I was in pretty good shape until my husband passed away in '99, and I gained ~50lbs in the two years after. Then I quit smoking and gained 20 more. I moved to CO to be closer to my family and lost 50lbs of what I gained, but in the last 4 years I have lost several family members and have gained it back.

Getting healthy again will help me mentally, as well as physically, and I'm looking at this as the jump start I need. I have a goal to lose at least 30 lbs by June when I plan to take a trip back east to see family and friends. If I stick with this I should at least meet that goal if not pass it!

Snacking at night will be my hardest habit to break, followed by eating a healthy breakfast. I found this site while searching for low carb breakfast recipes and was thrilled to see the long list here . (Thanks, Karen!)

Looking forward to meeting you all!

Donna

Welcome, Donna. You have indeed come to a good place. You'll find plenty of resources and support and friendly voices here. I see that you have read some books on the plans that interest you, and that's always a good start.

Weight management certainly can be tied into life circumstances. I notice that I recorded my lowest adult weight the month my first husband died. The record then shows a rather steady gain up to now, one year into my NEW marriage! So happiness and unhappiness can have consequences either way. The point is in taking conscious control, which you are clearly ready to do.

Best wishes!
P.S. Huge congratulations on kicking the smoking. If you can do that, you can do anything. When you are fully committed to LC, the desire for night snacking might just go away. Satiating fats and non-deprivation are powerful benefits.