I didn't have a weight problem until my mid-forties.   Then I started gaining about 8 pounds a year. (That's 3/4ths of a pound a month.)  I was up to 210 before I realized I was not going to stop going up if I didn't do something to make myself stop.  That was 1999. 

In 2000 I was only about five pounds lighter.  I went to work in a retail store.   Just the walking and routine of that job shed 20 pounds off me in a year with no other effort (I got down to 184).   But I started going to store set ups and ate heavily to keep my energy and stamina up.  I began regaining the weight.

I got back into the 190's and in 2004 went on a "modified South Beach diet".  I lost 25 pounds.  But I stopped watching my intake and by the beginning of 2008 I was back up close to 210 again!   

I couldn't get motivated to cut carbs again, so I finally opted for a plan that would allow me to eat whatever I wanted to within a 1600 calorie limit.  I did very well on that for two months (losing about 20 pounds) and then I went on vacation and ate whatever I wanted to.  I didn't ever get back to my calorie counting after that.   I regained the weight I'd lost.  

I believe in cutting calories is the way to go.   I want to lose some weight before August because my last son is getting married then and, as a friend told me, "pictures are forever".... I would like to look slimmer.

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That was written LAST YEAR (2008)  I may have lost a little but I let too many other things interfere to stick with it and by now (June, 2009),  I have gained back up to as high as 215. 

For several years, I've had various problems with pain in my knees, feet, shoulders, and back.    Surprising to me--  I am not hurting as much as I used to.  My knees are not giving me nearly the problem they did.  My feet do not hurt as much. My back is better than it has been in a long, long time.  My shoulders are okay too.  My excuses for not exercising are being taken away.   And  I just hate being this fat.  I've always worn my clothes loose so it was easier to hide the bulges I was "accumulating"  but now I can't even do that.  I'm filling out my "loose" clothing.   I hate tight clothing.  

My mother lived to be 89 years old.  I keep telling myself, "If you have another 26 years to live, you're going to have to do more to get yourself "in shape" or you won't even be able to get around."   She walked every day until about a year before she died.

Now I'm not even thinking so much of "going on a diet" as I am thinking that I just need to learn to eat less and exercise more.  I think if I do that, over time I will see some results in weight loss.  My brother, who has lost over 30 pounds, keeps telling me that "the best diet" is portion control coupled with exercise.   (He rides an exercise bike and does sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups.)  He's in better shape at 65 than he was when he was much younger.

For the period of time that I was restricting my calories,  I used Calorie Count and kept track of everything I ate on a blog.   I ate the things I liked to eat.   I didn't do without any kind of food.  I just counted everything I ate.   I wasn't strict every day, but I kept everything balanced out so that my higher calorie days were balanced out with lower calorie days.  I worked at averaging 1600 calories.  It worked well for me.  And it did not leave me with a feeling that I would never want to deny myself like that again-- like doing low carbs did.

I have the resources of that blog to help me now.   The meals I ate and liked.  The calorie counts.  The ideas of things to eat so that I can make out shopping lists more easily.   All of these things are "crutches" I intend to use to help me get back to the place that I'm cutting my portion sizes down-- which is, of course, reducing calories.