Hi Dr. Laura!

I am a new listener and I have to send this email of thanks because your advice has helped me stay motivated in my weight loss. Recently, you had two callers: a husband who was losing weight quicker than his wife and a lady who wanted to lose weight but couldn't seem to stick with it when life got "busy" – that one really caught my attention!

I am 41 years old, and am sorry to say I let my weight go after my children were born and my life became "busy". I allowed myself to gain roughly 60 pounds over the 15 plus years. I would talk frequently of losing weight over those years, but honestly, I think I was more in love with the "idea" of losing weight, than actually applying myself to do so.

Something clicked in my head in April of this year, where I was finally determined to take it off.  I started going to Zumba classes 3 times a week, joined a free website to track my food and exercise, went on a 1,200 calorie a day diet, and purchased a heart monitor so I would know actual calories burnt during my workouts. In July, I went another step further and joined a health club. The trainer and I discussed my goals and she created a strength training program for me to maintain while I continued Zumba classes. I am very happy to report that since April of 2012, I have dropped 26 pounds. I tend to hit plateaus here and there, and they are frustrating, but I stick with it and stay on course. I have roughly another 30 pounds to lose and I have come too far to stop now.

Something I found that helps me is for every 10 pounds I lose, I take front/side/back photos of myself so when I'm feeling a little down because I haven't reached my goal yet, I can always look at these photos and see how far I've come (and that helps tremendously).

Your advice to this caller of "sticking with it" hit home for me and I just wanted to thank you for that.

Raquel