any of that, but we pretend) OMG, you are sweating like a pig after that hour, but it's so fun and you're dancing with the kids that you don't notice. Sometimes the kids want to do it again. It's really helped my sister to shed her baby weight, and it helped me with the first 10 pounds. Might be another option just for some more cardio to add in that doesn't feel like you HAVE to do it, you know?

You are starting your journey very similar to mine. Set your weight loss to 2 lbs per week. Especially if you are going to the gym frequently.

I don't know what your activity level is set at, but I set mine at Sedative. I am an engineer... so most days I push a desk. Some days I do get to work on the floor. I think of those days as bonus days. Try recording all your cardio activities if you can. My MFP calorie target is 1440. I target being between 1340 and 1440 by the end of the day. That means if I go and do the elliptical (bad knees also) and burn 500 calories, I come home and try to eat back most of those. I focus most meals on Proteins and veggies. However post workouts I try to focus on protein. I either have a proteins shake (I drink Almond milk with whey protein powder that is low in suger <1g), or Wheat toast with peanut butter.

So in the morning, I get up. I have (2) 8 oz glasses of water, along with some daily multi-nutrition vitamins and Fish pills. I make my breakfast. Currently I am swapping between 3 meals. Either an omellete made with 1 egg and 2 egg whites, Fiber one Pancakes, or oatmeal with protein powder. I then prepare the rest of my meals through out the day. I eat 6 meals a day. There are mixed opinions on which is better 6 vs 3. Find out what works best for you. I like having "snacks" through out the day. I usually have meal 1-4 in my droid before I even eat my breakfast. Meal 5 is with the family. I try to save 500-600 for dinner. I never know what we are going to make for dinner, until it is too late. In all honesty, that 500-600 was tough at first. It is now getting easier and easier. I routinely need 400-500 for dinner, and I have had to adjust my calories through out the day to match.

One last thing I could suggest. Don't eat anything until you put it in your droid. Be educated on what that Bacon Cheeseburger is going to cost you before you even order it. You might find out that you want to try a lower calorie alternative.

Oh... and make sure you take a day off from the gym every week. Your body will need a day to recover. Tired (aka sore) muscles hold onto water to help repair themselves. By taking a day off, you are allowing your body to drop the extra water that it is retaining. Also important is sleep. Your body focuses on repairing itself while you sleep. Don't short change your repair time. :laugh:

Weirdly enough... I find that my body cycles in weight loss. Friday and Saturday mornings are my low days. Sunday is a hold day... then Monday I jump up about 4 lbs and stay there all week. Don't get frustrated. Just take baby steps. :drinker: