I am now 45, and finally changed my lifestyle.  At 5'5" 210lb I had to do something, as everything was hurting and i was sick of feeling sick and sick of looking fat and gross to myself.  Everyone couldnt believe i weighed that much because i had a small frame and my weight was evenly distributed, i didnt look as bad as some people who gain that weight, but i felt gross.  My oldest child is turning 19 and it was time to do something.  But boy did i procrastinate for years.  It was always next week that i would start.  The turnaround was a friend who asked me to join her with a trainer, and i thought 'yes' cause its now or never.  My friend is 5'3" tall and tiny, size 2, but she had no muscle at all because she never worked out and kept her weight off by not eating.  But at 50, her health wasnt where it should or could be and her hubby who is 10 years younger , well she wanted to look good and feel good for him.  So two opposite people you could not find, a fat one and a skinny one.  We call our trainer, the evil beasty because she doesnt care how much it hurts, she will always get more reps out of us, no matter how we complain or come close to wanting to pass out or myself feel like vomitting.  We have been working for 8 weeks , 3 x a week with a trainer for 1 hour of weights and we do 20-30 min of cardio before we start.  Other 3 x week, i do a min, of 20 min cardio, but now after 8 weeks, i am going to increase my metabolism by doing 20 min in the am and 20 min in the eves.  as apparently this is better fat burner than trying to do it all at once.  I have lost 16 lb of fat (thats inches of fat) and about 14 lb of weight.  Apparently I have 20 lb of body fat to lose still and should be at my ideal weight at this rate in about 2 mos if i keep working hard.  I feel good, but i still hate the excercise, but now i cant go to bed unless i workout my min.  On days like weekends where i cheat with some wine, i excercise for sure and maybe a little longer to counter the calories.  My eating has always been good, very little junk, but i now eat 5x a day and its hard but i make myself even when i am not hungry.  smaller portions at dinner time and the hardest for me is making sure i have protein at most meals and snacks.  peanut butter, all natural is my new  best food, even though i hate it, but its easy, fast and convenient, and i use very little of it.  My stamina is amazing.  When i started, i wheezed and couldnt do a flight of stairs without dying and now i can run on the treadmill 15 min without stopping, huge for me.  I am working hard on not caring about actual weight but focus on clothes sizing and fit.  When i fit size 9 again comfortably i will be happy.  Also i had a very bad shoulder and dont know what i did to it beforhand,   but after 5 weeks of working out, i finally could do things with it again.  I had to work through the pain, of not sleeping because it would be so sore after working it, and making sure i wasnt aggravating it, but the payoff is my range of motion is almost full again and i have power in that whole arm/shoulder which i could not even lift a glass with before.  I think i strengthened the muscles again so that they are doing the work and not my joints.  My club is 20 min from my house.  I have two large clubs 5 min away from my house.  I chose the furthest club because of the service.  I am not just another membership and thats it.  The owner follows through with service.  My trainer gives me a full service by making sure i am not only doing the excercises but also coaching me on how to improve my nutritition and how to help me workout out at home on my non weight days as i dont want to always drive to the club for the other days as due to the distance.  There is always good feedback which is so important.  "Good luck"  and get a trainer and change your life, your worth it!!!!