I'm a 33 year old teacher and mother of two young children. I've been overweight my entire life--it's just interesting that at each stage, I've thought that I was as overweight as I could get and then I'd manage to surprise myself by reaching a new, higher weight (highest was 320). Now I'd kill to be what I was in high school even though that was still very overweight.

In any event, I've tried a million diets and yes, they all work when you follow them but as I'm sure everyone on this site knows, that's not always that easy to do. This time I'm the most motivated I've ever been--anytime I start to feel weak, I think of my children--I'm doing this for them and for the future of my family.