I start taking Alli tomorrow.  Your story has inspired me-- keep up the good work!

Janice-- thanks for keeping us updated-- I've now read the whole post.  I know what you mean about not liking some of the effects of weight loss on your body.  I'm going to start with Alli tomorrow and have 35-45 lbs to lose.  I've lost weight before--- MANY times.  I hate that the older I get-- the "less great" I look when I've lost weight.  But!  How WONDERFUL it feels to be thinner, right?!  To be able to bend over more easily, to feel clothes that once wouldn't fit, now fall off.  WooHoo for you!  I did notice that last time I lost a significant amount of weight, exercising did help with the sagging in certain places.  Maybe you could develop a routine with hand weights.  There are lots of magazine articles out there.  I think that's what I need and hope to incorporate--- a routine-- in many areas of my life!  I wish you the best and hope you will continue to update us.  Let us know if you need encouragement.  I'll give you a pep talk.  :)

Well I've lost 45 pounds now. I just crossed from the 190's into the 180's this morning. I was losing my motivation but now crossing this milestone line I am reinvigorated to continue to lose more weight. Only 55 more pounds to go. It sure doesn't feel as overwhelming as 100 pounds did on January 1st.  Everyone who knows me wants to know my secret. A little girl came into my classroom yesterday with her birthday donuts and wanted me to have one. My class just giggled and laughed because they knew I wouldn't touch them. She couldn't believe me when I said no. She kept on trying to get me to take the donut. I relayed the story to a colleague who laughed and said that she had taken that donut and it was very good (she's trying to lose weight too). We laughed about it. I'm crossing milestones and she isn't though. Alli makes a huge difference in my weightloss. I notice that when I forget to take my pill before meals I don't lose as much weight. I have got to remember that little blue pill! I have 16 more days of school and then summer vacation starts. I hope to start doing some exercise tapes at home this summer and start lifting some weights. I have no excuse since I'll have more time. All three kids will be home for the summer so I will be very busy taking care of them. Thank you so much for all your replies. It feels good to inspire people and also it motivates me to get your encouragement. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

It has been along time since I've updated my post. I've lost 60 pounds now. I am a new person inside and out. People can't believe what I use to look like. I teach writing in 5th grade so I am writing a book about what's happened to me in the last year. Losing the weight has started a whole chain of events to unravel in my life. I also turned 50 this past summer and that really started me to thinking about who I was and what kind of person I want to be. I really didn't like myself very much at 49 years old and 100 pounds overweight. I have gone from a size 24 down to 14/16. I really look great. I bought a whole new wardrobe in September before school started and now I really look professional instead of slumpy and dumpy. In the spring I got my motorcycle license and bought a touring scooter. It is freeway worthy and will go 70  - 80 mph. I met some other maxi-scooter riders online on the forums and have gone to a few rallies and many group rides with motorcycles. Let me tell you! I have been getting alot of male attention. Ladies... If you are looking for a man get your motorcycle license and start riding. You will be in the minority and there are alot of guys who are impressed by a woman riding a bike. Anyway, I learned alot from the maxi-scooter riders at the rallys. Like.... stop being who everyone else wants you to be and start being who you want to be. The guys also gave me alot of insight into how men in a marriage think and what they really want in their wives. Although I am very happy with the person I have become, my husband is in shock. Because I have more confidence, a new circle of friends, and am less likely to be a doormat. He is struggling with who I am now and questioning who he is. I'm not saying that losing weight is bad and that you shouldn't do this because it will rock your marriage. What happened is that as I got healthy physically I started to demand that my relationships become healthy too. There is no way you can have a healthy relationship with your husband when your 100 pounds overweight. I really didn't know or realize the dysfunction that was going on. Now of course I do. When one person changes in a relationship it knocks the balance of the relationship off and so now the person who didn't change needs to change in order to rebalance the relationship. It goes back and forth to establish a new equilibrium. It is very threatening though to my husband to have me change my standards for how I will be treated. I'm not sure what's going to happen in my marriage. I think we love each other and are devoted and committed to each other enough to make it through. Right now things though are really rough. I'm just saying this so that other people who lose a significant amount of weight realize that the fat is just a symptom of deeper things inside. I am in counseling to help me realize how all these changes are affecting my relationships with others. Just something to think about.