I'm 44, an academic, and mother of two tween daughters (ages 10 and 12). I joined Fatsecret and started the South Beach diet on May 1, 2007 with the goal of losing 40 pounds (to get down to 130 from 170). I was really aggressive with the diet and exercise, and I met my goal after about six months.

However, a few years passed and I slowly gained all of this weight back. I'm embarrassed by that and avoided coming back to Fatsecret for a long time. Clearly avoidance doesn't make the weight go away. Now am ready to actually take control of this situation again. I'm only 5 foot 2, so my target is 135-140 pounds, which is actually on the high end of "normal, healthy weight" according to BMI charts and all that.

I'm not sure I can get back to and maintain my original goal weight. At this point I just want to be active and healthy and reach a maintainable goal. I'm hoping for some help and support along the way.