I've lost weight before.  Although I was a skinny kid, by the time I reached my 30's, my weight had climbed to 218 lbs.  I am 5'8" tall and I managed to convince myself that I didn't look THAT big.  But it was taking a toll on my blood pressure so I decided the weight needed to come off.  Within a year, I had lost 74 lbs.  I was so proud of myself.  But I wasn't disciplined and had no idea about maintenance and it didn't take long to gain that weight back.  In 2003, my daughter got engaged and set her wedding for Valentines Day, 2004.  I didn't want to be a heavy mother of the bride, so I used that as the motivation to, once again, lose the weight.  By the time her wedding rolled around, I had lost 61 lbs.  Again, I was very proud of myself, but still had not learned about maintenance so it didn't take long to gain all of it back.  The last couple of years, I have added about 15 lbs.  My weight was at 220 lbs.  I blamed it on the lack of hormones, because my doctor kept reminding me that I had reached "that age" where my body was going through many changes.  Well, maybe that was part of it, but I also know that the lack of exercise and eating all the wrong foods whenever I wanted played a very big part of it.  Just after Christmas I decided to do something about the weight gain.  It took me about a month to get serious.  I learned to eat low fat and balance my carbs & proteins.  I needed exercise, so I started using a treadclimber.  I tell you, that is hard work, especially for a couch potato like myself.  But I stuck with the diet and exercise and I began losing an average of 2 lbs each week.  As of today, I have lost 41 lbs.  I have also added Zumba Gold to my exercise plan. I feel so much better about myself now.  I still have about 20 lbs or so to reach my goal and DietBet should aid my motivation.  I will not let myself gain this weight back.  They say the third time is the charm.  I know I will do everything in my power to maintain my goal.  I absolutely refuse to gain any weight back.  I can do it!