Hope to Motivate

I'm hoping my success so far motivates others. I started on MFP 3 weeks ago (goal weigth 125). I started at the gym in August(weight 152, I'm 5'4), I didn't do anything hard, just made sure I went 3 days a week to do some cardio. Not much was coming off so I decided to do the 17 day diet, along with working out and lost almost 6 pounds (october). Come November (after thanksgiving) through January I was stuck at a plateau. So then I picked up my days at the gym to about 5 days a week, burning atleast 400-500 in cardio and started doing more weigh lifting. I lost 4 pounds and was stuck there for 6 weeks(weight 142). With 15-20 more pounds still to lose I became hopeless. I was about to throw in the towel and give up and accept the fact that this was probably going to be my new weight. Afterall, I'm getting older and have 2 kids, geting back to 125 might not happen. A friend recommended that I start tracking my calories and said this was a good program to use. I'm so glad I did this. In 3 weeks I've lost 11.3 pounds (130.8). This is what worked for me so far. I go to the gym 5 days a week. Instead of going upstairs to do cardio alone, I've started taking classes. I take bodyblast, bootcamp and zumba classes. On thursdays, I go to the gym 2 times. The classes are so much fun. It has both cardio and weights. I challenge myself each week with something new. The 2nd week on MFP I would run a mile after some of the classes. Last week I would take the 60 minute class and then go upstairs and run 2 miles. This week I'll challenge myself to finally take a spin class (I hate cycling). Maybe I'll get some more runs in after class. I make the most out of the gym each time I'm there, always challenging my mind and body. As far as tracking on MFP. The first week I was pretty strict about staying right at 1200. The 2nd and 3rd week I've tried to stay between 1200-1400, which only allowed me to eat back a few of my exercise calories. These last two weeks I've also allowed myself a cheat day (which is usually my weigh in day). I don't track my calories on that day. Once I get to my goal weight and start maintaning, then I will begin to lift more weights. I want to look defined. My goal isn't to look skinny, but to look fit. Once I hit my goal weight I will put some before and after pics. Thanks for reading my story. Feel free to become my friend on here if you need motivation and support.